I’d be insane to think that you don’t understand the importance of time management, but there is an aspect that is important for us to consider this week that we don’t normally talk about. The importance of practicing what we preach. Our staff, our agents, and any other professional that comes into our orbit learn so much more from observing what we do and how we do it than what we tell them to do. So if we, ourselves, aren’t masters of time management, how can we expect those we coach and lead to be?

The subject of practicing what you preach always makes me think of my Dad. He never talked to me about the importance of showing up, but this is something that has served me well both personally and professionally and I learned it from watching him. Yes, we stayed home if we were truly sick, but observing him never missing a piano recital, a sporting event, a Girl Scout meeting, or work – even when he was going through chemotherapy – taught me infinitely more than what he could ever say to me on the subject. I learned that the act of showing up is important. It builds and strengthens relationships, develops you as a leader, and helps you to get that promotion or land that big client. 

So using this same theory here – what are we indirectly saying to the people we lead and influence? Are we telling them that we cannot manage our time and our work during the 40ish hours allotted for it during the week? Do they see us burning the midnight oil, choosing work over our friends and family on weekends? Are we telling them that the expectation is for them to be overwhelmed and reactive with their responsibilities? You may be able to say, “Well, I never TOLD them they had to work nights and weekends!” but the indirect implication that this is expected or encouraged can lead your team toward a path of burnout, careless mistakes, and poor customer service. 

Happy staff and agents = happy clients. By modeling amazing time management, you will help them to excel in their responsibilities and achieve that highly coveted work-life balance so that they can feel great about their career and stay with you for many years to come.

Do some self-reflection and try out some of these tips. If this is something that your organization struggles with, you have the power to change it!

💰Understand Your High-Value Activities. High-value client interactions, strategic planning sessions, networking with potential partners. Prioritize the tasks that strengthen and grow your business the most to ensure you’re focusing your time and energy where it matters.

⚖️ Use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you categorize your responsibilities. Draw four boxes and enter your items accordingly:

• Urgent and Important: Complete these immediately 
• Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these on their appropriate dates
• Urgent but Not Important: Delegate these to someone else
• Not Urgent and Not Important: Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s on these

🗣️ Delegate to Empower Your Team. Delegating not only frees up your time, but it builds trust and fosters a sense of ownership, which boosts overall productivity. It also helps your organization to grow. If you are the lone person within an organization that can do something, they will be completely handicapped if you need to take leave, get sick or injured, or God forbid, go on vacation. Be sure when you are delegating that you give clear instructions and deadlines and be flexible on HOW these items are done. Your way may not be the best way. Replace yourself and watch your business grow!

💻 Leverage Technology. Tools like Asana, Trelly, or Monday.com can help you organize tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. They facilitate collaboration and keep everyone on the same page, reducing the time spent on meetings and following up.

🚀 Automate Routine Tasks. Use tools to automate repetitive tasks and create slides instead of stairs for things like routine email responses, appointment scheduling, and data entry. 

🏗️ Have a Structured Schedule. One strategy here is to dedicate mornings to strategic planning and afternoons to client or staff meetings. Blocking your time helps you to maintain focus, minimizes distractions, and allows you to schedule work according to when you can perform your best. If you like to crush it in the mornings, keep your strategic work and big-thinking items early in the day. If you need a while to warm up and rock the afternoons, flip it around. Bear in mind, though, that this strategy only works if you protect your time blocks. If you are regularly breaking your own rules, you’ll soon be back into chaos. Find something that works and commit to it.

🤝 Optimize Your Meetings. Every meeting needs a clear purpose, an agenda, and a strict time limit. Similar to our item above, you have to stick to the agenda once established to avoid wasting valuable time. If you can’t build an agenda, cancel the meeting and actively practice not running over on time. A meeting that runs late sends everyone into reactive mode for the next day and a half and can easily be avoided by sticking to the planned agenda.

🧘‍♀️ Practice Self-Care and Work-Life Balance. Incorporate short breaks. Drink water. Eat lunch. Regular breaks and taking care of yourself boosts your overall productivity and mental well-being. Be sure to set boundaries between work and personal time. If you’re taking time off to relax and rejuvenate, you will prevent your own burnout and maintain that crusher level status you have for a long time. Modeling this for others will help the overall organization to achieve it as well.

👂 Ask for Feedback and Adjust. It’s easy to get into patterns and habits, regularly review your time management strategies and their effectiveness, and ask for feedback on ways both you and the overall organization can improve. Your team will offer valuable insights from their own experience on how to streamline your processes.