Did I really need to do this

Spend a few moments writing a time-log of what you did yesterday. If you want to be more comprehensive, map out a whole week. Write down everything you did from when you checked emails, took phone calls, went to the restroom or out for a cigarette.

Self-discipline and priorities

Did this require someone else to do something unnecessary? Some bosses over-commit their staff to work on unnecessary things. Maybe it's to please the client. Perhaps it's to show off how much power they have. I know one boss who would always volunteer her staff for projects that had nothing to do with the division she was leading. The irony was, other divisions had people who could have helped the organization too but she wanted greater influence and paid for it with lower P&L,wholesale iPhone 4s.

For some bosses, addressing time management isn't just a matter of work-life balance as it was for John's manager who is worried John spends too much time at the office. It can also be a performance problem.

Did I really need to do this? Be tough on yourself. A lot of leaders do work they used to do as subordinates because they can't let go. One CEO who was formerly the company's chief engineer continued to check blueprints after he had taken over the chief executive's office. Checking blueprints is the chief engineer's job not, the CEO's. If the old CEO had checked up on the current CEO when he was chief engineer, he would have been outraged. He needs to let go and clear space in his brain for being a leader.

Two management thinkers have liberated me from the old industrial mindset of treating time management in a rigid manner. Jim Collins and the father of modern management, Peter Drucker.

Conventional wisdom tells us that if you're organized, you keep a "to-do list". In fact, mention a "to-do list" and you visualize those well-dressed, professional types wearing pin-stripe suits.

So how do you identify what not to do?

So Jim asked the crowd on both occasions if they kept one. About 96 percent of people raised a hand. (Some were like me who raised their hands out of embarrassment, remembering the last time we had a "to-do list" was sometime last century.)

Another problem is people get their priorities wrong. They might be good at "doing" but they do the wrong things. That's what we'll focus on here. Knowing what the right things are.

Then he said, "raise your hand if you have a "not- to-do list". Only a handful of people thrust their arms in the air. Collins went on to say that your "not- to-do list" is just as important as your "to-do list",wholesale ps3. Identifying what we should not do enables us to stop doing things that hi-jack our time.

Fourth, many people attempt to multi-task. Multi-tasking is a myth. Physiologically, doing more than one thing at a time is impossible. Anyone who thinks he or she is multi-tasking is actually juggling. ,iPhone 4s Wholesale price;And not many people know how to juggle. People get things done when they focus on one thing at a time.

When you've got your list, look at each item and ask:

A third comes down to the fact that some people misunderstand what time management is about because of the term itself.

Drucker & What Not to Do

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"John," you start, "I've noticed you're pulling longer hours than Tracey." John shifts in his chair. "You've been given the same amount of work. And you're great at what you do. I just don't understand why it's taking so long."

Likewise, email isn't all bad either. It may help you avoid expensive litigation. And talking around the water cooler might help you build the rapport with staff that you need to be an effective leader.

At both talks Collins asked people in the audience to raise their hands if they kept a "to-do list".

If getting information is part of your digital lifestyle, the choice is clear. www.dropshiponlinemall.com Some people will argue that iOS apps easily fill in the gaps,wholesale Xbox 360. But tight services ties, the ability to run widgets and get alerts in more real-time fashion give Galaxy Nexus edge.

So let's link that back to Collins' tip of drawing up a "not- to-do list". How do you know what not to do? Here's where you come to the time and motion study. What do you do each day?

So what causes poor time management?

The fact many of us never make it half-way down our list is immaterial. Culturally, "to-do lists" are sacramental. If you have one, people assume you're well organized. If not, you're labeled sloppy and disorganized.

Let's be honest - no-one can actually manage time. There are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour - that's not going to change. What we are really managing is our priorities and resources. It's what we do that must fit into time. It's not about fitting time around what we do.

Time management is very often a performance issue. And managers have no alternative but to address it with their staff. But it can be tough to solve.

Collins and what to do

Really these are not time sponges. They're symptoms. If they don't support your business goals, they are time sponges. Luckily, Drucker goes deeper than symptoms.

You're half-way through leading a performance review with one of your staff and it's time to bring up the T problem. Time management.

Drucker suggests time sponges are doing things that:

Take for example Jackie. She regularly misses deadlines, is constantly flustered and seems to be really busy. What's going on? It's poor time management.

don't need to be done are better done by others require others to do unnecessary things
Questions to improve your time management

No one formula works for everyone

One problem is self discipline. Time management at the end of the day isn't just about knowing what you have to do. It's about doing it. The crucial bridge between knowing it has to be done and actually doing it, is tough for some people.

The problem with these suggestions is that again, they will be different for everyone. Your Blackberry may get you a client. While your Blackberry may be a time sponge for others, it may make you money.

But goals are a conversation for another time. As are how to handle question number two which is all about delegation. Remember, to be an effective manager in a complex, fast-changing environment, you need to know what not to do. And you need to develop the self-discipline that ensures you don't waste your valuable time doing things that prevent you from achieving your objectives.

By comparison, simply asking Galaxy Nexus for "Bahn Thai, University Heights" brings up Google search page with Yelp review and phone number top result.From mapping to location services and more, Galaxy Nexus is superior to iPhone 4S. Google services are simply better and better exposed.

Of course to ask these questions meaningfully, you need to be very aware of what your objectives are. You can't analyze a task to determine if it's really necessary unless you are really clear about your business plan's objectives and mission.

You see everyone is different. No one solution works for everyone and this is the key to understanding how to get the best out of your time. Time management is deeply personal and affected as much by your diary, work style, personality and physiology.

So what's the answer? A time management class? A time and motion study? Trite tips such as, "don't look at your email in the morning", or "always keep a clear desk?" I don't think so.

When I ask participants in my leadership courses to list common time sponges, they suggest things like their Blackberry or iPhone, email, surfing the web, taking phone calls whenever the phone rings and talking around the water cooler.

In his book, The Effective Executive, Drucker lists three common time sponges. We're talking about things on your "to-do list" that if you don't do them, no-one will notice.

Avoiding email in the morning may improve Fred's time management because he is easily distracted and isn't as focused in the morning as he is in the afternoon. But for Wendy, doing email in the afternoon may work against her efficiency.

Did I really need to do this? Could this have been better done by someone else? Did this require someone else to do something unnecessary?
Ask these questions

When you sit down with a subordinate to help them develop their time management skills, remember to ask these questions. Do you really need to do this to meet our business objectives? ,wholesale MacBook;Could this be better done by someone else? And, does this require someone else to do something that is unnecessary.

Developing your team's time management

I've heard Jim Collins talk twice. Collins wrote the New York Times Best Seller, From Good to Great. He has been enormously influential in the world of leadership and personal development.

Could this have been done better by someone else? New leaders hate this question. Journalists who are promoted to editors often don't like to let go of the reporting. But their reporters are just as good as the editors were. The difference is their reporters aren't hassled by HR and distracted by management. Reporters have the brain space to file a better story.