Consolidate thy time

“Know thy time” is one of the foundational habits for the effective executive. Everything we do requires an investment of our time. So until we learn how to manage our own time well, one could argue that it’s really impossible to effectively manage anything else.

In his book The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker lays out a three-step process for improving how we use our time.

1. Record thy time
2. Manage thy time
3. Consolidate thy time

Step one asks us to assess how our time is currently spent. Step two is a commitment to eliminate and delegate as many unimportant tasks as possible. The overall goal being to maximize the amount of free time available each day.

The third and final step is to consolidate our free time to use in large, uninterrupted blocks.

Example

Let’s say that after you completed steps one and two, you find yourself with five hours of discretionary time on average each week. How would you use it?

One hour each day?

Half of it on Monday and the other on Tuesday?

All five hours on Friday?

It’s usually much more effective to expend working time in large blocks, especially for tasks that require creativity, critical thinking, or problem solving.

“Even one quarter of the working day, if consolidated in large time units, is usually enough to get the important things done. But even three quarters of the working day are useless if they are only available as fifteen minutes here or half an hour there.”

Peter Drucker

Lesson Learned

I used to work on a new blog post for a half hour each morning before I left for the office. But I quickly realized that it often took me that long just to work up the courage to write my first sentence.

I’ve learned that I’m not an effective writer unless I have at least 90 minutes at my disposal. In my case, thirty minutes of writing time may as well be no time at all.

How to Consolidate Your Time

Finding ways to consolidate your discretionary time isn’t always easy. But here are a few strategies that may help:

1. Get out of the office and work remotely. Many of us have had the opportunity to work from home over the past couple months. Some for the first time. While certainly not without its challenges, for some people it can provide an escape from the social distractions at the office and give you more freedom over how you allocate your time.
2. Batch certain activities on dedicated days of the week. This works well for people who have more control over their calendars. Try scheduling all of your administrative work on Monday, staff meetings on Tuesday, and reserve the first two hours of every remaining day for uninterrupted personal work. The essay Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule by Paul Graham provides an excellent framework for understanding how organizations can work smarter to accommodate each other’s discretionary time.
3. Wake up earlier. If you still can’t find opportunities to batch discretionary time, then maybe you need to consider getting up earlier. Working from home before going into work, or arriving at the office before everyone else, are both fairly common and effective strategies.

Moving Forward

At the end of the day, Peter Drucker’s prescription for effective time management isn’t a one and done deal. Recording, managing, and consolidating your time is an exercise in self discipline that must be done continuously to reinforce good habits.

All three steps are easy enough to read and understand. But to actually do it? That’s a whole other ball game.

The Effective Executive has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. “Know thy time” is chapter two. I don’t think it’s a stretch to guess that the vast majority of those readers may have agreed with Drucker’s ideas, but never took them seriously enough to apply them.

I’m reminded of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

If you aim to be your best at what you do, the road to effective time management starts here. All that’s required is a little bit of hard work and determination.