Sunday, April 27, 2008

Energy and Time Management

My quote of the day:

"There is a difference between doing the things you have a right to do and doing the right things"

Who said it?

Speaking of getting the right things done (I know different kind of right)...

I read an interesting article on time management in Harvard Business Review. (Aren't all time management articles interesting).

I will let your read the original article to get the points:

1 - break your responsibilities into categories.

2 - Ask what percentage of time to spend in each category.

3 - Check alignment of this with colleagues and superiors.

Then it give some tips on execution.

I liked the article and it follows the tried and true - know your priorities and spend your time where the priorities are. What I would add though is a section on energy. In many cases, it is not just the time, it is the creativity and energy that makes the true difference in getting the right things done.

5 Comments:

At 11:55 AM, Blogger Gerhard Peters said...

About 4 years ago you introduced me to time management. I really liked it and studied it whole hardly. Since then with more experience and lot more reading I have become bored of the self-help material including time management. I’m not perfect but I have become much better at time management but also for many other reasons then just reading self-help material. This leads me to ask the following questions...

The article you suggested in your blog talks about the born leader...what does that mean to you being a born leader?
Do you think the fact that the market is flooded with self help books is making any difference in people's lives? I don’t mean the few individuals here and there but our society in general?
Why is hardly anyone taking time management serious (or other personal development issues)?

I like to hear your perspective on the above.

Thanks for your mentorship Jim!

 
At 3:03 PM, Blogger Jim Estill said...

I am not sure people are "born Leaders:. I think like anything, it is a skill you can study, practise and learn. Not saying it is easy to do though.

I actually do think self help books help. Human behaviour is often best modified through repeated reminding and often different views drive things home to different people.

Time management question is a tougher one. I think many people think it is tough or they do not need helpe - they know how to do it. I think others miss the point and think they would work harder and play less not understanding that good time management allows a person to spend time as they choose.

 
At 11:10 PM, Blogger ploveme said...

I'm Chinese. There are many books about my country wisdom's pensee.
I have not read a book completely as yet.Because i only need some thinking of them,and i accept what have been validated by myself in the life.

By the way, i read the blog for improving my English

 
At 9:26 AM, Blogger Gerhard Peters said...

I see your point about self help books and agree that they can help which it has been in my case.

But I still think that a lot of the self-help books lack in quality and the focus is on external behavior and not on what I like to think about as transformational behavior.

There is a vast difference between the two, which I’m just beginning to understand.

 
At 3:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the second point is the most important one...set a time or percent how much time you should spent on the category. This can help you to not lose a sight of the things you are bad.

 

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