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CHAPTER 3 APPENDIX: PRIMER ON EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT

illustrated with some examples. Quadrant I corresponds to

“Time is what we want most, but what we use demands that are both pressing and important to you. Quadrant
worst.” II corresponds to demands that are important but not urgent.
William Penn Quadrants III and IV both correspond to demands that are not
important to you.
So, what are the important implications of the framework?
As was mentioned in the chapter, effective organizational and To begin, it makes sense that you would want to spend most of
time management skills are powerful enablers toward the your time in ways that are important to you. But should you
successful execution of a project. In this brief primer on time spend more of your time in Quadrant I or in Quadrant II?
management, our focus will be on the nuts and bolts of time To shed some light on this, consider which approach to a
management, specifically, the tactical time management system project would reflect your best work. Would starting a major
of David Allen’s national bestseller Getting Things Done project a couple of days before it is due and thus completing it
(2001). For the interested reader, additional time management under the pressure of a short deadline result in your best work?
resources are provided at the end of this Appendix. Or would starting it much earlier and completing it with ample
time produce a better result? Those who answered that the
quality of the work would be better under the pressure of a short
3A.1 TWO FACTORS THAT DRIVE HOW WE USE OUR
deadline probably believe they work best under pressure.
TIME: IMPORTANCE AND URGENCY
However, it is rare for people to perform at their highest levels
Before delving into the details of how to effectively manage our under pressure. (What is probably happening is that these
time, it is useful to first consider how we allocate our time. people simply need the pressure of time to get started in the
Along these lines, Stephen Covey in his perennial best-seller first place.) But make no mistake about it; pressure to get started
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) presents an is not the same as best performance.
insightful framework that he refers to as the Time Management Having made the case for a preference for Quadrant I, it is
Matrix (see Figure 3A-1). The value of this framework is also important to point out that the nature of some professions
twofold. First, the framework helps us understand how we puts them squarely in Quadrant I. For example, working in a
are currently allocating our time along two important dimen- hospital emergency department puts one in Quadrant I and there
sions. Second and more importantly, the framework forces us to is nothing that can be done to move to Quadrant II. Thus, the
consider how we should be allocating our time. point is not that Quadrant I is necessarily bad. Rather, the
The two dimensions in Covey’s framework are importance relevant question is why are you in Quadrant I? Being in
and urgency. Importance relates to the critical relevance of a Quadrant I because of procrastination is entirely different
particular demand on your time. Urgency, the other dimension than being there because of the nature of the work.
of the framework, relates to how pressing the demand is for your Quadrants III and IV both correspond to demands that are
time. As shown in Figure 3A-1, these two dimensions can be not important to us. As such, we should seek to minimize the
combined to create a two-by-two matrix with four quadrants, amount of time we spend in these two quadrants.

Urgent Not Urgent

I II
Important

Sick child Planning for coming week

Job offer decision Date with significant other
Client proposal Exercise

III IV
Not Important

Many text messages Much paperwork

Status meetings Television
Co-worker drop bys Web surfing
Figure 3A-1 The Importance-Urgency Matrix
(Adapted from Covey: The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People)

1
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2 CHAPTER 3 / THE PROJECT MANAGER

