FM Sept 04_PDF.qxd - Orlando Chamber of Commerce

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Stressing Time
How to make the best use of available hours.
By Paul DePalma, President and Founder, BusinessWorks Inc.
“God put me on this earth to
accomplish a certain number of
things…Right now, I’m so far
behind I’ll never die.”
— Anonymous
A recent BusinessWorks
study of mid-level managers
showed that they consider stress
reduction the number-one priority
to address in order to improve
their working life.
The key reason for the stress is
feeling they have too much to do
and too little time to do it. Many
say they want to manage time
more effectively.
The idea of personal time management
or controlling priorities
has been around in various forms
for years, even though the phrase
“time management” itself is
inaccurate. Time is ongoing, it
cannot be changed, and the same
amount is available to everyone.
Nevertheless, we pay a great deal
of attention to time management
in everyday life and especially in
business. But our experience
dealing with hundreds of executives
indicates that few are actually
practicing the basics of sound
time management.
The gap between knowing what
to do and knowing we’re not doing
it is a cause of stress. We all like to
feel we’re making progress, we’re
green and growing, and we’re
moving in a positive direction.
Trying something over and over
and being unable to do it is
frustrating. With the demands
of the workplace and our hectic
personal lives increasing daily,
we all need to be able to organize
our individual and business
responsibilities more effectively.
People often ask us if time tools
like planners and PDAs work and
which one is the best? This is like
asking about exercise equipment.
On television, we are inundated
with infomercials about products
for burning our thighs, building our
chests, and toning our abs. But the
piece of equipment that will serve
us best is the one we use consistently.
It’s not going to work if we only
With the demands of
the workplace and
our hectic personal
lives increasing daily,
we all need to be
able to organize
our individual and
business responsibilities
more effectively.
use it for hanging our clothes or
to sit on while we put on our
socks. Time tools can help if we
have established the patterns and
techniques to use them effectively,
and we actually use them. But no
tool can do the thinking, planning,
and decision-making required to
improve personal effectiveness.
So what can you do to reduce
stress and make the best use of
available hours?
1. Clarify your priorities.
Selecting priorities is the best way
to make the most of your time.
Having conflicting priorities is
the way to waste time and create
stress. Reviewing, analyzing, and
determining your critical priorities
at work and in private life are your
major investments in beginning to
manage available time.
2. Focus on what you really
want to accomplish. With the
priorities as the major themes, focus
on making your goals and objectives
as specific as possible. Make sure to
break down large tasks into smaller,
realistic steps.
3. Strive for excellence. So many of
us strive for perfection and become
discouraged when we fall short.
This creates a kind of yo-yo of our
mood and motivation where we are
up and down trying to achieve our
objectives in the shortest time. The
yo-yo effect is tiring and frustrating.
By striving for excellence we focus
on consistency and long-term
benefits and allow room for being
human and the little obstacles that
invariably get in the way.
4. Know how you’re doing. If you
can work on the first three points,
you’re close to achieving this one.
Be open and honest with yourself
about your progress. Use some form
of objective measurement; a simple
graph, chart, or scale helps us stay
focused on our progress and can
minimize negative emotions based
on false perceptions that can move
us off track.
Managing time and priorities
come with action. It’s not what we
know about time management, but
what we do with what we know
that produces results.
For more, contact Paul DePalma
at 407-660-5757 or via e-mail at
paul@businessworks-inc.com. Access
the BusinessWorks Inc. Web site at
www.businessworks-inc.com.
Since 1992, BusinessWorks has helped
both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations
optimize human dynamics for
improved business performance. The
company uses proven organization
development methodologies to help
companies analyze and improve how
to produce results through the planned
development and reinforcement of
the organizations’ strategies and
structures; systems and processes;
and dynamics and culture.
8 SEPTEMBER 2004 FM