It was around 7pm in the evening. I was sitting there with my boss discussing about a project. Then he said, “Did you notice, the only people in the office now are only the managers. You, me.”
Then I walked out of his office and took a quick look around and he was right. Heh.
And in John C. Maxwell’s book The 360 Leader, it somehow echoed the same, “Time management issues are especially tough for people in the middle. Leaders at the top can delegate. Workers at the bottom usually punch a time clock.”
Anyways, what my boss said to me about how we managers always work late, but not others, did bothered me. How can I manage my time better and be productive the same? These are some random thoughts of tricks I do:
1. Master the formulas in MSExcel…. my job, I have to deal with a lot of data in manual reports. So I spend time polishing my MSExcel skills to make my job easier in reporting and analyzing.
2. Invest in hardware… Don’t underestimate the time you can save by having a good mouse and a good number keypad. They increase my clicking and numbers typing skills so fast that it does make a difference.
3. Invest in software… I do like a nice looking powerpoint or an EDM. So I bought templates to ease my life instead of spending time designing them. But if you want to save a buck, there are a lot of free ones available online too. You just need to spend more time looking for it (which I don’t have actually).
4. I spend time teaching… I do. Because not all things I must do myself. But like most managers, for me to delegate, I must first trust. So I invest my time teaching my subordinates what is required to be done so in the future I can delegate with ease.
5. I negotiate my timelines… Because honestly I don’t want to kill myself for the company. If I can’t make it on time, I can’t. So I always negotiate with boss to buy time so I don’t end up hanging myself at the end of the day trying to chase deadlines.
6. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN! I can’t emphasize this enough. A lot of people miss this because they are always in a hurry. Have a checklist. Always have checkpoints to make sure all is in order. Otherwise we will end up all haywire and spend more time fixing.
I don’t have to tell you that time is precious. We all know that. Every minute counts. Every second counts. It’s just a question of what we are doing with it, right?
And remember the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin, “Lost time is never found again.” So we better keep it well.
Bimbo
