5/6/2021 Prioritization: Time Management Advice to Empower Your Success
Prioritization: Time Management Advice to
Empower Your Success
By Guest Author | February 11, 2016
Cary J. Green, PhD
Countless books have been written on prioritization and time management, yet my
experience is that most people often spend time doing things that are not a high
priority. You may think you are making progress simply because you are busy.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, busyness can keep you from
accomplishing anything meaningful by giving you a false feeling of accomplishment
while stealing your time. To reach your goals and achieve success, you must focus
effort on your priorities, those things that are truly impactful and important to you.
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5/6/2021 Prioritization: Time Management Advice to Empower Your Success
Everything is Not Important
If you want to be successful, you must manage your time so that you achieve your
goals. Managing your time means that you spend time on your priorities, and it also
means that you do not waste time on non-priorities. You can begin to identify your
priorities by answering the questions below. Keep your priorities as simple and clear
as possible.
Following are some questions to help you determine your priorities:
What are your values?
What are your goals?
What are your responsibilities?
What is the impact of the activity?
Values are those things that truly are important to you. Values should guide your
overall direction in life, and they provide foundational context for your goals and
priorities. Goals are impactful results or accomplishments you want to achieve and
should align with your values.
Your responsibilities also influence your priorities. A student has the
responsibility to attend class, complete assignments, learn the class material, etc. An
employee has the responsibility to go to work, work well with others, and be
productive. Your responsibilities to your family can have a tremendous effect on your
priorities. Finally, to be successful over the long haul, your priorities must be
impactful and have lasting value.
As you focus on priorities, don’t lose sight of your priorities when bombarded
with other people’s priorities. Someone may bring an issue to you seeking help;
this issue may be a priority for him but not necessarily for you. By working on his
priority, you lose time that could be spent on your priorities. Of course, your
friendship with him may be a priority of yours, so his issue may merit your time.
Please understand that I am not discouraging you from helping others; in fact,
helping others should be a priority. However, don’t automatically place a higher
priority on the requests of other people than on your own priorities. For example, if
you have a major chemistry test in the morning but your roommate wants to tell you
about his new motorcycle tonight, you would be wise to suggest to him that you talk
about it tomorrow after your test. In other words, prioritize your need to study over
his priority of talking about motorcycles.
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5/6/2021 Prioritization: Time Management Advice to Empower Your Success
Furthermore, understand that urgent issues, whether yours or someone else’s,
are not necessarily important issues. Many people struggle to recognize the
difference between urgency and importance. I have observed this lack of
understanding several times in interviews when I ask potential employees this
question: “If you have urgent activities and important activities competing for your
time, which would you work on first?” Many people incorrectly answer that they
would first work on the urgent activities. The point is that the enthusiasm often
associated with urgency counterfeits itself as importance. Don’t be fooled: You
should work on the most important things first, and remember that urgent issues
are not necessarily important issues.
You are What You Do
Once you separate the important from the urgent, manage your time so you can
focus effort on your priorities. Managing time is easier said than done. For several
years, I taught an orientation class for college freshmen. I asked students to describe
their biggest challenge. Without fail, year in and year out, the answer was the same:
“I don’t have enough time.” Although it is true that you do not have time to do
everything, you do have time to do what is truly important to you. Think of it like this:
The least effective person you know has the same amount of time as does the most
effective person you know. The difference, of course, is knowing how to manage
your time, avoid distractions, and put maximum effort into your priorities. Effective
time management will have a huge impact on your success.
If you spend time on non-priority activities, then obviously you have less time
available for your priorities. Life is a series of choices. Choose wisely. Saying “no” to
some activities is as important as is saying “yes,” perhaps even more so. A colleague
of mine says, “When you say yes to something now, you are saying no to something
else later.” To reiterate this point, when asked if I have had time to do something I
have not done, I often reply by saying, “Yes, I had time. But I chose to spend my time
on something else.”
How do you know if you are not managing your time effectively? Here are a few
questions to consider:
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5/6/2021 Prioritization: Time Management Advice to Empower Your Success
Do you often think you could have done better on a task or project if you would
have had more time?
Do you consistently miss deadlines?
Do you consistently ask for extra time to get your work done?
Do you have to pull “all-nighters” or rush at the last minute to get your work
done?
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you likely could improve your time
management skills.
The point of managing time to focus on priorities was driven home to me when I
received feedback from my three-year-review committee while I was an assistant
professor. The advice I got was to quit doing some of the things I was doing and put
more effort into the aspects of my job that would get me promoted and tenured.
