Suzi Finkelstein
TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO BECOMING A MORE EFFECTIVE LEADER!
TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO BECOMING A MORE EFFECTIVE LEADER!
Home » Time Management: Essential Skills for Success

Time Management: Essential Skills for Success

By Suzi Finkelsten
By Suzi Finkelsten

Executive/Leadership Coach, Facilitator, and Board Director.

Time management illustration for productivity and success

Table of Contents

Time Management:

Time is at a premium, so we need to manage it closely.

  • We need to go slow in order to speed up. By slowing down, we can be more effective and focused.
  • Multiskilling is a myth, our brain can’t manage 2 things at once, we `task shift’, we go from one task to the other and then back again. This is a waste of time and
    energy. When we don’t manage our time well when we are juggling.

What does time management mean?

  • Consciously allocating time to complete tasks.
  • When we manage time well, we can prioritise our tasks and then allocate the right amount of time needed to complete the most demanding tasks.
  • Managing time, rather than time managing you. When you manage time, you
    are in control. You are in the driver’s seat

Why time management is important?

  • If we aren’t managing our time, the important things aren’t getting done. Time management requires prioritising.
  • We can feel a sense of overwhelm when we don’t complete/achieve tasks. So time management is a key ingredient for wellbeing.
  • Time management leads to accountability, getting the right/important things done
  • When we say `yes’ to something, we are saying `no’ to something else. When we manage our time we are able to say “yes’ and take responsibility for the consequences.

Is time management a skill?

  • It is a skill that can be learnt, there are lots of tools to assist, but ultimately, we need to drill down and find out what is really going on.
  • Even if there are systemic challenges, such as not enough resources, or a reactionary environment, you can still build helpful practices to make the best use of the time available.

In my experience, time management is often a symptom of a more complex challenge. This is why, it’s not just about creating a process or a strategy, it’s an opportunity to step
back and assess work practices and motivation. It’s easy to do at a surface level, or an opportunity to do some bigger thinking.

By working with me as your executive coach, we can explore the patterns, what is currently working and what could be better. We can create new practices that fit your purpose and importantly we can check in and monitor the practices to ensure we are adapting them to increase effectiveness.