Time Management Insights for Busy Leaders
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.” — Michael Altshuler
The Question
How to take control of your time?
One of the most common dilemmas I hear from managers is the elusive quest for more time.
Balancing daily tasks, supporting your team, and moving the needle forward on projects leave little time to dedicate to your own personal and professional development. That's why continually honing in on your time management is key for leadership.
I know this isn't the most thrilling thing to tackle in your leadership journey. We get stuck in our routines; after all, they've gotten us this far already!
But time will underpin every single endeavour in your work. A proper awareness of how you run your days can transform your time from a constraint into your greatest asset.
The Research
Developing good time management skills takes practice, whether you're a seasoned manager or starting out.
According to Gallup, most managers are feeling overwhelmed. They're 50% more likely than individual contributors to strongly agree they "have too much work to do." They also report worse work-life balance and physical well-being than the individual contributors on the teams they lead.
But a different reality is possible. Mastering time management can make all your managerial responsibilities much smoother. It doesn't just save time—it can also improve other aspects of your life, both personally and professionally. Some of the benefits of excellent time management for managers include:
Some Advice
In the world of time management, it's not just about discovering the latest shortcut that promises to skyrocket your productivity.
Instead, it's a continual process of self-assessment, ensuring that you dedicate your time to activities that align with your goals and values while executing them efficiently. If you're overcommitting yourself to countless activities, no time management technique will help.
Getting your priorities straight involves knowing what to prioritize and having the clarity and wisdom to discern what to say no to. This underscores the value of crafting a clear vision and setting goals. These serve as your compass, guiding your day-to-day and enabling you to screen each task against the overarching vision you strive to realize.
In other words, you ask yourself: will this activity or task move the needle forward on any of my goals?
Only then, you can focus on tightening your time management strategies.
Your Hack
To streamline the transition from average to exceptional time management, you need a solid framework.
This week's hack involves sharing my time management tips and strategies with you below. As you review them, consider how each one could be tailored to your unique circumstances and which ones should take priority at any given moment.
1. Focus on Monotasking: Dedicate your attention to one task at a time for improved efficiency and accuracy.
2. Delegate Wisely: Empower your team by assigning tasks according to their strengths, freeing up your time for critical responsibilities. (I know this one is easier said than done, so I created this free Ebook that explores the many layers that help boost your team into empowered high-performers!)
3. Set Boundaries: Establish clear boundaries to minimize distractions and maintain focus during work hours.
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4. Define Clear Goals: Set achievable and measurable goals to effectively guide your priorities and actions.
5. Prioritize Urgent Tasks: Address urgent matters promptly to prevent delays and maintain project momentum. Check out the Eisenhower matrix (pictured below)—a prioritization tool that categorizes tasks based on urgency and importance—to determine which urgent tasks require immediate attention and which can be delegated or postponed.
6. Integrate Task Management: Manage tasks efficiently to ensure project progress and success.
7. Combat Pre-crastination: Avoid the urge to tackle less important tasks first by prioritizing based on importance and urgency.
8. Embrace Saying "No": Learn to decline tasks or meetings that do not align with your priorities, preserving your time for essential duties.
Parting Thoughts
I know that time management can often sound like a case of 'do as I say, not as I do.'
But here's a perspective shift I want you to hold onto: yes, mastering time management is hard. Yet, so is allowing external forces to shape your day. It's a matter of choosing your hard.
This principle extends beyond time management, touching many aspects of life: committing to a daily movement is hard, but living a sedentary life has its own challenges. Choose your hard.
Navigating a relationship is tough, but so is being single. Choose your hard.
Every path in life presents its share of obstacles, but you can choose which hardships you get to experience. Ultimately, the difference in choices reveals itself in the long term.
So, where do you want to end up?
Unicorn Leaders — The Podcast
Have you heard the newest episodes!?
Our most recent podcast guests are Andre Fernandez and Eva Manole.
Andre Fernandez (Co-Founder & CEO at Invert) dives into how he found his way into creating a socially impactful business while sharing valuable lessons and principles that he embraced on his journey to success as a leader, from letting go of micro details to building high performing teams and influencing decision-making processes, he's going to get into tactical ways that will transform your leadership approach and how you create meaningful impact.
Eva Manole (Director, Org. Dev. at Fullscript) shares how she uses a product-led mindset to develop new learning and development strategies at Fullscript, which has about 800 employees. She dives into new strategies she uses to build community among teams in her current role and shares the tools, resources, and approaches she uses to develop opportunities that help individuals blossom in their own way.
Take a listen & subscribe.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Sincerely,
The Unicorn Labs Team