Time management

A few weeks ago, I had a discussion with my practice manager, who told me that she is getting loads of managers telling her that they are stressed, under pressure, and do not have the time to do all of their work.

As project managers (PMs), we often find that meetings of one form or another occupy the major part of our days. The majority are those weekly recurring progress meetings. Then there are the occasional one-off's to deal with specific situations, and the periodic ones like interviews, appraisals etc. So how do I manage to do my job?

Constant re-prioritisation.

I get into the office early each day because it gives me time to plan and prioritise the tasks facing me for that day. There are times when I have a long to-do list of tasks on my to-do list, but a day jam-packed with meetings too. The key is to decide which items (meetings or tasks) get priority.

It's important to decide whether that one-off meeting about proposed changes to some process or another is more important than the publication of your Terms of Reference document, for example. If I need more time to get tasks done, I cancel or reschedule the meetings, or delegate them to someone else. Then, whenever a new item gets added, either to my diary or my to-do list, I re-prioritise. Focus on what is most necessary to keep your project (if that is your ultimate priority) on track.

Ever found that your to-do list gets too long? Me too. So I have come up with just 3 priority categories –

• Priority 1 items must be done NOW; they cannot wait.
• Priority 2 items must be done by close of business today. They cannot be deferred, but they can be delegated.
• Priority 3 items must be done within the next few days, usually because there are other items dependant on them
  

Anything that does not meet these criteria does not get assigned a priority at all; I will get around to them when I can.

Although I often find that at the end of a day, I still have items on my to-do list that have not been ticked off, the high-priority ones have generally always been done. I can always catch up tomorrow with what happened in that earlier meeting that I delegated to my tech lead.