It's About Time (Part 2)

A few months ago I was talking to a friend on the phone who was anxiously awaiting a 9:30 AM meeting. It was a rather serious and important meeting. When my friend called me at 9:40 I asked, "I thought your meeting was at 9:30?"

"It was," my friend replied. "But he's not out of his nine o'clock meeting yet." The nervous anticipation of my friend was obvious over the phone and I felt sorry for him. It reminded me of another time management principle that I practice.

Never schedule two meetings in the same hour.

Even if you think a meeting will only last ten minutes. Ten minute meetings often take thirty minutes. Once you're behind schedule because a short meeting lasted longer than planned, you are behind schedule the rest of the day.

I understand that different occupations require different methods of time management. For example, the time management skills that I use wouldn't work for my school teacher wife. Every minute of her day is scheduled. The time management skills that I practice relate better to
those who have more control over their own schedule. Ministers, sales representatives, managers, and business owners tend to have more say in their day to day calendar. When I was in a customer service related business, my day was controlled by the next phone call or the next
customer that walked in the door.

But for those who have more control over their calendar, I've found these principles to be valuable.

For church staff like myself and others who occasionally work at night, divide your day into thirds - morning, afternoon, and evening. Work 2 thirds. Plan to be off for the other third. If you work all three shifts in one day, plan to make up for it soon after.

I rarely plan more than 4 hours of meetings or appointments per day. The other 4 hours will take care of themselves. There are plenty of things on my to-do list to tackle. Most meetings I attend add tasks to my to-do list so I need time to address those things. Unexpected phone calls, visitors, hospital visits, and problems/challenges will fill the other four hours. Part of my responsibilities over the years involve day-to-day operations which means that I am often a "fireman," i.e., putting out fires. I must allow time for that.

Don't forget travel time. Some folks schedule back-to-back meetings without allowing time to travel between meetings. If you have a meeting that will take the better part of an hour, don't plan another meeting for the next hour at a location 15 minutes away and expect to be on time. Unless you have a transporter like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, you'll need time to get from one meeting to another.

Understand the value of punctuality. Cheryl Clausen, author of The Race to Success - Make Time to Win wrote, "When you start the day late you tend to run late the entire day. Even though you may not place a high value on punctuality, recognize that others do. Lateness can lose you the sale, cost you the job, diminish the level of respect the other person has for you because they are thinking that if you can’t even be counted on to be on time how can they count on you for something important."

When you agree to hold an appointment at a specific time and then you’re late you have missed an opportunity to keep your word. Being on time says a lot about your character. When you're late for an appointment, you're communicating that what you were doing before was more important than them. And while that may be true, it doesn't send positive signals to the person who has been waiting on you.

One final thought for today. I don't advocate being extremely early for appointments. Just be on time. I know people who are always 15 minutes early for an appointment but they sit and do nothing during those 15 minutes, i.e., they waste time because of their dedication to promptness! Sure you might have a flat tire on the way or be delayed because of an accident on the highway, but those occassions are rare. Just strive to be at your appointment when you said you would be there, no earlier and no later.

What are some of your thoughts on time management?