Avalaunche - Time Management Tips Free

There’s no such thing as “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to strategies on time management.

Some of us are morning people; others are night-owls. Some are analytical; others are less detail-oriented. Some work in short bursts, while others need several hours of intense focus. This time management article recognizes that the key to success is to accept how you’re “wired” so you can leverage your strengths & manage your weaknesses.

Here are ten free time management tips, tricks & techniques I’ve picked up while working at billion-dollar firms, small businesses, and in my home office - - which of them will work for you?

1) Never Check Email in the Morning. Email has a nasty habit of distracting us from the things we need & want to get done; it’s all too easy for it to suck us into someone else’s agenda. When I discipline myself to log in at noon & again towards the end of the day, my productivity soars.

3) Take Charge. When I worked at ConAgra & Pepperidge Farm, my schedule was initially comandeered by assistants & co-workers who could check my Outlook calendar & add meetings to it at will. I quickly learned to set aside my own blocks of time (disguised as “Project Kilroy Meeting”, “Quarterly Review Session”, “NPD Update”, etc.) in order to better control my calendar.

4) Map First. Whenever I sit down to write, I do a quick, bare-bones mind-map. Having a rough outline is a time management strategy that shaves about a quarter of the time off any assignment.

5) The Minimalist List. Yodelling, sudoku, and highly-detailed time management systems- - none of these work for me. What does work is making a simple to-do list every day & prioritizing the top 2-3 things on it. If I can write it out the night before, like my friend Jack Godfrey does, all the better.

6) Dive into Dumpster Day. Some large companies set aside a day every year where regular work is stopped so employees can de-clutter & re-organize their offices. Hold your own dumpster day when other people are vacationing, like the Friday before a big nat’l holiday or the week between Christmas & New Year.

7) Keep Your Word. If I “promise” someone something, no matter how small, I can usually hold myself accountable and get it done by the time I've specified.

8) Up Your Downtime. I don’t believe in constant multi-tasking, but I do use my smartphone to read the news, catch up on emails, update my to-do list, make appointments, and listen to audiobooks whenever the opportunity arises. There are many "apps" that can help you implement these time management tips, free of charge.

9) Change The Scenery. When I’m in a mental rut, I move. When I worked in large companies, I’d sometimes grab an empty conference room. When I was at a smaller firm, I’d find a corner in a coffeeshop. Now, I’ll bring the laptop out to the deck or into the sunroom. I don’t know why it works- - it just does.

10) Break It Down. David Allen’s Getting Things Done approach reduces every project into small tasks. Broadly-defined projects languish, but when they’re broken down into bits & pieces, they can be checked off methodically. In the words of Lao Tzu: “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

I hope you’ll find a few of the tips, tricks & techniques in this time management article useful in your own life, both personally & professionally. If you've got some of your own strategies on time management to share, please add them to the comment section below.

Your Comments:

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Wayne Vohnoutka from Milwaukee, WI

My earlier comment about the 9/80 work schedule and having every other Friday off should have included a statement that it's similar to your Technique #2, Batching. I firmly believe that one of the thoughts behind the implementation of the 9/80 schedule was to allow employees to schedule routine appointments with bankers, doctors, therapists, etc. on a non-work day. Unfortunately, as you pointed out, it's a good idea that is being poorly executed.

Posted at 9:15:pm 10/21/10

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Marie from Atlanta, GA - USA

Ha, ha, ha- - you got me there Wayne, Speed Dial *is* emailed out in the morning! Okay, so we should all wait to check emails until noon with the notable exception of Tuesdays! In all seriousness, though, the way you incorporate a quick check of email into your daily ABC list seems like a smart way to work.

You bring up an interesting & frustrating observation, Wayne. Corporate leadership isn't just about coming up with a good idea and laying out a plan. It's also establishing and nurturing a culture where those plans can thrive. That's a challenge indeed.

Thanks much, Wayne!

Posted at 9:47:am 10/21/10

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Wayne Vohnoutka from Milwaukee, WI

I'm in the same camp as Tommy from Chapel Hill when it comes to checking e-mail in the morning. I don't get a lot of e-mail, and what I do get is quickly sorted into the "A,B,C" priority classes. I'm a morning person anyway, so this helps me refine my TO DO list for the day and focus on the top priority items.

A couple of years ago, our company implemented a "9-day, 80 hour" work schedule that was supposed to give us every other Friday off, and we were encouraged to schedule personal appointments and such on those off Fridays. It's frustrating to see how this "benefit" is abused, with way too many of our "off Fridays" being scheduled to meet (arbitrary) customer deadlines, which is in itself a symptom of poor time management, but on a larger scale.

Thanks for all of your insights and great ideas, Marie! I look forward to them each and every Tuesday when I check my e-mail in the morning!

Posted at 9:50:am 10/20/10

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Marie from Atlanta, GA - USA

Tommy, thanks for your comment! I think you've hit on one of the great underlying issues of time management: what are we trying to do all this "stuff" for, anyway? We try to cram more & more & more into each day instead of taking the time we "save" and investing it in something meaningful, like what you did at IBM & continue to do on your Fridays... to just take time out to THINK. We spend too much time "doing" and not enough time "being" reflective, thoughtful, and creative.

I'm really glad you posted your insights. Thank you!

Posted at 6:26:pm 10/19/10

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tommy from chapel hill

these are great, I could not imagine not checking in the email in the morning, but I get your point.

During my days at IBM, they came up with an idea called Think Friday, the premise, make every Friday a day to Think. Company wide it was an unwritten rule, do not schedule meetings on a Friday, unless absolutely necessary. I loved these meeting free days. I typically used this one day a week to catch up on reading, plan, or simply think about a current or new project. I still try and spend part of every friday doing this.

Posted at 10:45:am 10/19/10

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