TOWARDS HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS *
10.4 TIME MANAGEMENT FOR HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS
10.4.1 Time Management for Success
“Time is your most precious resource,” observes eminent management consultant, Brian Tracy. “It is the most valuable thing you have. It is perishable, it is irreplaceable, and it cannot be saved.” Eminent management thinker Peter Drucker emphasises that time management is the first problem for all managers. Further, there is a unanimous view that time management is prerequisite to success in life and work.
While the issue of ‘success in life’ is being dealt within the section on time management and happiness, in this section, we will focus on the major time management skills practiced by successful people. In a separate unit, the most important techniques of time management have been discussed. In the following
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paragraphs, we are revisiting the techniques and looking at them from the point of their adoption by successful people in their working styles.
i) Prioritising
As has been explained in unit 5, generally tasks, whether in personal or professional life, are of four kinds: ‘Urgent and important’, ‘urgent and not important’, ‘important but not urgent’ and ‘neither urgent, nor important’.
While the first category of tasks that are ‘important and urgent’ will attain first priority, there is a problem sometimes in selecting the tasks that need to be tackled as the second priority. Normally, the ‘urgent and not important’ tasks are given a second priority, the reason being that their urgency become overwhelming and therefore, a manager is forced to accord such tasks high priority. In this process, the third type of tasks, that is ‘important but not urgent’ get marginalised and relegated to the low priority zone. This approach can have a harmful effect on Organisational effectiveness. Ideally, important tasks should not become secondary to the less important tasks even though the latter may be urgent. Hence, the need is to assign deadlines even to those important tasks, which may not be urgent. Lastly, the fourth category of tasks, i.e. ‘neither urgent, nor important’ should be addressed only if there is spare time.
ii) Split the Time
Some career coaches recommend splitting time into ‘focus’ days and ‘buffer’
days. The ‘focus’ days should be used for big-picture or most significant tasks, while the ‘buffer’ days can be used for tackling nitty-gritty or routine tasks like file work and accounting. The routine tasks generally take a big chunk of time, while the innovative and creative endeavours are generally starved of time. That is why ‘focus’ days become crucial to the effectiveness and productivity of an Organisation. Little wonder, a few successful managers keep aside a day of the week as ‘no meeting day’. This saves time for undertaking more creative work.
iii) Early day Start
As mentioned in unit 7, a large number of successful executives start their day early. The Apple CEO Tim Cook starts his work at 5.00 a.m.; the legendary anchor Oprah Winfrey wakes up at 5.00 a.m., does meditation for 20 minutes and rushes on the tread mill before reaching the studio. Prime Minister
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Narendra Modi, Ratan Tata and Narayan Murthy are among those who start their day quite early.
iv) Focus on One Task at a time
“One thing at a time and that done well is a very good rule that many can tell”.
Neuroscientist Earl Miller views that, for the most part, we simply cannot focus on more than one thing at a time. Multi-tasking has its own limitations.
True efficiency lies in finishing a task at one go and then moving to the next one.
v) Keeping Time for Distractions and Interruptions
Time scheduling for a day should not be unduly tight. At least one hour should be left each day for taking up unplanned and unexpected tasks. This hour can also be used for collaborating with colleagues and doing something new and creative. No doubt, efforts should be made to reduce distractions as much as possible.
vi) Reducing Stress
Stress management and time management go hand in hand. A stress-free mind can help in getting the best results out of the time spent. Likewise, sound time management can help in controlling stress. This way, we are able to meet deadlines and conduct our tasks more efficiently. Successful people know that they can’t be on the clock 24/7. They need time away to distress, recharge and focus. One should have time for reading, writing, learning something new, socialise and build one’s network.
vii) Less re-work
When an administrator is well organised, focused and efficient, s/he would not make many mistakes and the chances of forgetting important items get minimised. As Bill Gates observes, “Don’t make the same decision twice.
Spend time and thought to make a solid decision the first time so that you don’t revisit the issue unnecessarily”. Right decisions are not made under pressure. When an administrator is not pressurised for time, s/he can reflect, analyse the available information and thus, make the best decision possible.
viii) Effective Delegation and Monitoring
Selecting the best people in one’s work-team and delegating to them important tasks is a great time-saver. In fact, people with specialised talent can do things much better than done by generalists who are over-burdened with sundry
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work. However, the leader of the team will have to monitor the work of all the personnel and guide them to excel in their performance.
ix) Developing reputation
A good administrator is punctual, meets deadlines, fulfills her/his promises and thus, is respected as a reliable person. There is predictability about her/him and hence, s/he gains a reputation, which helps her/him in being considerably successful.
x) 80/20’s rule
As has been explained in unit 9, the successful people employ the Pareto Principle (i.e. the 80/20 rule). As per this rule, 20 percent of actions produce 80 percent of results, while the rest of the 80 percent time accounts for only 20 percent of results. Accordingly, the successful people focus on the top 20 percent activities that will produce 80 percent results, and delegate the rest to the right persons in the Organisation.
The above is not an exhaustive list of time management practices employed by successful administrators or managers. In fact, all techniques of effective time management lead to success. Each executive can devise his or her own strategy for managing time, which may lead to successful outcomes. Time teaches everyone to improve and excel.