Time Management: Why It’s Not About Time

Access this 7-minute training video now and find out what time management is really all about – and be sure your entire team knows the secret to mastering this critical career skill. You’ll learn:

• The real reason people are perceived as being good, or bad, at managing their time
• The list that matters more than any other when it comes to time management
• The #1 enemy of good time management

Why are we giving you access to this program for free? Because it’s the best way we know to introduce you to a new approach to management and employment law compliance training.

Here’s how it works: Request your time management video now and we’ll email you a user name and password that gives you instant access to the Compliance & Management Rapid Learning Center. There you’ll find the time management video and a collection of other training resources for managers, supervisors and HR professionals. You’ll have unlimited trial access to this powerful library of e-learning modules, reports and fast-read articles.

Who’s better at Time Management?

Let’s look at two employees in an organization. Both are talented, organized and detail-oriented. They both plan out their days, weeks and months by making lists.

At the end of a given week one employee completes eight of the 10 tasks he set out to accomplish. The other employee completes just 3 of 10.

The first employee is obviously better at managing his time, right?

Not so fast. It turns out the second employee gets promoted and the first gets sent to a time management class.

How is this possible? Because time management actually has very little to do with how many items get done.

Find out why time management has virtually nothing to do with time. Access this video now.

Time Management: Priority vs. Quantity

What most people refer to as time management is really about priority management. Sure, only a few tasks on your list might get done. But if those tasks are huge ones, while the smaller, less important ones remain, then that shows that in the forest of tasks and activities, you’re able to pick out which “trees” really matter, while others might just hack away indiscriminately, leaving the biggest tasks untouched.

And who determines which tasks get top priority? Your boss. At the end of the day, it’s your boss’s list of priorities that ought to matter most. Your boss is charged with executing the company’s strategy and getting results through her people; thus, they probably have a keen sense of priorities. If you can keep in touch with the tasks at the top of your boss’s list, and make sure they’re on the top of your list as well, then your boss will likely see you as a highly productive employee and a master at time management.

Look at it this way: Imagine you were lost in the woods and starving. Would you have any doubt about your priorities? No. You wouldn’t be distracted by wildflowers on the side of the path. Or red-breasted robins singing in the trees. Every thought and action would be focused on finding food and water.

That’s how time management experts function. Every thought and action is focused on accomplishing their top priorities.

Access your video now and learn more about why time management is about working smarter, not working harder.

Shiny Objects: The nemesis of good Time Management

Where do people who struggle with time management go wrong? It’s not always a lack of organizational skills. Many times, their problem lies in “shiny objects”, tasks that are interesting and probably valuable, but not at the core of what their boss requires. Shiny objects are the major reason that people have “time management” problems and end up derailing their careers.

That’s not to say that people who have mastered time management don’t notice shiny objects sometimes. But these people are so relentlessly focused that shiny objects never get the better of them. They might occasionally add a shiny object or two to their to-do list, but time management experts never allow themselves to be taken “off task.”

To learn how to avoid shiny objects and master the art of time management, access this video now as part of a free trial to the Compliance & Management Rapid Learning Center.

Sincerely,

Stephen Meyer
CEO/Director of Learning and Development, The Rapid Learning Institute