Back in the early 1900’s there was a guy by the name of Vilfredo Pareto. He, upon studying the distribution of wealth in the country that he lived, realized that about 20% of the people living in his country owned 80% of the wealth. The truth is that when we think of Pareto’s Principle today we are not talking about the distribution of wealth. In the 1940’s, another doctor inaccurately named the 80/20 rule of time management to Pareto – and rightfully so – the rule had been applied and misapplied to a number of industries and professions ever since it was discovered.

So what does Pareto’s Principle have to say about time management? The concept is simple. A mere 20% of your efforts are responsible for 80% of your results.

So what does this mean to you?

It means you have to figure out which 20% of your time matters. Usually it’s the first 10% and the last 10%. Only 20% of your day is going to have a direct impact on the end results. If that’s the case, what parts of your day can you cut out – which parts are time wasters – and which should you focus on most? Can you turn the other 80% of your day into something more productive as well?

There’s another theory that interprets Pareto’s Principle as saying that 20% of your people do 80% of your work. If this is true, will you focus on increasing the abilities of that first 20% or will you try to make the other 80% of your team better?

In the end, the results are still the same. Only a small portion of the time you spend leads to direct results. Make sure you’re splitting your time accordingly.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Development

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Every morning I get up and take a look at my to-do list for the day. At the end of the day I look at my list again and I’m either pleased with what I’ve accomplished or disgusted by how much there is left on the list.

Then I realized there was a problem.

You see, the reality of the situation is that I can put as much on my to-do list as I want each day. The problem is that most of us make to-do lists without regard to the amount of time each task might take. In the end, there will always be only 24 hours in a given day – no more, no less.

So, yes – you can set goals. And yes, you can identify your personal “time wasters.” You can even sit down and write out a “time management plan” to help you get your work done at a realistic pace. You might even waste your money on a software program that helps you manage your tasks.

In the end, though, the reality is this – you need to put on your management pants and learn to do two things – prioritise and delegate.

Because, truthfully, those two areas are the real issue. It’s not time management. It’s the thought process that makes us believe we can (or even should) do all of these tasks on our own. You have a team for a reason. Prioritize your tasks, delegate them to the appropriate people, and cross them off of your to-do list.

You’ll suddenly find yourself less stressed and, eventually, you’ll be managing an incredibly effective and productive team.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Quite a few of you are probably relaxing with your friends and family, enjoying the holiday season. I might add that doing so is an excellent time management strategy because it is just as important to take time out for yourself as it is to attack the lingering list of chores you’ve probably made for yourself.

Sadly, not many people make time for themselves and their inability to do so is a huge time management mistake. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about tips for more effectively managing your time but we haven’t focused on some of the mistakes people make. Here are a few to consider.

• Do you pay too much attention to the minor details instead of doing what you can to get a perfectly acceptable job out the door? While attention to detail is great it can also be distracting or detrimental when you’re facing a deadline.
• Do you find that you often have too many projects on your plate at the same time? Doing so will stretch your resources and instead of finishing one great project you’ll turn in multiple sub-par projects.
• Are you dead set against changing your routine? Sometimes deviating from the norm will free up your time so that you can get your most important tasks out of the way sooner.
• Do you prefer to do mundane tasks before focusing on your major projects? Putting some time into your larger projects earlier in the day might motivate you to get them done sooner – and those mundane tasks will be a welcome break after all of your hard work.
• Are you good at anticipating problems? If so, that’s great, but people who expect problems to occur usually waste a lot of time focusing on them even if they haven’t happened yet. And if that problem never actually comes to fruition you’ll find you wasted a ton of time.
• Are you surrounded by unhappy and unmotivated coworkers? They’ll drag you down and waste your time whether you realize it or not.

Can you identify with any of these issues? If so, you may want to work on making some changes in the way you manage your own time in the New Year. Until then, enjoy your time away from the workdesk!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

When it comes down to effectively managing your time you’ll find that there are dozens of resources offering tips for how to save time. Most of these resources tell you that you should prioritise your tasks but they don’t really tell you how to prioritise. How do you choose which tasks are more important than others?

A method I’ve found to work very well is to take every task and place it in one of four categories. Each category has a level of importance and it will make it easier for you to determine which ones should take priority over the rest. Here are the four categories:

• #1 – Important and Urgent – These are critical items that must be taken care of before anything else.
• #2 – Important but not urgent – These are the tasks you really want to complete in a given time frame but don’t find as pressing as those you placed in the first category.
• #3 – Urgent and not very important – You may find something to be urgent but at the same time not very important to the success of your day. Don’t let someone make you feel like you need to complete something faster than it deserves to be completed. If it’s not important, how urgent can it really be?
• #4 – Neither urgent or very important – You’d like to complete these tasks but not doing so won’t have an impact on your day either way.

Can you look at your calendar for the day and place each of the items on your to-do list into one of these categories? If so, you’re well on your way to effectively prioritising your day. Good luck!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

I’m always looking for new and creative ways to teach people how to manage their time properly. Today I’ve got just a few new time management tips for you to consider as you go about your workday.

Planning Unplanned Phone Calls

Alright, you can’t really plan things that are unplanned but you can set aside a specific block of time in your day during which you will return unplanned phone calls. Planned phone calls are those you have previously agreed to or scheduled. Unplanned phone calls are the ones that interrupt you while you are working on other things. The key is to not allow people to interrup you as you work, instead making it a point to return calls when you are actually available and ready to focus.

Stop Saying YES

Those of us in management positions often want to say “yes” to others when asked for assistance and then later find that the tasks we initially thought might be simple are actually more time consuming than we had originally anticipated. Before saying “yes” to a request you should be asking as many questions as you see fit, determing exactly what will be expected of you if you decide to participate in a task. Don’t be afraid to say “No” if you don’t have the right amount of time to dedicate to a project.

Be Challenging

Do you regularly attend “mandatory” meetings in which higher-ups hash the same information over and over again? Maybe they call you together regularly to simply delegate work. Are these things that could easily be handled by memo or email instead of through the use of a time-wasting meeting? Challenge those above you and make sure those meetings are actually “immediate and urgent” before they’re labeled “mandatory.”

Are you ready to take control of your time? Incorporate these time management tips along with some of the others you’ve already learned and you’ll soon find you have taken control of your life back!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”