Tick, tick, tick…that’s your day slipping away!

Time is perhaps the most predictable thing in our lives.  It comes and goes at the same rate every single day.  Time is also probably the most fair thing in our lives.  Each living person on the planet gets the same amount of time each day – 24 hours, no more, no less.

Why, then, is time management such an issue for most people.  Alas, it isn’t the time that needs managing, it’s the people.  If we can’t control the supply of time or the rate at which it burns, we must control our choices about how we use time. 

The biggest complaint regarding time management concerns interruptions.  You plan your day, and then the interruptions start.  Your family needs you, your staff needs you, your customers need you.  We fret over the interruptions, but we may actually be encouraging them.  It is nice to be needed, after all.  If no one needed us, they wouldn’t have to interrupt us, would they? 

Here are some behaviors that will minimize interruptions.  How many of them do you exhibit?

1. Give clear instructions when assigning work.  Think about it from the recipient’s point of view.  Don’t assume they know things that you know.  You can gauge your effectiveness by how often they have to interrupt you for more information.
2. Empower others to handle tasks.  Set clear guidelines about when you need to get involved.  In some cases, this may be a dollar amount.  In others, you may empower based on time.  Train employees, family members, and even customers about what they can handle without you. 
3. Teach others to solve problems.  When someone comes to you with a problem, don’t solve it for him.  Lead him through a thought process to determine possible courses of action.  Teach him ways to judge those options and predict consequences of each one.  He will become more confident, and you’ll be interrupted less often.
4. Close your door.  “Hide” for an hour a day.  Gather anything you’ll need to complete the tasks at hand.  Then inform everyone that you’re going in and you will be out in one hour.  Statistics show that you will accomplish three hours of work in that one hour.  Do not allow interruptions.  Reinforce your policy and your team will get used to it.  You’ll be glad you did.