Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #895 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here.
Year 2023 was extremely turbulent and threatening due to wars, climate disasters, large-scale immigration, refugee crises in many places, almost collapse of international banking system, extreme power struggle in many regions, near death of cryptocurrency, and monstrous rise of Artificial Intelligence. The turbulence is far from over, and new challenges shall come our way in 2024.
The biggest challenge, however, shall be time, time management, specifically.
When we say, ‘time management’, it does not mean that we should save time, or that we should do multitasking and pack up many things within the same time, or that we must work extra time to meet new challenges. It means that we allocate time slots judiciously, and that we ensure quantity and quality of work in the allocated time.
Here are some suggestions for managing time in the year 2024.
Prioritize Ruthlessly
Identify your top 3-5 daily priorities, aligning them with your long-term goals. The Eisenhower Matrix can be a helpful tool. American President Eisenhower is credited with developing this matrix which plots urgency against importance, giving four windows.
As can be seen here, it is a simple way of sorting and labeling all kinds of work. Urgent and Important shall get the highest priority, and so on. We could differ with ‘deleting’ the Not Urgent-Not Important tasks; their status may change later, so it may be better to archive them, rather than deleting them. The matrix certainly provides a time-sensitive tool for organizing work.
Adopt Batching
You may consider grouping similar tasks together to minimize context switching and maximize focus. Batching emails, phone calls, or administrative tasks can significantly improve efficiency, as the batches are done one at a time, in an allocated time slot. Time allocation is mandatory because otherwise the batching effort shall fail. Another way of batching is to do related tasks in one time slot. For example, all emails, phone calls, messages about one topic may be done in one time slot. It will improve focus, increase clarity, and enhance decision making.
Use Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method based on 25-minutes stretches of focused work broken by five-minutes break. This technique was created by Francesco Cirillo in the in the 1980s, to help him manage his study time because he was getting overwhelmed by the amount of work he had to do. Francesco used a timer which was shaped like a ‘tomato’. The Italian word for tomato is ‘pomodoro’, hence the name Pomodoro technique. This is also called Time Boxing which is just a generic term for such a method.
There are 5 steps in this technique:
- Identify task or tasks that you need to complete.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- Work on the task(s) with no distraction.
- When the time is up, take a five-minutes break.
- Do three time slots like this.
- Then take a longer, 30-minutes break and start again.
Control the Tech Things
Mobile phone, Emails, WhatsApp messages, and scores of other notifications from websites and apps, are among the greatest distractors. They not only consume time, but more dangerously, they destroy the focus and hamper working. It is therefore important to turn off notifications, schedule email check-ins, and silence cell phone during focused work periods. Once in a while, it is a good idea to consider digital detox breaks to disconnect and recharge.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
Many tech tools are extremely helpful in doing your work. Just imagine, what would happen if you stopped using basic tool like MS Office – Excel, Word, Power Point, Outlook. It is now unimaginable to do away with MS Office. Many more productive tools have been designed for specific work purposes, not to mention the onslaught of AI which is disrupting everything. It is better to leverage technology to enhance your efficiency, rather than fighting against it.
Delegate
Delegation is an old suggestion/ recommendation/ tool which is recommended by all but practiced by few. In Pakistan, we are sickeningly obsessed with power and don’t want to delegate any important task to a subordinate or colleague. Our argument is that they may not do it properly, but our thinking in reality is not to let others develop, lest they threaten our position in future. What we forget is that people can only be developed through delegation, and that we shall grow only if we develop our successors. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to colleagues or outsource if feasible. Focus on your core strengths and empower others to contribute.
Learn to Say No
Understand and respect your own time and boundaries. Do not hesitate to politely decline unnecessary meetings, or discussions which do not align with your priorities. Most people feel elated when they are invited to lot of meetings, it feels important to be seen rushing from one meeting to the other. Do evaluate the burden on your time and stress on your productivity before committing to such meetings.
Rationalize Meetings
There is no doubt that there are too many meetings in every corporate. These may all be relevant; however, they are not timed crisply, and do not follow the preset agenda. The participants selection is also not entirely based on relevance. The meetings must be rationalized for subject, relevance, time, participants, and measuring of outcomes.
Do Time Management Collectively
No one can hope to do time management individually. Even if you are sensitive about your and others’ time, the others may not be, and they will keep disturbing your time management plan. It is therefore better to become a champion of time management and run campaigns for it. Canvass with more colleagues and discuss time management with them one by one; it will not succeed in groups. Group mentality and attitude is different, and usually delivers unexpected result. Take everyone, or as many as possible, towards time management and you will see great achievements.
Lastly, do not forget your health in the rush of work. Take out time, schedule, and work out to stay healthy in mind and body.
Remember! Time management is not about squeezing more into your day, but about doing less, in a better way. By prioritizing ruthlessly, using technology effectively, and scheduling for both work and well-being, you can conquer the challenges of 2024 and achieve the highest levels of productivity, all while preserving your sanity!
May your 2024 be productive, healthy, and most importantly, sane!
Concluded.
