Time

“To achieve great things, two things are needed:

a plan,

and not quite enough time.”
Leonard Bernstein

Are things better late than never?

Implementation is about time:
• Using your own time effectively
• Inspiring others to contribute in a timely manner
• Completing to time i.e. doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it

Using your own time effectively

How well do you use your own time? Quickly review these tips:

• Set Goals and Priorities: Establishing goals and setting priorities can help you stay focused. Remember to Prioritize by importance then urgency.

• Be complete with your choices: Know what you will do and what you won’t do. Accept that you can’t do everything. Decide how much time you can allocate to each project and each group of people who have a claim on your time and stick to it.

• Set Deadlines: Set a realistic deadline for each of your goals. Reward yourself when you accomplish what you have set out to do and try to understand what prevented you from hitting any deadlines you missed. Re-evaluate and re-prioritise your goals from time to time.

• Practice good time keeping: Start your day promptly, make being on time for each appointment important and leave the office on time. Lost minutes here and there soon add up to lost hours which can result in you staying late and missing out on life away from work.

• Finish as you go: Where possible complete tasks in one go. If you cannot finish in one go then be sure to get to a point that you can easily pick up from.

• Keep a Master Calendar: Avoid using multiple schedules - it is easy to overlook commitments when you note some things items on Outlook, other things in your diary or pda and still other stuff on the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. Write all of your commitments in one calendar; review and update it daily. Keep it available and uncluttered.

• Block out times for key personal activities: Scheduling a block of time when you won’t be available to other people; in this way you will be less likely to be interrupted and therefore more able to complete activities. Other’s may start to see your time as more valuable, too.

• Don’t over schedule: Allow time for additional tasks which will arise during the day.

And remember: much of our time is spent on reacting to other people’s requests. Next time someone asks you to do something significant, stop and think about whether it is the right thing for you to do. If necessary make you default answer “No, but I will go away and see if I can find time.” People will be much happier to hear a committed ‘yes’ at some later point, especially if they are used to being let down by over-ambitious under-deliverers.

Inspiring others to contribute in a timely manner

A lot has been written on this subject and you will find some hints and tips on this subject in the people section.

For now, if you want a gentle reminder then review the following steps:
• Ask nicely
• Explain why it needs to be done and give a realistic deadline
• Encourage (perhaps offer an incentive)
• Say thank you

Completing to time: doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it

This is what builds your reputation.

Clients and / or project sponsors want the same thing from the delivery team:

No surprises, predictability, flexibility, transparency and speed.

They want to be involved in the design and ongoing development of the change efforts and not wait until new – and perhaps inappropriate - processes and systems are unveiled at some distant point in the future, far later than was originally promised.

They want to know that you are doing what you said you would do.

They will listen to what you say and watch what you do.

Several structures and behaviours in a project can help you in full and timely delivery, as a minimum you should have:
• A Project charter
• Project Accountability Matrix
• Project time lines complete with milestone reviews
• Effective Meetings, with terms of reference and action logs

These structures are available to download - click here to Build Your Own Project

Resources for this subject:

Click here for a personnel effectiveness memory jogger

Click here for team effectiveness memory jogger

Click here for a communication skills memory jogger