5 Time Management Techniques To Keep You Sane.

With business picking back up, life has become quite hectic. I don’t know that it is ever slow, but these past few weeks conjure images of trying to force 20 gallons of water a minute through a drinking straw come to mind. The rampant activity is both welcome and daunting, given I care both for my customers and quality of work being produced.

As with any project, however, I have yet to see where one of the three finite aspects of a project does not suffer to some degree – those being schedule, budget, and quality. For instance, when schedule is compressed typically either quality is sacrificed or budget overruns are experienced; when budget is constrained quality is sacrificed or schedule is extended.

In my particular case, I become hyper-aware and focused upon time management techniques, like the time management matrix by Steven Covey (left). However, it really amazes me how long it takes my mind to kick into gear… almost as if it were in shock due to the sudden jolt of activity overload.

Bandwidth is a buzzword I have taken to lately, defined in technological terms as the speed of data transfer. In other words, how much information can you stuff down a pipe of a given size before you can no longer shove any more through that pipe?

A few key techniques I utilize (from the school of hard-knocks) are:

1. Create a Decision-Rubric: Priorities change often and come in many different categories. You need to understand your strategic (long-term) and tactical (daily) goals. This helps you craft a “decision-rubric”, allowing you to prioritize your decisions against the long-term goals and short-term emergencies. This also has the added benefit of helping you decide which projects and tasks to undertake and on which ones to pass.
2. Keep communication channels open: Open dialogue is key to helping you, your teams, and your customers stay current on what you are working on. For high-capacity producers and performers, lots of communication is needed. For those who have bosses or teams that don’t understand this or don’t care, you will find this adds a great deal to your stress levels.
3. List realistic goals to complete for the day: I hate lists. However, I use daily lists of realistically achievable goals to keep me focused. This is not to say my list doesn’t change throughout the day, but at least I know I will have something to do for tomorrow. Items requiring a hard deadline stay at the top of my list.
4. Always assign next steps: It’s critical that you understand each tasks very next step, GTD-style. Without this key ingredient to your project management tool bag, you will often flounder as you attempt to find footing on uneven ground. The added benefit is your monumental meal become manageable bites.
5. Follow-Up: Follow-up if you complete your assignment, if you are waiting on something or someone, and especially if you aren’t going to make your deadline. People appreciate you completing your work, but are usually very sympathetic if you are truly busy and let them know.

These are just five techniques I leverage in an attempt to keep me sane. I am not always 100% successful, but it serves me well in the end. As for you, what tools or techniques do you employ to help you manage your time?

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.