Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
I have my own processes for managing my time. Many of my team and co-workers are struggling with managing their time. They constantly complain about so busy, they cannot seem to set priorities on their own, and they struggle with completing their tasks without working overtime. I feel that many re so caught up in the feeling that they are so busy and spend a lot of time complaining about how much work they have without actually doing the work.
I am looking for resources that will help me help them learn how to mange their time better. I have some ideas, but want to know how others may deal with this issue and any training materials that may support me. Saving Changes...
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Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
I suggest you first determine why each person can't manage his or her time, since the reason differs from person to person. For example, Person A might be a bit of a pushover, and everyone dumps their work onto him; Person B might be tasked by two or more supervisors who constantly give her conflicting work priorities, and Person C might intentionally not do work, but walk around lamenting how busy he is to create the impression that he is busy.
I would have a quick discussion with each individual to find out the reason for his or her time management issues. Straightening out the issues of Person A and Person B will be pretty straightforward, leaving you time to deal with the several Persons C I suspect are in your workplace. Saving Changes...
HBR had a few good articles recently on the benefits of timeboxing. You could share those links and also help them prioritize with a simple urgent vs. important matrix.
Indeed, time management is difficult and even more complex in dynamic team environment. Determining productivity styles enables better understanding of the working styles of yourself and other individuals. This helps to optimize the assignment of responsibilities and redesign of work to improve time management and productivity.
Below are the four productivity styles that I read and learn in HBR Guide To Being More Productive (2017: 28–31).
Prioritizers: Prefer logical, analytical, fact-based, critical, and realistic thinking. They use time effectively and focus on the highest-value tasks, efficiently completing significant amounts of work. They analyze project goals and strive toward achieving the desired results.
Planners: Prefer organized, chronological, careful, meticulous, and comprehensive undertakings. They create to-do lists, set aside time for tasks, and prepare thorough and accurate plans. They do not waste time on anything unproductive. Since they are meticulous, they comply with laws, safety regulations, and policies, entailing completion of work ahead of time with quality results.
Arrangers: Advocates of encouraging emotional and expressive thinking. They utilize their vivid thinking in input and teamwork to maximize outputs, and have a natural knack for making decisions instinctively as events unfold. They block off time to complete work, but excel at partnering with others to get it done.
Visualizers: Desire holistic, intuitive, and integrative thinking. They handle and juggle multiple tasks while still seeing the big picture. They are known for their creativity and innovation, as well as for synthesizing others’ disparate ideas into a unified vision. They think strategically about projects, and work efficiently to execute tasks. They tend to use visual aids with colors and hues to illustrate their work. Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
I feel we have several Type C's with a little Type A on top. They allow themselves to be dumped on so they can walk around saying how busy they are. We are working on documting processes now and looking at ways to do process improvement. Many people will work hard, but not smart.
Next step will be breaking that Type C mindset. That is my goal. Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
I am checking out HBR now. Thank you. Saving Changes...
The Type A issue can sometimes be solved by "managing up" and setting expectations for the leaders. One of the challenges I've had managing groups of PMs is that certain managers have their go-to favorites. They will go around me, who's responsibility is is to balance the workload of the team, and ask the individuals on my team directly to do whatever task. It's hard to tell your bosses boss no so they are not so much a pushover, but still get stuck doing the lion's share of the work because they are effective.
The Type C mindset is a tough nut to crack. It's not about needing tools to work more efficiently. I've had people get very hostile at my efforts to try and help them be more efficient. That issue tends to be an emotional need, and one person with that Eeyore mindset can drag the whole group down into a mode of wallowing in self-pity.
You can often get the people following Eeyore out of that mindset by leading from the front rather than directing from the rear. When you visibly demonstrate you are spending your own effort to help others be more effective, they will generally follow your lead and spend their effort to help you help them. They just need a positive rather than negative role model to follow. Changing the behavior of the individual dragging the others down is a much more difficult problem, and if you figure it out, please let me know. Saving Changes...
