Forget time management

A lot of executives believe a sterner handling of time will let them cram more into their busy schedules. In my view this is a false hope.

One director I know went on a two-day time management course and was so busy on his return catching up with issues that he never got around to reading the literature or trying the techniques. He’s still catching up.

Let’s assume you’re within the range of normal in terms of organisation. You’re not pathologically distractable.

Assuming that, here’s the thing: if important stuff is to be done correctly, it takes as long as it takes. Negotiating a deal, lunching a valuable contact, researching a new market, comprehending a document – you can’t speed these things up much without botching the job.

Time cannot be “managed”. It can’t be bent, stretched or compressed. It can’t be persuaded or negotiated with. It’s a finite, precious resource, and it slips uncaring through your fingers.

We can’t manage our time; all we can do is give it away by doing more, or win it back by doing less.

That’s why delegation is a bigger priority than time management, because it allows us to do less of what we shouldn’t be doing, and more of what we should be doing.

More here: https://dsabuilding.co.uk/deep-and-deliberate-delegation/