While we all have the same number of hours available to us, some just seem to manage their time better than others.
In this Series, My Non-profit Journey: What I Wish I Knew When I Started, eight leadership wishes shared by Sofia S Crisp with Your Outcomes Well are being explored. In this post she shares three daily habits to try to manage your time better every day. Time Management grids (Covey) used by ‘highly effective’ leaders are provided as well.
- Crisp is the Executive Director/Founder of Housing Consultants Group, Greensboro NC.
- This blog post will explore: Time Management
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Sofia Crisp:
Time management has now become the topic of entire training sessions in the non-profit world. The sad reality is that, in the Non-profit World, everybody is a multi-tasker, without enough hours in the day. We all do many jobs in an effort to stay open! I have prided myself in knowing that in my leadership role, I don’t ask anyone to do something which I haven’t already done myself first at least once. I’m familiar with the role, and the related tasks, that each of my employees holds. This role familiarity allows me to properly assign roles, which suit an employee’s gifts, and to multitask myself occasionally. In fact, at any given time, a non-profit leader may have to jump in and do that job again.
Because of the way many non-profits (including mine) are funded, reporting must be done. With every funding source comes a reporting requirement; reading a report, one can assess how the dollars provided were spent. Fulfilling this important requirement is a fairly time-consuming activity for many of us. I wish I knew when I started how much time doing these critical reports would require.
I’ve been leading a housing non-profit in Greensboro NC for over ten years.
- What daily habits have I adopted to help me manage my time?
First, the ability to re-prioritize. As a leader of an organization, planning and flexibility are the key. Every day is different. What you’d planned isn’t always what ends up as the priority when the day is over. And sometimes you don’t even know it until you walk in the door. Being able to think on your feet is invaluable.
Second, know the time of day you work best. I have to begin my day early. I’m a morning person and a morning thinker. I am at my best before 10am. If by chance you aren’t a Morning person like me, and you do your best work at Night, schedule time to be productive after hours. Allow time to be with your loved ones, so your ‘best thinking time’ doesn’t put you at risk of facing work-life imbalance.
Third, I have learned that the best way to avoid being overwhelmed is to make a list of what you want to accomplish the next day. Do this either before leaving work or at night. The next day do the thing you least want to do first. I say that because, as the day goes on and things and people and calls take you away from the list, you will unconsciously move that particular item to the bottom of the list. Surprise, surprise. At day’s end you won’t get to it. That becomes a procrastination problem, not a time management problem. That’s a topic for another post.
LEARN
1. Most non-profits generally start with a shoestring budget. So you have to be able to be whomever you need to be. At times this means being a Jack-of-all trades. To do this, a Leader needs to be a careful time manager.
2. Where funds are lacking time wasters are often abundant. Non-profits, unfortunately, often don’t have the latest technology and leading-edge tools to improve their workflows. The result: Completing required reports and tracking results become huge consumers of time.
- What affordable technologies can you take on to alleviate these time wasters?
3. Like you might tell your child, eat your vegetables. And if you’re smart you will tell them to eat their vegetables first. Why? Because if you don’t make them eat their vegetables first, then you will be hearing about how they are ‘too full and can’t eat anything else’. As Crisp touched on above, in discussing list making and procrastination: Do the thing you least want to do first.
GROW
A best selling Stephen R. Covey book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is a favorite resource for this issue. While published over 25 years ago, the principles are still very relevant today. Using a time management matrix, Covey guides readers on how to prioritize.
A short story best illustrates Covey’s central point:
“A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2” in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. “Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life.
The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else were lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.
If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.” Source: The Brefi Group (UK)
Time Management Matrices (Covey):
Each Quadrant has a distinct set of Activities (top matrix) and Results (bottom matrix) associated with it. The urgency and importance of a given activity determine what Quadrant it falls in.
- This principle evolves from the time-management guru of our lifetimes, period.
- For the best time management, Covey recommends Quadrant II.
Time Management
- Do you have time management strategies you’re particularly proud of?
A non-profit leader is constantly prioritizing and re-prioritizing. The opportunities to save time are abundant. Good time managers aren’t chronic procrastinators. They strive to save time, not waste it.
The journey of one non-profit leader, Sofia Crisp, continues next week.
(to be continued)
Your Outcomes Well
Photo credit (Hour glass): Alexander Boden/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Your Outcomes Well
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