TIME MANAGEMENT IS PRIORITY MANAGEMENT

“Try not to do too many things at once. Know what you want, the number one thing today and tomorrow. Persevere and get it done.” – George Allen

Time cannot be managed. Alternatively, we can manage PRIORITIES (quality) and ENERGY (quantity) in order to achieve the highest results in the shortest amount of time – which is why people mistakenly call it time management.

PRIORITIES

Once you have your tasks in place, start prioritizing them based on the following:

1- Urgent – Important

Those tasks have the highest priority. They should be done right away. They’re usually short term tasks, e.g. dealing with a customer’s complaint. (Note: being stuck here on a daily basis for a long time creates what is called “firefighting syndrome.”)

2- Not urgent – Important

Those tasks come second. They should be planned out. They are long-term tasks, with bigger impact on the bottom line in the long run, e.g. redesign process x to increase revenue or decrease cost, building relationships.

3- Urgent – Not important

The best thing to do with those tasks is to delegate them (if you can of course), e.g. phone calls or emails from colleagues asking for help.

4- Not urgent – Not important

Those tasks are to be avoided. They’re time wasters, e.g. social media (not for work purposes), funny videos. (Note: it’s very useful to take 5–10 min break every 50–75 min; good for these tasks)

ENERGY

Once your tasks are prioritizing based on the above system, now it’s time to prioritize your tasks with each category, i.e. urgent-important, based on your energy.

This part is very personal to each one of us and requires understanding ourselves and paying attention to what drains us and what energizes us.

Start with the tasks that energize you first. You’ll finish then quicker and feel more energized.

If you start with what drains you first, it’ll take longer time and you’ll have less or no energy left to accomplish the rest of the tasks.

One last thing to add about priorities:

Juggling more than 3 priorities at the time means you’re on the verge of losing control. More than 5 priorities, you’ve already lost control over your schedule.