Leadership Lesson 101 - You Can't Manage TIME!

I once said to a friend, 'I don’t have enough time'. Well, the response was classic. He said that everyone has '24 hours in the day'. Everybody has the same amount of time. It's not about how much time you have, but how you prioritize your time that is important. You can’t manage time. The clock ticks over, every second of every day. You cannot manage that or control that.

We can manage our priorities around the time we have. That's priority management. God has blessed us with time. While God may preside outside of time, time has been given to us and we live within the confines of it. As leaders we have the free will to decide how we work, rest and play within ‘time’. It is our choice. What priorities are the most important? What work should I complete first? Which email is urgent? What personnel need my attention most?
Even as I write this I have to practice what I preach. I was sitting in two meetings recently, where each meeting not only informed me of particular organizational expectations, but each meeting came with a list of items that needed my attention. As I sat in the second meeting, sipping an instant coffee, with my mind wandering, I received a couple of emails. My phone buzzed. I quickly had a glance, and the email both had attachments with paperwork that was expected to be completed. How I now prioritize my work within the time I have is important.

Some quick tips on Time Management (Priority Management):
- Check your emails only 2-3 times a day
- Anything that can be completed in 60 seconds, complete it straight away
- Don’t worry about something longer than the time it takes to complete
- Delegate actions items that are not urgent nor overly important
- Stay focused on completing something when you start it
- Consider the MoSCoW leadership tool – What Must you do? What Should you do? What Could you do? What Would you do?
- A long term tip - Work your way out of a job. Train up people around you. In the long term you won't have to complete some tasks, because you have trained up someone else!
- Drink coffee (Ok, that's just my added tip for all aspects of leadership).


What does the Bible say?

2 Timothy 4:2-5 - Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction…..But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

What will I do now?

How will you prioritize work, rest and play within the time that God has given you?


* This is Day 22 of my series 100 Days of Leadership