A Guide to Effective Time Management for Managers (Part I)

Time management is a skill that every manager must have to succeed at work. Effective time management will help you complete your work in the most scientific way and avoid wasting time pointlessly. However, as a manager, how can you use your time effectively at work? Let’s explore the secrets to excellent time management with 1Office in the following article!

1. How to Use Time Effectively for Each Management Function by Management Level

Sometimes, we find ourselves confused and overwhelmed by a mountain of tasks waiting to be handled. You might wonder how long a task should take, or when to finish it and move on to the next one. It’s terrible if you don’t know how to answer these questions.

Why do we need to allocate time for different tasks?

The management work of administrators is like the “brain” that controls the entire operation of a business. If that brain malfunctions, dangerous problems will immediately arise, such as: employees not understanding the strategy, a lack of organizational synchronization with everyone looking in different directions; inadequate employee training, new hires not knowing where to start; etc.

Read more: 9 mistakes in corporate culture that can “corrode” a company from within

One of the reasons for the above issues is that their positions require them to perform multiple functions simultaneously. Without effective time management solutions for tasks, management can become chaotic and disorganized.

Basically, there are 5 main functions that every manager needs to perform:

• Time management planning.
• Resource allocation.
• Training – Coaching.
• Leadership.
• Controlling.

These functions require managers to be sharp and flexible to handle and complete them most effectively. For each management level, managers will have different ways to arrange their time to suit the workflow of their position.

From the table above, we can clearly see the difference in the percentage of time that different management levels spend performing these functions.

For example, in time management: A senior leader will spend more time on planning than a mid-level manager.

The reason is that the main tasks of a senior manager include: creating strategies to maintain and develop the company, and being responsible for the results. However, for mid-level managers, their duties are largely related to implementing the organization’s plans and policies by coordinating tasks to achieve common goals.

Refer to and try applying this time management method according to each management level to the position you are directly managing. This will help you learn how to arrange your time reasonably and scientifically to work more productively and avoid falling behind schedule.

See more: Free Work Management Tools – Should You Use Them?

2. The Time Management Matrix – The Secret to Using Time Effectively

2.1. What is the Time Management Matrix?

The “Time Management Matrix” is one of the most effective time management solutions today and was also the time organization method of the late U.S. President Eisenhower. 

Applying this time management method is very simple. List the activities and projects you have to do, including unimportant activities that waste your time at work. Then, arrange the activities in order based on their importance and urgency. The key to managing time with the Eisenhower Matrix lies in the ability to distinguish between two issues: Important and Urgent.

Important refers to activities whose results will lead us to achieve our goals, whether they are personal or work-related activities.

Urgent refers to activities we often focus on because they require attention to the consequences of not taking immediate action.

When we clearly know what is important and what is urgent, we can overcome the instinctive habit of focusing on immediate, short-term tasks and have time to do things that bring long-term value for the future.

2.2. How to Apply the Time Matrix to Work

With this matrix, you can not only apply it to daily tasks but also use it to implement and organize large plans weekly, monthly, or long-term goals annually. 

For P1 – Urgent and Important

Urgent tasks are unavoidable in a business, no matter how good your operating system is or how well-trained your employees are. These are situations where you are forced to drop everything to solve the problem.

However, as your business grows, to be able to focus on tasks that bring future value, you need to have a reliable team of personnel – colleagues to whom you can delegate P1 tasks.

For P2 – Not Urgent but Important

This quadrant is where leaders and managers should spend the most time, as this is the area that brings growth to the business and helps achieve long-term goals.

As a manager, you can divide P2 into 2 types:

• Major Wins: These are tasks that require a lot of time and effort but are absolutely necessary for your business. A contract with major partners is not something that can be completed overnight.
• Quick Wins: These include tasks and jobs that help your company quickly achieve results and profits that are visible in the short term. Quick wins are what a business needs to avoid situations like a lack of investment capital or cash flow problems. Additionally, quick successes can boost employee morale, creating a smooth rhythm within your organization.

Allocate appropriate time for these two types of work based on the company’s financial situation. Startups or small and medium-sized enterprises can refer to the 20/80 ratio to achieve the fastest growth.

See more: Tips for more effective work management

With P3 – Urgent but not important

The characteristic of tasks in this category is that they have no significance in achieving your goals, but they are urgent.

The best way is to resolve these tasks as quickly as possible, possibly by delegating them to others. For example, building a personal brand on social media is extremely important. However, instead of spending a lot of effort polishing words and posts, you can hire an outsourced team or assign a competent assistant to provide advice or manage it for you.

Note that delegation is completely different from neglect. Ensure your employees are thoroughly trained before receiving tasks. If the number of P3 tasks increases instead of decreases, it indicates that you have not instructed your employees correctly, and this is your responsibility. This process may take a considerable amount of time, but you should be strict with yourself, set clear regulations, and establish a process from the beginning to avoid future troubles.

Whether this matrix is applied effectively depends on your personal discipline, perseverance, diligence, and responsibility towards your work. The Eisenhower Matrix is not a perfect strategy. However, you can certainly view it as a useful decision-making tool that helps you focus on solving important tasks. This is also one of the effective time management methods applied by many people.

3. Tips for managers to use time effectively

With a huge workload, time management and work arrangement for managers are of utmost importance and need to be handled quickly to make time for other important tasks.

Understanding the difficulties of businesses in the Digital Transformation era, 1Office provides an effective time management solution with these factors: Simple – Easy to use – Effective – Time and cost-saving. 

When a manager assigns a task on the system, the system will AUTOMATICALLY update that task to the employee’s schedule. From there, employees can proactively plan and arrange time for their work. Additionally, you can track the team’s shared calendar or recurring events to stay informed about upcoming tasks.

The only thing you need to do when you get to the office is open your computer and log in to 1Office. All necessary tasks will be displayed on the dashboard, along with a feature that allows users to set schedule reminders. You will have a comprehensive, systematic, and scientific overview to use your time most effectively.

If you are struggling with time management at work, Register for a trial to receive a consultation. 1Office will help you solve your difficulties quickly!

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