Where Did The Time Go?

20% of our time produces 80% of our results thus implying that we are typically highly productive for only 20% of our time.
We went through our fall Daylight Savings Time to change our clocks this month. This ‘Fall back’ change is always my personal favorite because I gain an extra hours’ sleep and this year, the change got me thinking about time and how we manage it.
Time Management is one of those skills which is often spoken of in a way that implies that by applying a couple of easy tips you will magically free up several hours in your day and will become far more productive in your work than previously imagined.
Unfortunately, the reality is that this is not the case for the majority of us.
Therefore, we would like to propose a different approach to Time Management, one that understands the 80/20 phenomenon and which takes the idea of ‘enlightened leadership’ into consideration.
Let’s begin with the 80/20 rule which is the Pareto principle. This principle states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (aka the law of the Vital Few and the principle of Factor Sparcity). If we apply this to our time, it means that 20% of our time produces 80% of our results thus implying that we are typically highly productive for only 20% of our time.
What are the implications if this is indeed the case?
The first would be to understand what time of day produces the highest amount of concentration and productivity. Many highly respected professionals claim that the best time for getting things done or for work which requires concentration, is in the morning. This may be true for some or even the majority, however we recommend taking a week to track your personal work rhythm to determine what time of day (or evening) you produce 80% of your results.
Some tools to consider for doing this are…
1. Time Motion Study – understanding where you time is currently being spent is the first step to finding ways to optimize your schedule.
2. Time tracking software such as Toggl – there are lots of great tools to automate your time tracking in case you don’t have time to track your time 😊
3. Gantt Chart – a good tool for comparing your work effort and impact vs other tasks that produce little value in comparison to their complexity and effort.
The second consideration would be to approach time management from an Enlightened Leadership perspective.
An ‘Enlighted Leader’ is someone who exhibits high emotional intelligence, compassion and focus. They also value the people they work with and demonstrate it by empowering others, by the way they communicate and how they interact with everyone.
Viewing your time through this lens can help to put your various activities into perspective – how they impact the organization, their part in moving the strategic plan forward, how your activities impact your team and how your time impacts the internal supply chain of your organization.
A few favorite tools for understanding how my time should be prioritized are
1. Balanced scorecard – this reporting tool is great for helping to understand how my specific activities are tied into the Strategic Plan and how they move the strategy forward
2. SIPOC – this tool is often applied to external suppliers and customers however can easily be used to understand who I need to receive information/activities from in order to complete my work and who is waiting on information/activities from me to finish their work.
3. Business Model Canvas – this tool provides a summary view of the entire organization which allows me to see where my specific responsibilities impact the organization.
The bottom line is that there isn’t a quick fix or 3-step recipe for managing time which works for everyone.
Therefore, we recommend analyzing your personal work rhythms, identifying when you have the greatest concentration and productivity, schedule the 20% of work that produces 80% of your results during those peak times and doing all of this through the lens of enlightened leadership.
