How do you set time management boundaries with colleagues and clients?

One of my most effective time management tips is to start your day with your most demanding tasks. You will be amazed by how much time you will save by following this strategy of doing the things that matter most first.

I have had a really hard time with this limit.I seem to attract the needy client which I then politely refuse .I recently had a client I just had to let go .I limited my contact,they proceeded to chase me down harder .I asked the client to stop sending me 15-20 emails a day .I asked them to not call me at times that we were not scheduled to talk .I got these really long text messages which I ignored .I looked up how to break up with a client followed the guidelines suggested.The letter in return let me know I had to go silent .Not my best moment .This client came to my house and refused to leave for 3 days .I tried everything finally I just went quiet .I love people and I am willing to put myself out there for my clients but this was just

You can nail this by using the first two habits of the Diary Detox? method: Habit One "Know what you are really doing" - is where you keep track of everything that fills your days right now. We all do things of which we're unaware, so this helps with self-awareness. Habit Two "Accept the true cost" - is where you put YOU first, by planning in time for your personal wellbeing BEFORE anything else. This will ensure that you avoid burnout. This is also were you plan in prep, follow-up and travel-time for all of your meetings. By doing these, you'll be amazed how little time is left for other work and it'll help you avoid over-comitting.

We used to get tens of inquiries a day for different projects. As matter of fact, we can not quote for every inquiries that we receive. Because each project has to be studied, reviewed before submitting a competitive completed quotation. It takes few days to workout the project as per the client given requirements. Sometimes there are limited documents or information we have for the projects which inturn reduces our productivity as it needs to be informed to the client and they has to respond, so it will further more days to finish. In order to increase our productivity, we will filter the inquiries based on several categories. Such as probability of winning that particular project, our relationship with the client, previous experience etc

I would also advise having stricter boundaries at the outset, and revise often. Once the project gets momentum, or you get to know the client/team better, you can easily relax the boundaries (if it is appropriate), but it is much more challenging to tighten up boundaries after you get going.

When we receive inquiries to quote, we will inform the client that we are working on it, by email as it is very important to let them know. We will only work for most probable project which could be won and all the others are rejected and informed to the client through mail. Prioritizing the works improves our accuracy and productivity. Any RFI’s required or EOT’s are requested through mail to keep it documented. However it is very important to follow the client requirements and specifications in order to provide a competitive offer and to stay prominent in the market.

By clearly defining project scope, timelines, and deliverables at the onset of a project/contract, we establish a shared understanding that minimizes last-minute disruptions. I like to utilize workback schedules with clear approval processes and differentiate between hard and soft deadlines. Hard deadlines are crucial and non-negotiable, ensuring that key milestones are met on time to maintain project quality and timeline. Soft deadlines provide flexibility for certain tasks while still keeping the overall project progress in mind. Regular check-ins and progress updates with clients and managers are essential. Open communication allows for early issue identification and proactive adjustments to our time management strategies.

By using Habit Five and the Spot Detox from the Diary Detox? method, you'll have: *) A clear view of the relative 'value' of both the thing you already planned AND the thing you're being interrupted with. *) Questions that will help you decide if going off-track is right for you. *) A language that will help you negotiate should you decide to not be interrupted. Here's a great question to ask yourself if the thing you're being interrupted with is a meeting: "If this meeting were cancelled and never rebooked, what would be lost?" If the answer is 'nothing' or 'I don't know' DON'T GO!

One way to set boundaries is by learning how to manage the expected interruption. For example, you're in the middle of a task, when your phone goes off or someone walks into your office. “Kathy, I appreciate you coming to me. I'm completing a proposal for GDC Inc., which I have to send to the customer within the hour. I want to be as supportive & responsive as I can to your request & ensure whatever you need we give it the time & the attention it deserves so that we can successfully work through it together. While I know it's important to you we handle this now, is this something that demands immediate attention & must be handled right away or can it wait until I complete this, when I can then focus all of my time & attention on you?”

One thing I’ve found helpful when in the office (especially for hybrid or part-time workers) is - rather than be hit with a dozen unrelated questions at random points throughout the day which often disrupt work flow - ask colleagues to write down any questions they have, and then arrange a time to catch up and answer them all in one go. This of course goes both ways, and will improve focus and efficiency across the whole team.

When you have a challenge, it's tempting to ask whomever is closest or best placed to provide a quick answer - it's part of our lazy-gene. Before you do that, give yourself 10-minutes to ponder the challenge and come up with your own ideas first. When you find it, you dopamine hit will make you glad that you persevered!