Time is the one resource you can’t get more of – how carefully do you spend it? It’s also the great leveller. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and the same 60 minutes in an hour so why does it feel like some people can just do more than others?
Maybe it’s because those people are managing Task rather than trying to manage Time.
This approach also has other benefits – it’s way easier and it feels better too. Try to manage Time and it will feel like time is running away with you. You’ll feel like you’re in a current you can’t swim out of. Manage your tasks effectively and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment, a sense that everything is possible and that there’s enough time to do anything that’s important to you.
So what’s the difference? Well traditional time management wisdom tells us to get more efficient, wake up earlier, cut things short, work harder and cram as much into every waking hour as possible. Task management asks us to make choices, be selective and prioritise. It also asks us to evaluate what’s worthy of spending our most precious resource to accomplish. Instead of trying to fit everything in, it demands you allocate the right resource at the right time and choose effectiveness alongside efficiency.
The 5 Fundamental Rules of Task Management
Where then do we start? Let’s pick up on 5 fundamental rules of Task management for business owners, MD’s and senior leadership teams.
- Choose what gets done based on the value of the outcome.
- Only do what only you can do.
- Allocate tasks to the lowest level of skill that can do them competently.
- Train and develop your teams to do the same.
- Refocus regularly
Rule 1). Choose what gets done based on the value of the outcome.
So starting with rule 1. Ask yourself these questions :
- If the activity you are considering is done well by you or by someone else will it get you closer to achieving your strategic goals? Yes? Keep it on the list. No? Ask yourself question 2.
- Will not doing the activity (or having someone else do it) hinder progress to your strategic goals? Yes? Keep it on the list. No? Put it on the Don’t Do list (you really do need one of these).
Rule 2). Only do what only you can do.
Rule 2 encourages you to think about priorities. Are you doing things that others in the business could be doing (possibly better than you)? For each thing you choose to do that someone else could do instead, you actively say “no” to doing something that only you can do, hence that thing never gets done. If you are the leader of a thriving business, what effect is that going to have on the future of everyone in the company? Allied to this is the idea that if you’re the only one in the business that can do a certain business critical task then you’re at risk of at best constraining the business and at worst crippling it.
Rule 3). Allocate tasks to the lowest level of skill that can do them competently.
Rule 3 is a continuation of Rule 2. If you’re not going to do the task in Rule 2, who should do it? Bear in mind applying rule 1 has already dictated that this is a critical task. The answer to that is to put it with the individual or team with the lowest skill level that can do the job competently. You wouldn’t want your chief engineer to spend their time (their most precious resource) on screwing a sign onto a door for example. But this happens multiple times a day in many businesses. Have a think. Ever seen your head of finance trying to unjam the photocopier? Or chase expense forms? Likewise you can go too far with this and have your admin apprentice trying to complete a technical drawing – remember it’s the lowest skill level that can do the job well.
Rule 4). Train and develop your teams to do the same.
When you look critically at business tasks, how many could be stopped or not started and how many make no difference at all to the outcome for the business? Rule 4 focuses on helping your teams make this assessment and taking action just as you do for your own work in Rules 1 – 3. To apply this rule effectively team training is critical.
Rule 5). Refocus regularly
Finally Rule 5 encourages you and your teams to review tasks regularly. What can be stopped? What can be systemised? What can be done by a lower skill level? It’s amazing how quickly pointless tasks accumulate (think about your loft or your garage and how quickly they get full of “useful” stuff you never touch again until it’s time to throw it away).
Resources
Here are some resources and tools you can use and train your teams to use to help you get hold of task management.
Checking out Urgent vs Important analysis which comes from Steven Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a good place to pick up prioritisation tools. Within ActionCOACH we use a tool called the Time Target to help with this too.
Default diaries make sure that the most important tasks are prioritised and that you have enough resource allocated to them. As an aside to this I seriously recommend watching Steven Covey’s Big Rocks clip on YouTube (4 mins).
Delegation and situational leadership tools help your senior leaders and managers get good at putting tasks with the right teams or individuals in a way that can be done effectively. Good resources for this are The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey book and some of the online Situational Leadership resources (both published by Ken Blanchard).
Ultimately though, this is a different way of thinking. One which can become part of company culture if you decide to learn, train and embed it well. Once you eliminate the waste (as you would in any process) people enjoy their work more, do better work and enjoy working for you more. They also deliver a better result for your customers and your business. And if this leads to reduced stress, pressure and frustration for you too … ?
We work with business owners and MD’s to help gain clarity on their 2024 goals and beyond. If you’re struggling with where to start, why not schedule a conversation with us? It’s free and at the very least you’ll come away with a couple of ideas to help you move forward.
Alternatively come along to one of our upcoming business masterclasses or workshops – Upcoming Events
