A point of view on Time Management & Prioritisation ...

All of us will have faced times when the workload & urgency is high, when it's difficult to switch off and while work volumes change there's a fixed 40-hr week. I wanted to share a few frameworks that work for me but before I do we need to accept the single truth that none of us will ever complete our workload. Once you accept this, that work is never ending, you can shift your mindset to shaping (not completing) your workload for maximum professional & personal impact...and this requires understanding of Productivity, Accountability & Time Management. These help us to work smarter as there's rarely questions on how hard teams are working.

Everyone is working the same finite time period (40hr) but 'how' we deploy our efforts, engage team-members and make decisions can provide very different outcomes...anyway wanted to share as these questions are coming up more frequently and if you can find value in them then that's the main purpose.

Eisenhower Matrix

• Use Case Solves:?Productivity Matrix?to organise focus + time
• How to use:
• Organise all tasks according to this matrix where:
• Urgency is qualified, balanced and expectations are managed around deadlines
• Importance is defined by for example?Revenue/ Reputation Maximisation/ Mitigation
• Focus & complete 'concentrate' tasks and then reset all tasks in the matrix (as opposed to complete each box in turn)
• Background Reading:?https://hbr.org/2020/08/conquer-your-to-do-list-with-this-simple-hack

RACI Model

• Use Case Solves:?Accountability Matrix?to organise tasks/ projects and allocate roles/ expectations.
• How to use for any major task or project apply the RACI (sometimes called ARCI) model:
• Only 1x person can ever be 'A', if you have 2x then either you get conflict, confusion or inefficiency
• There can be multiple people in 'R' 'C' 'I' roles but keep to small circle
• Background Reading:?https://www.cio.com/article/2395825/project-management-how-to-design-a-successful-raci-project-plan.html

Pareto Principal?(known otherwise as the 80:20 rule)

• Use Case Solves:?Time Management?and application of your resource to the tasks
• What is it: The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes.
• How to use it:?
• Apply the 'just enough' approach which means to improve your productivity/ output there are some tasks where you should not strive for 100% accuracy as this is too time consuming.?
• Apply qualification to all asks internal/ external and then decide whether to respond with 100% accuracy (related to revenue/ margins, incentives, results), 80:20 rule (most things) as well as knowing when to apply powerful solutions like:
• Saying 'No' or pushing the deadline
• Opportunity Cost i.e. Management of expectations so if time is short the asker will have to choose between Task A or Task B.
• Build a process if the task becomes repetitive to save time in the long run
• Calendar control: Block out time for your core tasks to be completed and not just 1:1 meetings (incl. lunches, personal time)
• Background Reading:?https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2016/03/07/80-20-rule/?sh=7da7ca2d3814

Pomodoro?Technique (+ time confetti)

• Use Case Solves:?Time Management?and ensuring mental balance because by EOD you have completed sense of achievement/ worth
• What is it: A simple technique to stay focused, to stay on task and avoid the time confetti of checking/ being distracted by email, social media etc.
• How to use it: Download the app, set focus/ break time, make list of priorities and move to complete
• App I use (iOS):?https://apps.apple.com/au/app/pomodoro-focus-timer/id1265128036
• Background Reading:?https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique

Everyone has their vision of the solution to productivity, time management etc and this is not that...it's a conversation starter, it works for me and maybe it can work for you.