3A.2 CREATING AN EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT As you reflected on what you do with all the stuff that you are
SYSTEM inundated with each day, your list of what you do with it is
probably quite long. Your list likely contains items such as adding
With a better understanding of the ways we spend our time, we it to one of the piles on your desk, storing it in your email inbox,
now turn our attention to creating an effective time management putting it in your wallet or purse, keeping track of it in your head,
system to help ensure we allocate our time to important activi- adding it to your to-do list, dropping it off on your desk, tossing it
ties. The time management system presented here consists of to the backseat of your car, and posting it on your bulletin board.
two distinct activities: capturing information and materials, and Unfortunately, as the number of places where you accumulate
then processing them through the use of two support systems. your stuff increases, the harder it is to stay on top of it all and
The first support system is for storing (and maintaining) the process it effectively and efficiently. Thus, to counter this, it is
information and materials, and the second is for tracking important to be more deliberate and disciplined in the way you
commitments that require action on our part, i.e., our “to-dos.” accumulate all this stuff. This is the reason why the time
management system includes a formal process for capturing
Time Management Activity: Capturing
stuff. As part of this process, you need to clearly define a limited
The good news is we live at a time when the quantity of number of spots where you will capture your stuff for processing
information is exploding exponentially. The bad news is we at a later date. As a general guideline, here are some recom-
live at a time when the quantity of information is exploding mended spots to capture your stuff:
exponentially. Pick any topic you like, Google it, and observe
how much information is available on the topic. In addition to the
• Email inbox
exploding quantity of information, much more of it is being • Physical inbox
pushed to us, particularly through email. Online retailers send you • Voice mail (home, office, cell)
updates on their sales, news services send you headlines with
links to articles, professors pass on links to information, friends • Wallet, purse, or briefcase
forward entertaining videos, your cell phone carrier sends you • Task List in email program, physical planner, legal pad
online bills, your bank sends you online statements, and so on. (aplacetocapturetasks,projects,ideas,commitments,etc.)
Staying on top of all this information is at best challenging.
A reasonable rule of thumb is to have no more than 10 well-
Reflect for a moment on the information and materials that
defined spots for capturing your stuff (including spots at both
you accumulate in a typical day and what you do with all of it.
home and the office). Once you have defined your sanctioned
For example, when you are at school what do you do with the
capture spots, it is important to no longer use non-sanctioned
class or meeting notes you take, the PowerPoint deck that was
spots. That means no more tossing your stuff to the backseat of
emailed to you for a class presentation next week, an email
your car or dropping it off on the kitchen counter.
message from a colleague requesting a copy of a spreadsheet
Before leaving this topic of capturing your stuff, it is worth
you created last week for your finance class, a brochure that was
emphasizing that one location that was not listed as an accept-
mailed to you about a career fair that you might be interested in
able spot for capturing stuff is you! Using your brain as a place
attending next month, or a colleague requesting times you are
to capture stuff is not an effective use of your brain nor is it an
available for a meeting later in the week? What do you do with a
efficient way to manage your time. It is much more difficult to
business card someone hands you after a company information
manage a list in your head than a physical list. It is also difficult
session or the receipt you got from lunch? What do you do with
to gauge how long a mental list is, so the work seems larger and
that great idea that comes to you during your evening commute
more overwhelming than necessary. This in turn makes it
home or in your morning shower? What do you do with the e-
difficult to determine how long it will take to complete the
ticket that you printed out for an upcoming concert or the
activities on the list. Furthermore, it is much more difficult to
football tickets that were mailed to you? What about the text
prioritize a list that is in your head versus a physical list. Beyond
message from your hairstylist indicating that she can work you
these difficulties, trying to keep track of everything in your head
in at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon or the dentist appointment you
can create mental and physical stress. Finally, using your brain
just scheduled for next month?
to keep track of stuff is not a productive use of your brain. It
In order to be well positioned to effectively cope with all the
distracts you from other more productive uses of your brain, like
“stuff”1 that we are inundated with every day, we must first set
solving problems. Therefore, rather than using your brain to
up a procedure for capturing it. Effectively capturing our stuff
keep track of your stuff, instead capture your ideas, commit-
then positions us to effectively and efficiently process it:
ments, to-dos, and so on in one of your sanctioned spots.
organizing it, prioritizing it, scheduling it.
1
Because continuously referring to information, material, and Two Support Systems
requests for our time is a bit tedious, we will adopt the more technical
term “stuff” that David Allen uses in his book Getting Things Done to Before discussing how we actually process the stuff that we
refer to these things. capture, it is helpful to first understand what we will ultimately
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CHAPTER 3 APPENDIX: PRIMER ON EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT 3

