Five principles for better time management in the workplace

Controlling one's time means knowing how to anticipate and plan one's activities. Acting in urgency, submitting a file at the last minute, responding to all requests simultaneously... are all challenges to manage throughout the day, requiring us to learn to master our time to meet deadlines and gain competitiveness.

1. Anticipate, prioritize, and plan

It is a basic rule: every week, a list of tasks, the famous 'to-do list,' must be established. Then, these tasks should be sorted according to the Eisenhower matrix: what is important and urgent, urgent and not important, not urgent and important, not urgent and not important. The latter category of tasks should be delegated.

To determine the importance and urgency of an element, it is essential to always relate it to its function, the scope of its position, and its obligations. Ultimately, your schedule should reflect these priorities, as well as two key principles: 'start by doing what you like the least and group activities.'

Simply put, opening a file for an hour every day takes more time than working on that same file in one go. It is also important to leave a margin and always anticipate about 30% of unexpected events in a week.

2. Eliminate 'time thieves'

'Time parasites' can come from both outside and inside the company. To master time, it is better to sort out or avoid these parasites.

What is most disruptive is when a colleague visits with a new problem, leading to additional tasks. To avoid this, establish visiting hours and communicate them to your colleagues, while remaining accessible in case of emergencies.

Another major time thief is the phone. The mobile phone should be set to voicemail to allow you to focus on specific important tasks without distractions. To filter calls on the landline, rely on your assistant or a colleague if it's temporary.

3. Manage emails effectively

There is nothing worse than Outlook email to fall into a passive state. Responding to emails as they arrive may give the impression of working and being very available. However, in the end, this strategy turns out to be a waste of time that limits reflection and insight.

There is a specific method to limit this phenomenon: use colors to distinguish internal messages addressed only to you, messages where multiple people are copied, and emails from known clients. Prioritize the latter, then internal emails addressed to you. If you have time, check the copies.

Open your email only in the morning when you arrive at the office, after lunch, and in the evening. Keep it closed the rest of the time. Always respond in a disconnected mode to avoid hasty replies or sending multiple emails instead of one.

4. Be a 'time strategist'

Do not think of time as uniform. Time can be broken down into 'calories': physical load, mental load, stress, relational risk, experience capitalization, probable efficiency, and pleasure.

To manage time effectively, seek to minimize the first four ingredients and maximize the latter. These variables depend on individuals and the moment. For example, some people are more productive in the evening and take advantage of the quietness to work on complex tasks.

Being a good strategist means finding the right moment, not only for oneself but also for others.

5. Take a step back

An enterprise manager can be compared to a firefighter forced to extinguish fires as they arise. Everyone feels completely absorbed by tasks, without time for reflection.

To resist urgency, cultivate distance. Managers must slow down internally, regulating their breathing or the pace of their voice. Paradoxically, being slow is necessary to manage time effectively and also to take a step back.

Between two high-intensity activities, ten minutes of 'buffer' are essential to consider what comes next. When facing an important decision, do not act impulsively but gather all information before evening and wait for the right moment to make the decision, which often becomes evident.

In conclusion, managing time is essential, both to deploy maximum efficiency in the organization of the company and to preserve one's own balance.

Philippe Montant
General Manager of ReKrute