Time Management

Time.

Why do we hate it so much? We spend it  indiscriminately. We waste it. Sometimes, we even try to kill it. Then when we run out of it, we complain there’s not enough of it to go around. It’s the most precious resource we have. With time, new relationships can be forged from the ashes of old ones. Entire fortunes can be made, lost and made again. 

Time. We don’t get it back. Ever.

So what are some ways to manage this most valuable of resources? 

Be proactive. You’re rarely confronted with a full-blown crisis that erupts out of nowhere. Almost every problem starts small. By anticipating them, you can deal with them with a much smaller amount of effort. Examine your processes and look for problem spots, even if they seem inconsequential. What may take you only a few minutes to solve now, can frequently take hours or days to solve later. It may seem like a hassle to replace a leaky water cooler sitting near the electrical cabinet, but that’s nothing compared to the nightmare of your company server taking one last water-logged breath and then dying. 

Be compartmentalized. Often, the best way to approach a large task is to divide it into manageable chunks. What seems like a huge block of work is frequently nothing more than a set of small blocks stacked together. Taking things in small steps can save you time, since you’re keeping things moving rather than flailing around trying to figure out how you will tackle everything at once. Runners often say they don’t run an entire 26-mile race. Instead, they run a one-mile race 26 times. 

Be organized. It often sounds like a dirty word, but organization can save you both time and stress. Simply put: know where it is and how to quickly get to it. Make it easy for both yourself and for others. When they're buried under sixteen different layers of subfolders, you can hardly blame your employee if he takes twenty minutes trying to find the annual expense report documents. Will you even remember where they are next year?

Time is an investment. Make sure it’s one that pays off for you.