do with the stuff as it is processed. Generally, processing our stuff Examples of such things include calling the doctor to schedule
involves moving it to one of two support systems: a support an appointment, returning a phone call, scheduling a meeting,
system for keeping track of our information and materials and a getting the car’s oil changed, picking up the dry cleaning, and
support system for tracking our time commitments (to-dos). attending your nephew’s soccer game. To track the stuff that
The first support system is for storing the stuff that does not requires your action, you will need a spot to store your inventory
require us to take action. Typically this is material that we may of tasks and a place to store your commitments. Either or both of
need to access or refer to later. Examples include a report, an these can be maintained electronically or physically. For exam-
article, an email, and a picture. Each item represents stuff that ple, you could use a physical planner with pages that contain
does not require any action on your part, but may be something your list of tasks and a physical calendar to record and track
you want to be able to refer back to or access in the future. Thus, your commitments. Alternatively, you could maintain both of
in creating a support system for material, our goal is to create a these electronically in an email system (e.g., Outlook or gmail).
well-organized system that makes it easy to store material and
more importantly, find when it is needed. Note that while being
Time Management Activity: Processing
able to easily find the materials is the overarching goal, it is also
important to make it easy to use. Thus, the amount of effort The heart of the time management system is the processing
required to determine where information and materials should phase. Processing is the link between capturing stuff and the
be stored, actually storing it there, and being able to update it to two support systems (storage system and to-dos). This is where
accommodate new information should be minimal. The key to the rubber meets the road. Up to this point, we have captured all
minimizing the effort required to use your reference material our stuff and set up an organized support system for storing this
support system is to organize and structure it effectively. There stuff so that we can easily access it or act on it. We now address
are several ways to structure your reference system: on the basis the mechanics of actually getting all the stuff we captured into
of your roles (e.g., student, sibling, club officer); in alphabetical our well-organized storage and to-do support systems.
order by topic; and other such ways. Last, you will likely want As illustrated in Figure 3A-2, processing stuff simply entails
to maintain your reference material in four locations: (1) physi- asking a series of questions to determine how to handle the stuff
cal files at home; (2) physical files at work; (3) email folders; that was captured. We will use the example of an email inbox to
and (4) electronic folders on your computer’s hard drive, net- illustrate how we process the stuff we captured. First, we always
work drive, or in the cloud. Thus, in each of these four locations process all the messages in the inbox sequentially from the top
you would set up an identical reference system with the same to the bottom of the list. It is best to process your inbox from the
structure and same categories. most recent message to the oldest message so as to avoid the risk
In addition to a support system for your information and of working on something only to find out in a later message that
materials, you also need a support system to store your com- the task was changed or even is obsolete.
mitments and to-dos. Unlike your information and materials, As you come to each message to process, you first consi-
your commitments and to-dos are things that you need to act on. der whether the message requires action on your part (see

• No - if of value, store in reference material; otherwise, dispose of it. Move to next item to be
processed.
Is this something
that requires • Yes - continue down.
action?

• Yes - delegate it and track in Waiting For category. Move to next item to be processed.
• No - continue down.
Can I delegate it?

• No - disengage from commitment. Move to next item to be processed.

Is this something • Yes - continue down.
related to my
mission?

• Yes - do it. Move to next item to be processed.

Can I do it very
• No - continue down.
quickly?

• Yes - add to task list. Move on to next item to be processed.

• No - add it to calendar. Move on to next item to be processed.
Can I defer it?

Figure 3A-2 Workflow Model for Processing Catured Stuff.

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4 CHAPTER 3 / THE PROJECT MANAGER

