Everything we do at home and at work can be looked at like a process. How you get ready in the morning, do your grocery shopping, and especially your job; everything is a process.

So…lets define the way we manage our time as a process. We cannot just HOPE we are spending our time in the right place, at the right time. Most of us do not have time to spend double the time needed on a given activity or waste time on the wrong activities. It is imperative we get it right. When we get our time management right, we end up working smarter, not harder, to get more of the right stuff done in less time – even when time is tight and pressures are high.

Time management is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between different activities. The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well.

Many times, Leaders don’t feel like they have enough time in their day to commit to “extra” activities within their leader standard work. First, these activities should become the ‘way’ they manage and make decisions for their areas. To sustain the continuous improvement initiatives we build, we also will need to institute a different leadership system and a different management system. If we don’t, the whole process will fall apart. If we manage with the same meetings, the same metrics, we will get the same behaviors, beliefs, and the same results.

Allow this to be a slow process of change. Begin with one or two daily actions or tasks. Once you work out the bugs, then add something else. It is also helpful in the beginning to make a list of all the actions and tasks you find yourself doing in a day; do this for a week or two. Now look at the items on the list. Which of the actions/tasks are waste and should not be consuming your time? Which are valuable activities that support your long-term vision? Double down on these and be sure they make the cut on your leader standard work.

Be sure to track anything that is pulling you away from completing your leader standard work. In your tier two meetings with your manager, discuss these items and time-management. What roadblocks can your manager help you remove so that you can be committed to completing your leader standard work?

This article is the final sub-question under the second chapter question from my book, Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap”: Where are Your Leaders Spending Their Time? Next week, we will begin a series on the third chapter question: Are You Pursuing Perfection?

Here is a glimpse…Every organization exists for a purpose. The organization’s purpose should engage its people and drive all daily activity. A vision gives a clear, specific picture of what the organization would look like if it met or achieved this purpose at some time in the future.

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