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Time Blocks
August 6, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Learning to stick to your schedule in a critical skill for the effective leader. You must monitor how well you maintain your schedule. You may need to make adjustments as you get started, but that is acceptable if your overriding goal is to control your time
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The effective leader must secure control over his or her own time. You must exercise both mental and physical command of your time if you want to be an effective leader in your organization. In our last post, we discussed tangible ways of establishing and retaining control of your time. In this post, we will cover ways to structure your time for more efficient use.
Establish Your Daily Routine
You must be the person who decides how to spend your time. Using your preferred time management system, block out time for your high-priority activities. Establish a daily and weekly routine. Create a printed version on your daily and weekly schedule illustrating the blocks of time.
- Staff Meetings
- Client Meetings
- Paperwork
- Communications
- Quiet Time
Then commit to maintaining your schedule. You must start and end your time blocks on time. If you have not completed the scheduled activity within the planned time, reschedule a new time to finish. You must maintain your schedule!
Time Block for Meetings
Meeting with your staff is a top priority. Block time for meetings is when you are available for this vital activity. You won't be available during your other scheduled blocks of time. Meetings need to start and stop on time, every time. Meetings should have a published agenda distributed at least 24 hours in advance.
Time Block for Clients
Meeting with clients represent the battle between competing schedules. You must make every effort to set client meetings on your time if you want to maintain your agenda. It isn't always possible, but when you make an effort to control the schedule, you'll soon find that it works more often than not.
Time Block for Paperwork
Paperwork time is not e-mail time. Paperwork time is reserved for reading and approving company paperwork that only you can accept.
Time Block for Communications
Throughout the day, your time comes under attack. Your team wants to talk to you. Your customers want to talk to you. You get e-mails. You get phone calls. Establishing blocks of time for these activities enhances your ability to control your time.
Create a time block for checking e-mails and returning telephone calls at the same time every day. Use your voice mail to inform callers when you will be checking messages and returning calls. If you have a daily routine, you won't have to change your voice mail message.
Put a printed copy of your schedule on your door and another on your desk. Give a copy of your plan to your assistant or the receptionist. Your staff will know what to tell callers. "Mr. Santee is in a meeting right now. He will be returning phone calls and e-mails between 11 and noon and then again from three to four. If you leave your name and number, I'll make sure he gets your message, or I can put you through to his voice mail."
Time Block for Quiet Time
You need time each day to assess the demands on your time and adjust accordingly. Your quiet time should be your most protected time because you need to make crucial decisions. You need quiet time to read or study an issue.
Stick to Your Schedule
Learning to stick to your schedule in a critical skill for the effective leader. You must monitor how well you maintain your schedule. You may need to make adjustments as you get started, but that is acceptable if your overriding goal is to control your time.
Next week, we will discuss how to make your meetings more productive.
In the meantime, post a response with one of your time management suggestions.
Talk to you soon.
Spike
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