Managing Stress for Success

Distinguishing Between Two Kinds of Time Management

If you find yourself complaining regularly about 'not enough hours in the day', you need reminding that all hours aren't equal. Under analysis, you find that there are two completely distinct kinds of time management, which literally fight one another.

One of them is Control Time, where you control the duration of the job. The other is Response Time, where you react to interruptions which control you. Let's take a typical example of Control Time and Response Time, in conflict.

Take the case of two managers working separately on a major report, which requires concentration, but who also need to allow time for inter-action with the rest of their departments.

Safeguarding Focussed Sessions

One of the managers, Tim, puts in half-an-hour on the report, then his concentration slips, so he takes a break by 'doing the rounds'. Someone needs a problem sorted, which unexpectedly takes half-an-hour. So it's at least an hour before he is back at his desk. Ten minutes later, the boss rings to fix a meeting for sometime that day. "How about now?" says Tim.

The other manager, Sarah, handles the same situation differently. She rings one of her department, to say she'll be doing the rounds in half-an-hour, knowing that she'll need a break. During her tour, someone has a problem that needs fixing. "Come and see me in half-an-hour, when I'll be ready for another break" she says. They fix the problem, which also takes half-an-hour. When the boss rings her too, to fix a meeting for today, she says "How about in 30 minutes time?", and returns to another focused session on her report.

The difference is that Tim has only spent the first half-hour in Control Time, while Sarah has managed to arrange three half-hour sessions in Control Time. So 'not enough hours in the day' usually just means that your time is controlling you, rather than the other way around.

In fact, experience shows that time will automatically try to control you, unless you actively prevent it. In other words, Time Management has a lot to do with showing Time who's boss.

Time Management - summary

• 'Not enough hours in the day' often signals poor Time Management
• Distinguish between the time you control, and the time that controls you
• Good Time Management is increasingly at the heart of efficient enterprise

Another key insight from Carole Spiers, International Authority on Corporate Stress,
Motivational Speaker and Gulf News Columnist.