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TIME, TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN

30/09/2020 23:31:00 BY CHRIS MORGAN

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Your time belongs to you. None of my business. If, however, you are like me and need, periodically, to review your time management skills, then let’s share a few thoughts.

As the saying goes – time and tide wait for no man. Or woman. Punctuality is only one, but perhaps the most publicly conspicuous, aspect of time management. In some countries there is almost a culture of relaxation about time-keeping! But in the Far East, punctuality is strictly observed and in one country, the joke goes that if you arrive late it is entirely because ‘you have a cheap watch’.

Are you what we might call a stickler for time? In other words, obsessive about punctuality? And highly critical of others who are a minute late? Or are you someone who really couldn’t care less about getting anywhere or doing anything on time? Late for everything, including funerals, with your own the only one you’ll ever make on time. If you fit one of those extreme categories, I would suggest that, to be a tolerable member of society, you should aim for some middle ground.

Good time management has far broader implications. It enables you to work smarter, getting more done in less time, respecting the prioritisation of personal activities. Failing to manage your time limits your effectiveness and causes stress. Focused, pragmatic planning is at the root of good time management. Time plans for work to be undertaken should always be SMART - Specific, Meaningful, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

When planning, there should be a distinction between work and leisure time. But the extent of that may not be as great as one might imagine. Identifying activities to be carried out, with a time target, is valuable in either setting. What would surely differ is the degree of precision and discipline. At your workplace you might allocate time to a piece of work and very strictly move on when your phone alarm indicates that the next activity beckons. You wouldn’t be too popular if you applied that with family at the weekend. “The two hours I allocated is finished, dear. I’m sorry we will miss young Sabelo’s 100 metre final race, but I’ve allocated the next hour to cutting the grass.” Definitely not. Nevertheless, the prioritisation of activities and allocation of time for each is an excellent discipline. For this, the TMQ (Time Management Quadrant) is extremely useful, informing a time-bound work plan:

Quadrant 1: important tasks to be done immediately.

Quadrant 2: important outputs/strategies needed in medium to long-term.

Quadrant 3: not especially important tasks but ones with pressure (from the boss or the wife!) to do it now.

Quadrant 4: activities of little value, but can be done when time permits.

The TMQ restrains us when we embark on replacing the washer for a lightly dripping tap (quadrant 2) ahead of fixing the roof leak (quadrant 1) because the former is easier to get organised. The TMQ approach is useful for both work and leisure because there is rarely any time in our adult lives when there are no tasks that have to be carried out. Except, perhaps when you’re on holiday. And that’s one pretty good reason for going on holiday. Even then, it’s wise to plan the day, not least to avoid the wastage of time and opportunities. “Why did we spend so much time getting a battery for your iPad when we could have gone to that fun park?”

Delegation is a function that can save a lot of time, and divert you to activities more appropriate to your skills. Horses for courses. You don’t draw up a complex contract yourself. You use a lawyer. You don’t repair the power system in your house unless you’re crazy … I mean, unless you’re an experienced electrician. Delegation requires supervision but is frequently a more efficient use of your time, freeing you for more appropriate tasks. Or a game of golf, excessive time will be spent in meetings where the agenda is poorly designed.

Or the chairperson is unable to bring discussion to conclusion in a well-controlled, productive manner. At the very core of efficiency in meetings is the manner in which time is managed – enabling the opportunity for all to contribute to discussion, while limiting the talking time of the excessively verbose participants. Time wasted has a real and opportunity cost. Those of us moving into the twilight years can’t race around getting 60 seconds from every minute like the old days. One quite useful time-saving tip for my (elderly) contemporaries is – when you bend down to pick up something you inadvertently dropped, always check what else you can get done while you’re down there. And don’t worry about a little procrastination. It does leave something to look forward to tomorrow.