Learn to delegate

  Delegation is one of the most important time management skills we have at our disposal. It is not just a matter of telling someone else what to do or passing something that you do not want to do on to a colleague. If handled effectively, not only can it have benefits for the individual who does the delegation in terms of freeing up their time but also it can create a valuable personal development experience for the individual to whom a task has been delegated. There are a number of tips for delegating successfully. First, the task identified must be suitable for delegation. Second, the individual to whom the task is being delegated needs to be capable of doing it and clearly understand what needs to be done. Third, the required outcomes need to be measurable and achievable within a given timescale. Finally, the individual doing the delegated task may need some supervision and support, particularly if it is new to them. They may worry that if they delegate a task, it may not be done correctly, or they do not like the feeling of not being directly in control, they fear that they may get the blame if things go wrong, or that others may think that they are being lazy. It can take time to overcome these concerns and train the person, but the ultimate pay-off at a later date means that it is a good investment of your time. The acronym ‘SMART’ is a useful one to remember in the context of delegating.

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Achievable

R = Relevant

T = Time bound

  There are other reasons why some people find it difficult to delegate. For example, they may lack the confidence to ask another person, they may feel anxious about the reaction that they might get if they do ask, they may feel unable to trust others enough to delegate or they may simply be unaware that they have the authority to do this. If you are one of these people, you need to identify the reasons why this might be and attempt to overcome these obstacles. It is also important to remember that if you do manage people, it is highly likely that the authority to delegate to others is already invested in your managerial role and job description. If you are unsure about this, have a look in your job description. The important thing is practice. Even if you feel uncomfortable about delegating initially, the more you practise this technique, the more skilled and confident you will become at doing it. Remember that the way in which you ask the other person is an important factor in determining the success of this technique. Ask in a polite but authoritative way which communicates an air of confidence, even if inside you are not feeling this way. It may feel at first as if you are acting, but after some practice it will begin to feel more natural. It is also helpful to remember that although it is mostly managers who delegate, you do not have to be a manager to do this. However, you do need to be able to ask politely.

Stay focused

  In time management terms, success is about selecting the minimum number of tasks required to produce a desired outcome with the least possible effort. It is about learning to identify and focus on ‘high pay-off’ behaviours rather than those which waste our time. There is a principle used in decision making known as the Pareto Principle, which states that it is possible by doing only 20 per cent of the work to generate 80 per cent of the advantage of doing the entire job. The reasoning behind this ‘80:20’ rule is that a large majority of problems are caused by relatively few key causes. The economy of effort reported can thus be achieved by identifying and focusing on the key causes, resulting in the maximum overall effect. This sounds like a very attractive proposition, which could have significant implications in terms of time management. It suggests that it is possible to select a small subset of core tasks related to any given job that will produce the maximum overall effect with comparatively little effort or time expenditure. Thus, simply being ‘busy’ is not the same as managing our time effectively. It is particularly important to acknowledge this in the work context, in terms of achieving organizational objectives of effectiveness and efficiency.

It is also a curious observation that the time taken to do a task tends to expand to fill the time available for its completion. That is, the more time we have at our disposal, the more time we tend to take. Retired people often say that they do not know how they ever managed to find the time to go to work because they are so busy in retirement. If, for example, you have a whole morning available to do the weekly shopping, it is likely that you will spend that time doing the task, but if you work full time, it is quite possible that you will get through the same shopping list in half the time. So how do people with little free time achieve this economy of time? They do it by being focused on the task in hand. For example, they might go straight to the shopping aisles required, do not stop to browse, do everything at a faster pace and avoid stopping for to chat on the way. Even though it may be enjoyable, social chatter can be a massive time waster. Similarly in the work setting, limiting social chatter in the corridor can free up a considerable block of time throughout a week. Coffee and lunch breaks can inadvertently extend considerably due to social chit chat in the staff room or canteen and while this can seem like fun at the time, it ends up making the individual feel rushed once they get back to work. It is important to make sure that you take only your allocated allowance of time for breaks if you do not want to get behind in your work. Also at work, face-to-face and telephone conversations should be polite but whenever possible kept brief. Manage interruptions by making use of a secretary to take calls (if available) or the use of an answer phone. This will help you stay focused and reduce the distractions created by all the other demands impinging on you in the workplace. If you are unable to stop interruptions when you need quiet time and space for planned concentration time slots, find somewhere else in the building to work and if necessary work from home or another site.