Tweet

Time Management & Productivity: Can You Really Manage Time?

Written by: Alex Revai

Article Overview: Time Management is an oxymoron. We can't manage time. Time moves at a relentless, constant pace. Productivity and time are closely related. If time can't be managed, how do we increase productivity? This article offers a radically different view of "time management".

Time Management & Productivity: Can You Really Manage Time?

Let's get something straight: there is no such thing as "time management". You can't manage time. Time is relentless, moving at its set pace. It just ticks away, no matter what you do. Or don't do. We all have 24 hours in a day. Except, perhaps, in the Hungarian army, where the DAY consists of 24 hours...and you still have the whole NIGHT. (Hahaha.)

So why is it then, that when we talk about productivity, time management is one of the first thing that pops up? The answer is simple:

Mathematically, productivity is defined as Work done over Time. P = W/T

From the equation it follows that in order to increase productivity we must reduce the time required to do the work. I.e.: we must work faster. Faster and faster. Right? Maybe. But then, maybe not. Unfortunately, it seems that in our artificially accelerated, crazy world, the only way to improve productivity is to work at a neck-breaking speed. Often at speeds dictated by the speed of light (or electrons), as it were. Just think of email, cell phones and Blackberries.

But, there is a problem. The faster we work, the more mistakes we make. The faster we work, the less we think. The faster we work, the quicker we get tired. The faster we work, the more stressed we get. The result: productivity suffers. It actually decreases. We burn out. We get sick. Some of us, regrettably, even die prematurely. We live to work, but have no life.

The solution? Forget about the math. Or at least the formula for productivity. Stop the madness! Slow down and start managing that what you can. Let's redefine productivity in a more meaningful, personal way.

Productivity is: "Consistently completing actions that link to your business objectives" (Sally McGhee)

Once you start thinking about your work and your priorities, time management takes on a whole different meaning. Time Management will be transformed into effective Task Management. Tasks we can control. We can control what to do and when.

The "what?" will be driven by our business goals and the activities supporting them. The "when?" will, in turn, be driven by our priorities. It will all come together in our planning, our prioritizing, our realistic estimation of the time period required for the completion of tasks and our disciplined execution of what we put in our calendars.

Consider these steps:

1. Write down all your business (and personal) goals;
2. Collect all your tasks in a single location (ideally in the Task Pad of MS Outlook);
3. Prioritize all your tasks and activities;
4. Plan for tomorrow, tonight;
5. Write all chosen activities in your calendar, reflecting the realistic time estimate for their completion. Write tasks into your calendar only if you have the intention (and commitment) to do them.
6. Come tomorrow, let your calendar drive your day, not the interruptions. (Of course, if you must leave time for interruptions, your calendar must have the "free" spaces to accommodate them.) A calendar full of back-to-back commitments will inevitably lead to incomplete tasks, missed deadlines and frustration. Reality must rule! If a task takes 2 hours of your undivided attention, you can't "wish it" to do in ½ an hour.

Will the above eliminate the time crunch? Well, maybe not all the time, but most of the time. Develop the habit of focusing on your priorities (value-generating activities). Learn to say no. Learn to ignore (or turn off) the sources of constant interruptions when you must focus on your task. The world won't come to an end if that email doesn't get immediate attention. It wasn't that long ago thatwhen someone wanted to get hold of you, they had to knock on your door or wait till you were off the phone.

Related Articles
  From Chaos To Control
  How to manage and motivate a team
  Managing a Telecommuter Successfully
  Article # 35 Managing Your Time When You Have None
  Monetize Lost Productivity

Article Tags: can you manage time, goal setting, peace of mind, planning, priorities, productivity, say no, time management, what is time



Related Forum Posts
No B.S. Time Management - A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
Your Intial Mistakes Business - Hi, When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those learnings have helped me time and again. Some of the mistakes I made were - i. Wrong Time Management ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct iv. Giving too much when it was not required...... I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow. Regards
Books that should be written - [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7] I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this. I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else. As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally. Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.
Re: Half of 2011 is gone - It's flying by so quickly! Still have plenty to do that I wanted to have done by now. Time to really step it up!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

What Type of Business Should I Start?

Google Panda and Your Search Engine Rankings

Emotional Intelligence in Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.