Time Management Plan - TMP

Do you have enough time to get your job done? Do you plan your day, week, month, quarter, and year? Or is your time, or lack of it, controlling you?

In my recruiting practice, I see evidence all over the place that managers, like myself, aren't planning effectively. I send executive resumes to senior managers and quite often don't hear back from them until the really good candidates are already hired by their competitor. It is almost as frustrating as a hiring manager nit-picking a resume to death and ultimately not even talking to a really great candidate. But they are specific issues and pet peeves of my own.

Our time is an asset that belongs to us that we often let other people and/or circumstances control. Think about these common scenarios. How often do you send an email to a subordinate that is answered within a minute or two of you clicking on the send button? How often do you find yourself being controlled by the telephone, email, or people coming into your office to "talk?"

Last evening my son called me to tell me that he was listening to Howard Stern a few days earlier, and that Howard reminded him of me. I braced for the answer of how that possibly could be. He said that Howard was talking about time managment that he learned from Covey/Franklin Planner. He said, dad, "he sounded just like you several years ago."

Here's what he meant. I preached for several years about all of my direct reports having their own TMP, and actually made them submit one to me. What Howard learned, I learned several years ago. You need to manage your time: First set a time to read your email, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. Let me assure you that you will be tempted to sneek looks at it between times. Don't give in. You can also check at the end of the day if you wish. Do the same thing with phone calls that you can return. Set a time each day to return calls, again in the morning and afternoon. When someone calls before the time designated, ask them if you can call back betwee xtime and xtime and then do it. Do the same thing with your direct reports, unless an emergency (a real one) ask them to stay out of your office until the time allocated. When do you do all this planning. I do it first thing in the morning, others I know do it in the evening for the next day. I also do it for each week and the entire month.

My suggestion; try it for one month, give it an honest go. Avoid the temptations of not sticking with it, and see if you don't find even more time to available to get other things done. Once you master it, you will find the potential that time provides is considerably rewarding.

Like Howard, I've used a Franklin/Covey planer for just about 13 years. They are excellent tools, but not the only ones. The point is, you need a tool like them to work your TMP effectively but it doesn't have to be fancy or complicated. Good luck managing your time.


Glenn J. Forte, President
Collective Knowledge Advisors, LLC
517 E. Lancaster Avenue, Suite #402
Downingtown, PA 19335
ph. 610.269.7851
fx. 610.269.9852
email: gjofrte@ckallc.com