LawsonGroupMediation

A number of you have called and in our discussions it becomes clear that many agents have so much to do and so many interruptions that it is difficult to get everything done and still find time for your families.  The solution is time management.

I first attended time management training about 35 years ago when I was in the pastoral ministry.  Since then, in my law practice, I attended more training, read books, and continued to refine my time management skills.  In a busy law practice, getting everything done was extremely difficult, so time management is a lifeline that pulled us through to complete every project on time, and still have time to go water skiing and trail riding with my buddy Doug and others.

Managing your time is all about advanced planning, planning correctly, and adjusting to realities as they occur. This blog will not compete with all of the great books and courses in time management.  Rather, it is a simple, straight forward system for time management you can use, modfy, or whatever.  It is not intended to be best, sophisticated, or to set myself up as some kind of authority on the matter.  It is intended to be simple.  Simply put, simple.  I use it in my life and business.  It works for me.  I use my pda phone for my calendar and I put some of my time blocks into that calendar, but the following is how I simply am able to manage my time and all of the things that I do.

I have 3 forms that I use:  A Project List, a Project Task List, and a Task List.  These forms will be referenced in this segment

First, we simply apply time management principles to a weekly schedule. This can be adjusted for project dates, monthly schedules, and other time periods. We distinguish between Absolute Time Blocks and Flexible Time Blocks. Absolute Time Blocks (ATBs) are blocks of time (1 hour, 2 hour, 1.5 hour, etc) that you choose that are absolute. That is, nothing can interrupt you during those times, whether those interruptions are the phone, family or co-workers. Thus, you need to be very careful about assigning ABTs.

Flexible Time Blocks (FTBs) are blocks of time you organize for getting your work done. They could be interrupted by important phone calls or other events (like getting carried away talking too long with someone). It is important to protect FTBs so that you are not unduly stressed by the work that needs to get done.

Since ATBs cannot be interrupted, those blocks must be chosen very carefully. You want to place those blocks of time when they will not interfere with the need to take those important business calls. For example, you may need to work on research, networking activities, or BPOs at times when you are not going to be distracted or interrupted. You could plan a project with flexible time during the early part of the week and set ABTs at the end of the week in case you do not get it done. Or, you might want to plan it early Monday morning starting at 5:00 am so you can knock it out and have no stress from it the rest of the week.

Since ATBs are not be interrupted, you might plan those blocks for only part of the project activities for that week. For example, a project that you estimate will take 4 hours could have an ATB for 2 hours and FTB for 2 hours.

A Project is a grouping of activities that contain 2 or more tasks. A project could be a book to read, a BPO to complete, a group of networking activities combined, the group of tasks needed to get ready for the day, etc. At the beginning of the week, you list the Project List those projects on which you decide to work that week, assigning them to the projected days you are going to work on them that week. You do not assign the times right now, only the days. Take into consideration, though, the probable time blocks that may be available on those days. For example, you may know that your child has school activities on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, so you may have a 30 minute time block after you get home and the kids go to bed. So you decide to assign that book-reading project for Tuesday and Thursday.

On the Project Tasks form, list the tasks that need to be completed for that project this coming week. If a given project will last several weeks, you can take a Project Task form and list the group of tasks that will need to be completed in subsequent weeks. You can assign days if you wish, or just pick from the list that task or those tasks that you will complete when you organize each day.

The Task List is a daily organized plan for the activities of any particular day. That morning, or the evening before, you should plan your day and assign priorities. You can assign times to it if you wish, but it is sufficient to plan on your calendar time blocks during which you will work on the list. It is often best to take an early morning block of time to knock them out when your mind is fresh and you don’t have interruptions. Merely check the tasks off or cross them out as they are completed.

You will notice that the Task List has only 10 numbered task entries. When I first received time management training, that list was only 6. You should not overwhelm yourself. If you complete 6-10 tasks in a day, every day, you will accomplish more than most professionals. If you run out of items and you still have time blocks available for task work, then add more to the list and check them off as they are completed. In the event you do not get all of the tasks completed, then put that task on the next day available for that project.

BTW, you can use Task List to keep notes in of telephone conversations, phone numbers, etc.

When I owned a law firm, there were so many projects and tasks that using a computerized system was justified. However, in real estate, I found that a computerized system actually took more time, so a simple system like this works great for me even with my current business.

Keep it simple. Plan your work and work your plan.

Plan your week on the weekend or early Monday morning, and plan your day late the night before or, better yet, early in the morning.

Best Wishes,

Ken Lawson, JD

p.s.  Each of the forms referenced are simply forms with lines for item.  If any of you want them, just send me an email to info@LawsonGroupMediation.com and insert in the Subject field “Time Management Forms”.  I will send them to you for free.