Nov
14
2013
Where does the time go??
By Jess Toms, Office Manager at the Centre.
Hi, I’m Jess and I am the Office Manager at the Centre.
I am responsible for the building, our equipment, our published books, course materials and supporting the Centre’s delivery team.
I often work on a number of time-sensitive projects that have to take priority over my office management duties; this could be anything from making-up materials for a last-minute booking to fixing a laptop that has decided to stop working.
Because my role is so varied and I feel like I can’t say NO to projects or helping other staff members, I would often feel like I was chasing my tail and get frustrated if projects were being put on hold.
With the guidance of my line manager Sally Pearman, we agreed that I would undertake a time management exercise for a week and present this to the delivery team on our staff day. This way we could see how my time is normally spent and if there was anything I could do differently. Here’s what I did and what the outcomes have been. It was definitely a surprise to me and something a lot of busy people could benefit from doing!
Time management exercise:
- For one full week I recorded everything I did during the day, this included stopping for lunch and toilet breaks. This exercise will only work if you are 100% honest. Therefore, I suggest that you use the stop watch on your phone - stop this every time you get taken away from the task you are working on and then restart it when you can get back to it.
- Once you have documented your time, summarise the information from your time spent on each activity. You will be surprised that something you, or your team, thought was a quick task actually takes up more of your time than you realise.
- Add the information on to a PowerPoint or spreadsheet and present it to your team. They will be amazed with the outcome!
This exercise showed me how much I was getting done in a day and how I wasn’t scheduling my time properly. Being honest with yourself and your team is a good way to start as they may have no idea how much work you’re juggling.
I was really shocked that making up the training materials for one event was taking nearly a full hour. This really helped when planning my work and how many parcels I could fit into one day.
Remember, it’s ok to say no. If your day is fully-packed then feel able and happy to say, “no, but I can add it to the following weeks tasks”. If you become more assertive and realistic with your time your working relationships will improve, you will feel less stressed and you will gain more confidence.
If, like me, you are a manager who has to juggle a lot of different tasks, I would highly recommend that you do this exercise. It will help you put things into perspective and be less harsh on yourself. Go on, give it a go!
Albert Einstein once said: The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
Jess’ top tips for time management
Work out your goals
Work out what you want to do, prioritise and work toward what you want to get done. For me, clients and events always have to come first.
Make a list
List making is one of the best time management tools. Try not to have more then ten ‘to do’ items on your list and cross them out once they have been done. I keep mine on a wall planner so all my colleagues know where I have got to with my projects list.
Take a lunch break
A 30 minute break away from your desk will help you relax and think about something other than work. I love watching an episode of my favourite TV show or going to the park on Old Street (especially if the sun is out!).
Plan and prioritise
A good idea, and what we do here at the Centre, is to sit down with your team every Friday. We work out what they need me to do for the week ahead. If you don’t have this option, ask them to email you what they need you to do, then you can plan your time around this. Then send everyone an email with what you’ll be up to during the week.
Projects and tasks
If you have to juggle a number of projects and tasks, put up a chalkboard/white board or some magic paper and put your tasks up for everyone to see. Include those for this week, next week and then others for when it’s quiet.
A good form of practise is to try and live by the simple time management rules:
- Urgent and important
- Not urgent but important
- Urgent but not important
- Neither urgent or important
If it’s not important or urgent, should you be doing it?!
Being assertive
Remember no means no. If you don’t have the hours in the day to do something, speak up and be firm. Don’t apologise, you work hard and people will respect that you’re being honest.
Prepare the night before
Take time in the evening to plan for the following day. Avoid a last minute scramble or the risk of forgetting something critical. This can include things like preparing your pack-lunch so you have enough brain-food to keep you going all day.
Emails
Check your emails three times a day: morning, lunch time and late afternoon. Switch off email pop-ups and reminders until you have completed your task, this way you will be less likely to check them.
Interruptions and distractions
These are a natural part of any workplace. How big of a disturbance they create is often a consequence of how you handle them. You can avoid distractions by removing yourself from situations that divert your attention.
This also applies to phones — put them out of your sight. Here at the Centre we have people coming into the office all day. If we are working on something that needs a lot of concentration we put on a pair of big headphones so it shows that we can’t be disturbed at that time.
Jess Toms is the Centre's Office Manager. She is responsible for all aspects of office management at the Centre including administrative tasks supporting the rest of the team, and the preparation of all materials for forthcoming training courses.
