Effective time management isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being smart. And when it comes to ‘smart’, it’s not about having a ‘To Do list’ or a great diary. It’s about making the most of ALL of your time, especially the little bits of time (your “sound bytes” of time), that we all have but which most of us don’t always harness.
When I started out as a lawyer in my early twenties, one of the wise old partners at the firm took me under his wing, coaching me on how to most effectively bill my clients. Lawyers work on 6 minute blocks of time, so, for example, if I worked a solid hour for one client I could record 10 billable units on my time sheet. Great for making my weekly ‘time and billable units budget’ and excellent for the firm. But the partner’s advice wasn’t about the solid blocks of time – anyone who has a truck load of work to do can sit for an hour or two at a time and wrack up blocks of units. No, his advice was about capturing all of the little ‘sound bytes’ of time which escaped in to the ether each day.
His advice? “Even if you are thinking about a client when you are in the bathroom you should record that as a billable unit, or more, depending on how long you are in there…“
In retrospect, while being a little unsavoury, it was sage advice. What he really meant was that we should all get in to the habit of using ALL of our time well.
Bathrooms aside, here are my top 5 smart uses of your ‘sound bytes’ of time:
- On a plane – I wrote this post sitting in Seat 44A bound for Sydney. I could have written this post yesterday, but that would have taken up valuable time I could use to do something else. So I scheduled my time on the plane to write. I am my own captive audience. No access to my phone. No access to the internet. No chores to distract me.
- In the car – I am not a big fan of taking or making work calls in the car. But I am a fan of multi tasking. Use your time travelling to and from work, and especially for longer drives, to listen to your favourite business podcasts. Fill your head with new ideas and relieve the boredom of being stuck in the traffic.
- On the train – as above – but with the ability to make notes on the go.
- Between appointments – if you find yourself with 10 minutes to spare when a meeting ends early, or even half an hour to spare when a meeting is cancelled at the last minute, use the time well. Keep a list of the people in your network that you want to stay in touch with, but often feel too busy to see. When you find yourself with 10 minutes to spare, review your list, make a call and stay in touch. You don’t need a reason to call. A simple ‘I had ten minutes to spare and I found myself thinking of you – how have you been?’ is perfectly acceptable. It’s a great way to network and a great use of all of your time.
- Switch off distractions This is a better use of your time if you catch yourself procrastinating, taking a sneaky look at facebook or checking your emails each time you hear a ‘ping’. Mute your computer notifications, put your phone on silent and close your door. Focus on your to do list and set your alarm for 1 hour of power.
How do you use your sound bytes of time?