Make Sure Time Is On Your Side

Camping Magazine, July, 2000 by Max Messmer

In business, it seems there is always too much to do and too little time to do it. As companies move at a rapid clip, employees are seeing the scope of their positions expand to keep pace. Accountants, in particular, are playing a larger, more strategic role in their clients' day-to-day operations. With these increased responsibilities comes the need for better time management. Fortunately, there are some creative approaches you can employ to optimize your busy schedule.

Work Smarter

Your objective should not be simply to do more in less time. Don't try to accomplish too many tasks at once or become so engrossed in smaller tasks that you lose sight of your long-term goals. Instead, focus on prioritizing your projects. Devoting time and energy to the most relevant projects -- those linked to department or business objectives--will help you make the best use of your time.

To gain more control over your schedule, conduct your own time-management audit. Try logging your activities each hour of the day for a week--it shouldn't take more than a few minutes per hour. Include everything from brainstorming sessions to reading your e-mail. After five days of this tracking, you should have a better idea of the time you spend on day-to-day tasks. The next step is to look for a connection between the importance of each activity and the time devoted to it. For example, if you spend half your day answering internal e-mails, you may not be making efficient use of your time. Here are some general questions to consider as you review your activity log:

* Am I able to devote sufficient time to important tasks?

* Do I consistently miss deadlines?

* Can lower-priority responsibilities be delegated?

* Can I group similar tasks for better efficiency and concentration?

Manage Your Time

Everyone needs a system to manage his or her time. Whether it's a traditional day planner or an electronic organizer, find something that works for you. Your objective is to put down in writing what you want to accomplish each day. Keep a master list of your tasks and rank them by priority ("a," "b" and "c" or something similar). This exercise in itself can help you better manage your workload.

At the beginning of each day, spend 10 or 15 minutes setting priorities. Ironically, structuring your day in this manner should actually give you more freedom. As the day progresses, take regular breaks to mentally rejuvenate. As little as five or ten minute breaks taken throughout the day can help you stay focused. Remember that people have different times during the day when they are most productive. If you're a morning person, for instance, tackle your most challenging tasks when you first arrive at the office.

Planning for Peak Periods

When you are extremely busy, let calls go to voicemail if possible. Consider returning all calls at one time for more efficiency. If you're working on a project that requires strict concentration, find a place where you can work without interruption.

If you already have too much to do and are asked to take on one more "a-list" task, you may want to talk to one of your firm's partners about reprioritizing. Similarly, if a colleague asks you to help out with a project and you're already overloaded, politely defer, offering your assistance at a later date. Then be sure to keep the promise.

As you plan a new project, build extra time into your schedule and consider past experiences. For example, if you constantly run late, you may be underestimating the time needed to accomplish the task.

Avoid Procrastination

It's relatively easy to put off things you view as unpleasant, cumbersome or overly routine. Procrastinating not only adds pressure when you finally do sit down to complete the project, it also affects the people with whom you work. Here are some tactics to help you reign in a tendency to procrastinate:

Calculate the Cost of Putting Things Off: Consider how much time you spent not doing the task and ask yourself if you could have accomplished the activity in the time you used avoiding it.

See the "Smaller Picture": If you break a big project into smaller, more manageable parts, it won't seem so overwhelming.

Correct Bad Habits: Consider all the things you intended to accomplish over the past few months, but didn't. Did you strain a work relationship by not delivering a project on time? Did you end up missing important events? If so, learn from your mistakes to better manage your efforts next time.

Perfectionists Beware

Striving for perfection is a common hazard for top performers. While it's okay to have high standards for yourself, avoid going overboard. Unrealistic goals can become obstacles and sources of frustration for both you and those with whom you work. Instead, consider your ideal goal if you had unlimited time and resources for a project. Then, adjust it to meet the expectations you and everyone involved in the project can reasonably accept. This will enable you to maintain quality work without setting yourself up for certain failure by overcommitting.