What does it mean to be effective?
My definition is “being successful in getting more of the right things done.”
Effective behavior, in my opinion, is a combination of productivity (getting things done), focus (not wasting time), and prioritization (doing work that matters).
The late Peter Drucker believed that effective behaviors could be studied. His life’s work was in teaching the specific habits that could be practiced and learned over time by anyone determined to become their best at what they do.
Since time is our most valuable resource, learning how to use it wisely is arguably the most effective habit of all. In his celebrated book, The Effective Executive, Drucker dedicated an entire chapter to the discipline of effective time management.
His approach to time management runs contrary to conventional advice. While most people try to improve their time management by starting with their tasks, Drucker observed that the most effective individuals began by analyzing their time. Planning tasks came secondary to first understanding where their time actually went.
If you want to follow his advice, here’s what you need to do first:
For three to four weeks, record how you spend your day in 10-15 minute intervals. Keep a log on a piece of paper, or use a time tracking software like Toggl. But whatever you do, don’t reproduce your activity log from memory. Document it in real-time the best that you can.
If you’ve been honest with yourself, by the end of the period you’ll have a treasure trove of data that will reveal valuable patterns in how you work. You’ll notice certain hours of the day that tend to be your most productive, projects that get the most attention, and distractions that interrupt your focus most often.
Only once you have completed this initial time assessment will you be prepared to intelligently rethink and rework your schedule.
But let’s be realistic for a moment. Recording every minute of your workday isn’t an easy task.
So is it really worth the effort?
Peter Drucker thought so. As did the hundreds of executives that he advised from General Motors, Sears, General Electric, IBM, and many others. He writes, “A good many effective executives keep such a log continuously and look at it regularly every month. At a minimum, effective executives have the log run on themselves for three to four weeks at a stretch twice a year or so, on a regular schedule.”
As with most things in life worth doing, recording your time will require self-discipline and determination.
Do you value your time enough to follow their example?
Find out how your time is spent today, and you will be better prepared to manage it tomorrow.
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