Figure 3A-2). If it does not, then you determine if the message completing the inventory of work that you have accumulated.
contains information that you might want to access later. If so, The way we commit to completing work is scheduling it on
you can drag the message to the appropriate electronic folder in our calendar.
your reference system, drag attachments to an electronic folder in To develop your schedule for the upcoming week, begin by
your reference system, or make a hard copy of the information to processing the stuff in your unorganized and uncategorized task
be stored in your physical reference system. Given the vast list (i.e., the stuff that has been added but not yet processed).
amount of junk email we all receive, it is quite likely the message Since the task list is the last sanctioned spot processed, it is
does not require action on your part and is not something you will likely that a bunch of new tasks have been added. Follow the
want to access at a later time. In this case, you can simply delete same rule as before: start at the top of the task list and
the message. On the other hand, if the message relates to sequentially process each item until you reach the bottom.
something that requires action on your part such as answering This rule applies regardless of whether you maintain your
a question, replying with information, or scheduling a meeting, task list in your email program, on a legal pad in your planner,
then we move on to the next question. as a word processing document, or a spreadsheet file. For each
Having determined that the message requires action, the next task in the list, determine if the task is something that should be
step is to determine if you can delegate it to someone else. If you given priority and therefore scheduled on the calendar this
can, simply forward the message to the person you are delegat- week. Determining the priority of a task is guided by a variety
ing it to with additional instructions if necessary. One useful of factors including the task’s deadline (we will have more to
trick to use when you delegate something is to Cc yourself on say on prioritizing tasks momentarily). If you determine the task
the message you forward as a way to track delegated tasks. has sufficient priority that it should be scheduled this week, find
When the Cc message comes back in your inbox, simply drag it a time on your calendar for the task, allocate this time to the task,
to an appropriate folder. and commit to completing the task at the scheduled time. Of
If the message requires action and is not something that can be course, some tasks may require scheduling multiple blocks of
delegated, consider how important taking the required action is to time. If you determine the priority of the task does not warrant
you. If the action is not important, try to find ways to disengage scheduling it this week, move the task to the appropriate
and otherwise limit your involvement with this commitment. category in your to-do support system. Once you have evaluated
If the message requires action on your part and is important all the new uncategorized stuff you added to your task list
to you, next consider whether you can complete the action during the week, next review the tasks contained in your task list
quickly, say in less than a few minutes. For example, can you that were already inventoried in each category of your to-do
reply to the message in less than 2 or 3 minutes? If you can, then support system and determine which if any of these tasks you
simply complete the action and delete the message. If it cannot also wish to add to your calendar for the coming week. After
be completed quickly, then determine whether the message processing your task list, all the new tasks that you added to
requires immediate action or whether it can be deferred. If it your task list during the week should now either be scheduled
requires immediate action, then find a time on your calendar and on your calendar or inventoried in a categorized task list to be
schedule it (perhaps by rearranging other commitments). If it is reviewed during your next planning cycle.
something that does not require immediate action, drag the To facilitate scheduling tasks, you might find it helpful to
message to your email program’s task list to be scheduled on assign a priority code to the tasks as you record them. For
your calendar at a later date. example, Brian Tracy suggests an A, B, C, D, E priority system
You repeat this process for each item in your email inbox where tasks are coded A if it is something you must do, B for
starting from the first message and continuing until the last something you should do, C if it would be nice to do but there
message has been processed. Likewise, you follow the same are no consequences for not doing it, D for something you can
process each day or week for all your other sanctioned spots delegate, and E for things to eliminate and disengage from.
where you capture stuff such as your physical inbox, your voice After categorizing your tasks, you then schedule all your A
mail, and your task list. tasks first, then B tasks, and so on. Of course given the deadlines
The final step of processing is actually scheduling your time. of your tasks, it is possible you might need to schedule some B
While you were processing the stuff you captured, the stuff that or lower tasks before all A tasks were scheduled on your
required your action but could be deferred was added to your calendar for the upcoming week.
task list. In processing your email inbox you might have simply There are some additional considerations described as fol-
dragged messages that required action to your task list in your lows to keep in mind as you are scheduling your time for the
email program. If you maintain a physical task list you would coming week.
add these actions to your physical list, perhaps stored in a word
processing document or on a handwritten list in a planner. • We all have our most productive times of the day. For
Processing the stuff that was captured at other sanctioned example, some of us are so-called morning people
spots such as your physical inbox or voice mail will also require while others are more night owls. As you are schedul-
you to add tasks to your task list. Likewise, during the week you ing your tasks, make an effort to allocate your most
may have added items to your task list to capture stuff you important tasks during your most productive time,
needed to do as it occurred to you. It is now time to commit to bearing urgency in mind of course. Also, it is best
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 5

