Time Management Strategies For Project Managers - And Anyone Else

Of the resources available to a project manager to get a job done, the most precious resource is time. Not using your time wisely is almost a guarantee for project failure. Fortunately, you can learn to manage your time effectively by systematically applying a few basic time management strategies.

Time Management Strategy 1: Know how you spend your time

Just like someone getting ready to diet keeps a record of what they eat now, so they know where to begin cutting calories, you must know how your time is spent in a typical day to understand where time is being wasted. Keep an activity log that includes: how many phone calls you initiate and receive; how many emails; how much time is spent on status, planning, budgeting, supervising and meeting.

Time Management Strategy 2: Know where you get your data

I spend so much of my time getting data, understanding the implications to the project of the data collected, and applying that data to decision making. The data comes to me from so many disparate sources: emails, meetings, phone calls, hallway conversations, and even SMS. Knowing where you get data now will help you optimize future data collection to save time and improve effectiveness, especially in trying to narrow down the collection points (see below).

Time Management Strategy 3: Organize your data

Do you have hundreds of emails in your inbox? Is your desk littered with pieces of paper or your computer monitor covered with yellow sticky notes? You can waste many hours in the five minute increments you spend looking for the right piece of paper or email. It is essential that you develop a reference system to tag your disparate information bits for easy retrieval.

Time Management Strategy 4: Use the features of Microsoft Outlook to improve your organization

Outlook should be your primary collection point for incoming work and status information. Integrate Outlook with your reference system by using its folders and subfolders. You can use Outlook rules to automatically move email into the correct folders or color code email by category and action requirements. You can also use the Outlook task pad to place upcoming tasks or commitments onto your calendar. Outlook can even help you schedule meetings, invite participants, and track attendees.

Time Management Strategy 5: Learn the value of closed lists

Instead of maintaining an open to-do list that grows continuously and leaves you feeling as if you can never do it all and are never done, commit to using a closed list of tasks. A closed list is valuable because it ensures that you finish the day with a sense of accomplishment and it keeps you from jumping from one emerging fire to another. Make it a hard-and-fast rule to finish your closed list every day. When a new to-do comes in, place that task on the closed list for the following day or to a category named "below the line" for completing after the closed list; do not just add it to the current list.
Just using one of these strategies will result in a huge gain in time and unburdening the clutter in your mind. Unburdening the clutter in your mind will go a long way to restoring work - life balance.

By Rick Haywood