Business executives who frequently find themselves juggling various tasks and commitments need to have strong time management skills. It is crucial for leaders to develop tactics that enhance production and free up more time
The members of the Forbes Business Council are professionals with a wealth of expertise coming up with strategies to boost output, save time, and make the most of their limited availability. The 18 of them listed below provide helpful advice on how to maintain a healthy work-life balance and regain three to five hours per week for busy executives.
Concentrate on the What, Why, and How
Prioritize projects that are crucial to your company’s “why” and concentrate on them. Participate in and add to the “what.” You should eliminate and assign the “how” as much as you can!
Make Modifications Gradually
Incremental modifications can help to have a good influence. Getting up 30 minutes earlier each day, for example, to split out wants in a time block catalog may be beneficial. Time blocking or recording where time is spent to readjust outcomes is a revelation that will free up time for delegation and prioritizing.
Make Time For Your Mind To Wander
Incorporate “mind-meandering hours” into your calendar. Senior executives are constantly shifting from task to task and choice to decision. Making difficult decisions and coming up with out-of-the-box solutions to problems necessitates a clear and clean mind. This only occurs if you allow it to wander without interruption or agenda. Some of my best judgments and insights have occurred during these meandering hours.
Agendas can be used to plan meeting times accordingly.
Only attend or organize meetings with agendas, and ensure that the meeting length is appropriate for the topic. People frequently choose 30- or 60-minute meetings when a shorter meeting would be more appropriate. End the meeting when the agenda is completed. Schedule coffee meetings if you wish to talk.
Cut back on your time by 80%
The quickest approach to increase your productivity is to set a goal of releasing 80% of your time. We are forcing ourselves to be brutal with our time when we do this. Usually, we are shocked at what we can actually delegate and what is a complete waste of time.
Hire An Assistant
I delegated scheduling to a helper. I was so afraid to let go of it, but once I did, it felt so liberating! I adore waking up and knowing that I have a successful day ahead of me. My helper is currently learning how to handle my email inbox. I’m afraid to stop, but I’m looking forward to the day when I only have a few emails to respond to in the morning.
Promote reading ahead of meetings
We recommend pre-readings to make the most of meetings and cut down on meeting time. By doing this, it is made sure that everyone has access to crucial information before the meeting. Meetings can then launch into a rich debate after any necessary explanations have been made. That saves a tone of time up front and improves the outcome of discussions. We experience the consequences when we don’t do this successfully.
Make Blank Days in the Calendar
Spend a day without any phone calls. The folks on your team should be aware that this is the day you don’t want to be interrupted, so block this day off on your calendar so that no one can schedule time with you. More creativity will come to you, and you’ll gain the chance to work on additional projects. I now consider today to be “No Call Friday,” which is Friday. It constantly seems like my busiest day.
Concentrate On Tasks Relevant To Your Job
Concentrate on the most important aspects of your job and delegate the rest to your colleagues. Give duties that are not crucial or strategic to others. When given the right leadership and direction, your team will rise to the occasion and take on new responsibilities. Trust your team and give them the authority to make decisions.
simplify your day
Make a schedule for the day and schedule time for strategic planning. While improvising a day’s worth of work or a week would undoubtedly keep you busy, it won’t advance you. To save time, substitute Loom videos for some meetings. As it has the same effect, read your emails in bunches as well.
Prioritize Acquiring Focus and Alignment
Alignment and focus are crucial components of effective time management, and objectives and key results (OKRs) are a good example of this. Because of this, the best way to save time is to examine your workday, identify the tasks that fall outside of those OKRs, and remove them from the plan. Meetings are a good example of this. To do so requires some mental effort.
Concentrate On Important Projects And Meetings
There is no magic formula because everyone works differently, but in general, using this tried-and-true method will increase your productivity: Attend only the most important meetings. Reduce meeting lengths to 30 minutes or less and give meeting results priority for success. Avoid the unnecessary introductions. Have your phone close by to ensure quick action. Don’t put off tasks because waiting makes things worse!
Assignment of Duties
Delegate. The biggest error that leaders make is trying to handle everything on their own because they believe they can do a better job. This cannot be scaled. You must develop the ability to assign tasks to others and set high standards.
Time Slots Throughout the Day
Making time can occasionally save time. I’ve blocked the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on my calendar for years. I read and do research in the morning to decide where to take our company. You can only think more, according to my coach, as there is nothing else you can do for your business. The afternoon is reserved for day’s end cleanup and debriefing. Most of the time, this habit prevents me from working late into the evening or on the weekend.
Make your surroundings reflect your work.
Give each activity a specific context, and devote the majority of your time to strategic and creative work. Put yourself in a quiet, distraction-free environment when doing creative work. Determine the combination of either people or resources you’ll need on hand for strategic work, and make sure the surroundings are stimulating enough to keep your energy up.
First, finish the tasks that cause procrastination.
Start your week and each day with the chores that are most likely to tempt you to procrastinate. You’d be astonished at how busy we make ourselves appear to be by putting off something unpleasant or tedious. You’ll gain time back and learn to stop putting things off.
Utilize Beneficial Tools
Make use of productivity and automation tools. Moreover, determine which tasks may be given to capable team members and give them the freedom to own them. Give them assignments that play to their abilities and be sure to be specific with your directions and expectations. This not only reduces your workload but also helps team members grow professionally and encourages cooperation.
During power hours, multitask
I nearly often combine several jobs to work in parallel using power hours. I might accompany my daughter to her figure skating practise and schedule a face-to-face meeting at a location where we can both prepare for sports and interact. I’ll pick up the groceries and listen to an audiobook on the way home. Power hours can be combined in numerous ways. The idea is to complete two to three parallel tasks at once.