Mastering Time: A Proven and Effective Time Management Method

Managing time is one of the biggest challenges for new managers. As individual contributors, you only needed to focus on your own tasks. Now you’re responsible for leading a group of people, meeting deadlines, working with peers, and accomplishing goals as a team.?

With so many things on your plate, you might find yourself struggling to find time to work on important, strategic, and high-level tasks that are an essential part of your new leadership position. And that doesn’t even include your professional and personal development.

Time management is a critical skill that you should master if you want to become an effective leader. It’s the key to achieving your goals and helping your team achieve theirs. So how can you fulfill your role and become a good manager while managing your time productively?

Eric Girard, our CEO, shares the method he's been using for years to manage his time. These hacks help him focus on important things rather than prioritizing the ones that are urgent. They also help him avoid interruptions by keeping his email organized, calendars in sync, and so much more. So, let's hear from him!

Four Time Management Hacks from Our CEO

True story: I have 19 messages in my inbox, all read, and I’m feeling a little behind. It is Saturday, though, so I’m cutting myself some slack. I know people, including the mayor of my town, who have tens of thousands of unread emails in their inboxes and feel completely overwhelmed. So how do I do it?

1. Ruthlessly unsubscribe

I was getting overwhelmed by emails from the numerous mailing lists I was on. I’d delete them, but they’d just come back, and sometimes they’d bring friends. Then I realized that almost all that junk mail comes with an unsubscribe link. You may have to dig through the fine print at the bottom of the message, but it should be there. My own mailing list includes a very visible unsubscribe link, and I’m never offended when someone clicks it. I get it. Sometimes, enough is enough!

2. Do it, delete it, or file it

When an email comes in, I decide if I need to take action on it, and if I do, when. If it only takes a minute or two, I'll take care of it right away. Otherwise, it waits until I have time. Sometimes it's something I don't want to deal with at all, but I don't want or need to unsubscribe from a list, so I just delete it. I truly value a clutter-free inbox!

After I've taken action, or if no action is needed, and the note is information I want to be able to reference later, I file it. I have a truly impressive filing system in my email app (I use Apple Mail, which is a mail aggregator and plays nicely with Gmail, among others). I have eight email accounts, and each of them has its own filing system. When I need something, I can usually find it without using the search function, but if I can't, the search bar is there to rescue me.

3. Avoid the tyranny of the urgent

Stephen Covey talks about the Tyranny of the Urgent, referring to things that seem to need your attention right away and suck time away from things with longer-term importance. I use my own brand of time blocking to avoid getting sucked into email when I should be focused on something else.?

The premise is simple: A place for everything and everything in its place, including email. When I need to make time for something –anything– I make an appointment for myself on my calendar.?

Using email as an example, if I need to respond to John about a conference that's coming up but it can wait until tomorrow, I make a short (15 or 30-minute) appointment on my calendar to do it. If it's on the calendar, it gets done.?

I have five calendars, and each is color-coded. There's one for my volunteer activities, one for work, one for a client who wants me in their system, and two personal ones, including a family calendar my wife manages.?

When I make an appointment, I decide which calendar it goes on. This allows me to look at my day at a glance and see what I need to do when, and whether I have any high-priority items, like client meetings, that I need to prep for. Oh yeah, prep and travel time go on the calendar too.?

This system is replicated on my phone, so I'm always up to date no matter where I am.

The beauty of having separate calendars is I can turn their views on and off. For example, if my calendar view is overwhelming, I can turn off the shared family calendar to reduce the clutter, then turn it back on later to be sure I don’t miss anything.

4. Use an external calendar app for meetings

With all those calendars, you'd think scheduling meetings would be a nightmare. It's actually really easy. I use Calendly to track my free/busy time across all my calendars, making it easy to share my calendar with anyone to set up a meeting. I use the Meeting Poll function a lot too. So much more efficient than the usual email back and forth of "Are you available Tuesday at 2?" "No, how about Wednesday at 10?" "No, how about…"

Whatever method or tips you follow to improve your time management skills, it all starts with setting priorities, using time blocks, delegating, using technology, avoiding distractions, learning to say no, and focusing on results. Mastering this skill allows you to balance your workload, get things done and make time for your professional and personal growth.

If you want to learn more practical tips and tools, register for the Masterclass: Time Management and Prioritization I'll be hosting on May 17th. By the end of the one-hour session, you will be able to assess the importance and urgency of your work, prioritize your most important work, and handle interruptions.?

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