to schedule first your most important work. This is also a the best value for your lifestyle: 5 percent, 10 percent, 20
good rule-of -thumb to follow when setting meeting agen- percent. . . .
das, namely, to schedule the most important agenda items The frequency with which you process the stuff you
for the beginning of the meeting, again considering capture at different spots may vary. For example, you
urgency. Otherwise, what frequently happens is more might find it necessary to process your email inbox several
time is spent on less-important agenda items at the begin- times a day while processing the stuff you capture in your
ning of the meeting than was anticipated leading to rushing physical inbox might only need to be processed once per
through the more important agenda items at the end of the week or month, such as paying bills. The approach to
meeting. process stuff that needs to be processed daily is exactly the
• Recognize that efficiency and effectiveness are not same as that in Figure 3A-2. The only difference is you do
enhanced by multitasking or trying to do multiple things this every day or multiple times a day. A good rule-of-
atthesametime.Thekeytomaximizingyourefficiencyand thumb to follow when processing your stuff daily is to
effectiveness is to focus on the task at hand and complete it. block out a time to do this each day and not to react to every
While the urge may be strong to shift from what you are demand when it arises. Reacting to each new demand is
currently working on to checking the last email message distracting and ultimately affects your overall effectiveness
ping,resistthisurgeandprocessyouremailatthescheduled and efficiency. Thus, in processing your email, for exam-
time. ple, block out specific times on your calendar during the
• Inevitably,asyouareschedulingtasksyouwillfindthatthat day for processing.
there is not enough time to do all the things that you have
listed. Therefore, scheduling your time for the upcoming 3A.3 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
week will likely be an iterative process where you will need There have been many excellent books written on time man-
to move things that you previously scheduled from your agement, and the few described here serve as excellent com-
calendar back to the task list as you discover higher priority plements to the discussion above. First Things First by Stephen
items.Also,youmayfindthatyouneedtodothisduringthe Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill (1994) goes
week as new demands arise. Keep in mind that you will into greater depth on the Important-Urgency Matrix shown in
never have enough time to do all the things you want to do. Figure 3A-1. The book also presents a different approach to
However, there is always enough time to do the most weekly planning that focuses on identifying specific goals for
important thing. each of your roles each week and then scheduling time to
• As you develop your schedule for the upcoming week, accomplish these goals first before adding additional items to
keep in mind that it is a tool to help you prioritize and your calendar. In this way you ensure that you are giving
achieve your goals. Therefore, you should not view priority to the most important aspects of your life. This approach
your weekly schedule as being set in stone. It is a tool to is an excellent complement to the approach presented here, as it
help you prioritize and use your time in the most is a bit more strategic and goal oriented. The book Getting
effective manner. Effective time management also Things Done by David Allen (2001) is an excellent resource for
requires being flexible to changing circumstances readers who want to explore the approach presented here in
and adapting to these changing circumstances in a more detail as well as other tactical aspects of time management.
way that is best aligned with your mission and goals. In particular, the book provides much more detail on the
• Be realistic in the way you allocate and commit your time. mechanics of setting up and organizing your systems, determin-
Donottrytopackasmuchasishumanlypossibleintoyour ing where you will capture your stuff, and actually processing
weekly schedule. New demands will arise during the your stuff. Sally McGhee’s book Take Back Your Life! (1995)
week, and work that you scheduled will often take longer illustrates how you can implement David Allen’s approach of
than you anticipated. Therefore, for your weekly schedule “Getting Things Done” using Microsoft Outlook. McGhee also
to be of the most value, it must be realistic in terms of what offers some valuable insights into the topic of time manage-
you can accomplish anditmusthave somebuilt-inslack to ment. Finally, Brian Tracy’s book Eat that Frog! (2007) is a
accommodatenewdemands astheyarise.Youcan experi- quick read and provides numerous practical tips to help you
mentwithdifferentpercentagesoramountsofslacktofind procrastinate less and accomplish more.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, D. Getting Things Done. NY: Penguin Books, 2001. McGhee, S. Take Back Your Life. Washington: Microsoft Press,
Covey, S. R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New 2005.
York: Free Press, 1989. Tracy, B. Eat That Frog! CA: BK Publishers, 2007.
Covey, S. R., Merrill, A. R., Merrill, R. R. First Things First.
NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994.