How To Improve Your Team’s Time Management

Part of being an effective leader is bringing out the best in your team. You can accomplish a lot more as a group than you can on an island by yourself. From my experience, one of the best ways to help your team members succeed is by helping them manage their time better.

After all, with proper time management, we’re more productive, less stressed, and more capable of delivering high-quality work on time. And with more time on our hands, there are more opportunities to grow, which can ultimately improve our quality of life. Time is, after all, our most valuable asset — we all want to make the best use of it.

How can you help others manage their time better? Here are five places to start: 

1. Limit Watercooler Talk

I’m all for watercooler talk; I really enjoy chatting with my team. They’re awesome people, and talking gives us a chance to learn from each other and exchange ideas. As we get to know each other better, there’s a more communal and collaborative atmosphere in the office.

At the end of a fun night of bonding, there’s always a time when you have to call it quits. Don’t be afraid to do the same with small talk. I’ve found that the most effective way is to model the behaviour I want from my team. For example, if I see someone frantically typing away at her keyboard, I’m not going to ask how her day’s going. I’ll wait until lunch to strike up a conversation with her — and I’ll have a chance to get an update on what she was working so hard on.

If you’re more aggressive, you could steer the conversation back to what your team is working on. If it’s time to start a meeting, your team may be casually chatting. When the clock strikes start time, cut it off by saying, “All right, I’m glad everyone’s here. Let’s get right into how we can market our new client’s business.”

2. Set Them Up for Success

Something I’ve learned over the years is that you can’t expect someone to do something well without giving him the training, tools, and instructions to do the job correctly. You might save yourself time at the outset by simply asking him to get it done. In reality, you’re hurting productivity by filling his time with problem-solving tasks — and your own time with answering questions. You could have easily spent an extra five minutes setting him up for success, freeing up your time later — and his.

If you want your team members to be productive, you have to clearly communicate your goals and expectations, which priorities take precedence, and when assignments are due. Also, make sure they can easily access information needed when working. Sharing a document containing the guidelines for a project through Dropbox or Google Docs is a great idea. If they have any questions, they can — and should — refer to the document.

3. Establish a ‘No Meeting Day’

Meetings, while necessary, can also be a huge time suck. One solution is to establish a “No Meeting Day.” This idea was promoted by organizations like Asana and Facebook, which famously set “No Meeting Wednesdays.” The idea is that there’s one day per week when no meetings of any kind take place. Instead, teammates spend this time progressing on projects, handling deadlines, and catching up on tasks that got bumped for meetings. People can use this time to focus on their work without interruptions.

Does implementing a “No Meeting Day” solve all of your team’s time management problems? Of course not.

To prevent wasteful meetings, make sure that a meeting has a defined purpose so you can create an agenda. This way, everyone’s clear on the necessity, and people have time to prepare. Keep these meetings short so your team can allot more time to knocking out the meeting’s to-do list.

4. Help Them Solve More Complex Issues

Ask your team members to track their time for a week by using a time-tracking tool or writing down their daily activities (and the length of time spent on each) in a notebook. It’s an effective way to see how much time things take — and whether there are ways to reclaim some time. Maybe they’re spending too much time checking their inbox throughout the day. You could suggest a technique like batching, where they set aside blocks of time for email.

I would also recommend conducting a time audit yourself. You may notice you’re emailing or messaging your team too often. If so, limit how frequently you’re communicating with them. Since adopting this approach, I’ve noticed a considerable amount of reclaimed time — for both me and my team.

5. Stop Saying, ‘I Don’t Have Time’

You may not feel it’s your responsibility to help others protect and manage their time. As a leader, this does fall on your shoulders. Changing how you approach meetings and casual chats is a great start. So is helping your team determine how they’re spending their time. But what if they ask for help?

We’re often tempted to say we’re too busy to help others. But there’s always time for a five-minute chat or email. Brushing off others when they need your assistance is a surefire way to lose your team’s trust. Why would they come to you in the future — or go the extra distance — when you’re never there for them?

If you truly want to improve your team’s time management, make time to help them. You may be busy at the moment, but check your calendar to see when you’re available. Block off a time to sit and discuss what’s bothering them or hampering their time management. You may get insights you didn’t expect that can help the team as a whole.

It’s easy to view time management as a personal responsibility. But if you want your business to thrive, you need to step up to the plate and lend your team a hand. You may have to alter some of your existing systems and processes, but a healthy and productive team is worth the investment.

Have a great week ahead…

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