Their advice, which sounds like common sense now, did not immediately resonate
with me. I was working very hard, and I thought everything I was doing was
important. And in some ways, everything I was doing was important. However, some
activities would not help me reach my goal. Thus, although I was very busy and was
working on several activities that seemed “important,” I was not spending enough
time on activities that would help me reach my goal. I was spending too much time
serving on committees and not enough time on research. Were the committees
important? Yes. But time spent on committee work was not a priority.. Remember,
being busy (doing something) is not the same thing as being productive (doing
something important).
The difference between busyness and productivity can be difficult to see. Spending
time on otherwise worthwhile activities can also get in the way of your progress if
those activities are not priorities. Please don’t miss this point: Not all “important”
activities are equal, and “good” activities can get in the way of your true priorities.
A Simple Procedure
Below I provide a practical example of how I get organized, manage time, and stay
focused on priorities. This approach may be helpful to you as well. When I start
working on a project, I follow this procedure:
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5/6/2021 Prioritization: Time Management Advice to Empower Your Success
Outline the steps that are needed
Estimate the time required for each step
Determine the deadline for each step
Add each step to my calendar
Stay focused on my plan to ensure I meet deadlines
Following is an example of an outline you could use to write a term paper for school
or a report for your job. Assume a deadline of February 15.
Step Duration Deadline
Outline the paper 1 hr. Jan-15
Research your topic 4 hr. Jan-20
Write first draft 2 hr. Jan-22
Revise draft 1 hr. Jan-25
Find someone to review your paper — Jan-26
Conduct additional research, if needed 2 hr. Feb-3
Write second draft 2 hr. Feb-6
Send second draft to reviewer — Feb-6
Write final draft 1hr Feb-12
Submit — Feb-13
To begin, break down the project into steps. Estimate the time required to complete
each step, and schedule your steps so you can finish your paper by the deadline. You
might build in a one- or two-day cushion, in case you need some extra time. Add this
information to your calendar. (If you don’t use a planning calendar, I suggest that
you start using one.)
In this example, I estimate that outlining the paper will take an hour. The deadline is
January 15. To complete this step, I block out an hour in my calendar to work on the
outline, so I can finish it by the January 15 deadline. For example, I might set aside
nine to ten a.m. on January 13 to work on the outline. I estimate that conducting
research would take four hours. Thus, I block out two, two-hour time periods for my
research. For example, I may block out from ten a.m. to noon on January 17, and
from two p.m. to four p.m. on January 19. Similarly, I block out time for each of the
remaining steps. Think of blocking out time for your steps as setting up a meeting
with yourself to ensure you have time to complete each step on time and stay on
track. Make these time blocks and activities a priority, and do not miss the
“meetings” with yourself.
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Because I like to have someone read through a draft of my paper, I need to find a
reviewer. Sending a quick e-mail to a friend to ask her to review my paper does not
merit setting aside a block of time; I simply e-mail her before January 26, ask her to
review my paper, and give her a deadline for receiving her comments. Once I receive
her comments, I can make the necessary changes and submit my paper on time.
If you stick with the plan you develop, you will get your paper or job application done
on time. Although you need not always be this formal, mentally working through this
exercise is quite valuable. The key points are to:
Know what steps are needed to complete your project.
Know the amount of time required to complete each step.
Plan enough time to get the work done on time.
Schedule specific time into your calendar to allow you to complete each step.
Prioritize your time to get the work done according to your plan.
Let me end with time management advice I give to students: At the beginning of
each semester, add to your calendar your class schedule, work schedule, student
organization meetings, etc. for the entire semester. Then set aside time each week of
the semester to complete your school work. You might block out six or eight two-
hour blocks each week. This will ensure that you always have time available each
week to complete your school work. At the beginning of the semester you may not
know exactly what you will have to work on during the eleventh week of the
semester, but you will know that you have time scheduled to do it.
Key Points on Prioritization and Time Management:
Busyness can keep you from accomplishing anything meaningful.
The least effective person you know has the same amount of time as does the
most effective person you know.
Focus your efforts on your priorities.
Urgent issues, whether yours or someone else’s, are not necessarily priority
issues.
Not all important activities are equal, and “good” activities can get in the way
of your true priorities.
Know what steps are needed to complete your project, and then plan enough
time to get the work done on time.
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5/6/2021 Prioritization: Time Management Advice to Empower Your Success
Adapted from Leadership and Soft Skills for Students: Empowered to Succeed in High
School, College, and Beyond by Cary J. Green, PhD. Copyright 2015 by Cary J. Green.
Published by Dog Ear Publishing. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About “GenDIY”
eduInnovation and Getting Smart have partnered with The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson
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Yourself (GenDIY)– how young people are hacking a pathway to a career they love – on
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Cary J. Green, PhD, has been an educator and mentor to young people for more than
twenty years, and has held academic leadership positions for more than ten years. Follow
Cary on Twitter, @LeadSoftSkills.
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