Effective executives start with their time.
“Know thyself,” the old prescription of wisdom, is almost impossibly difficult for mortal men. But everyone can follow the injunction “Know thy time” if one wants to, and be well on the road toward contribution and effectiveness.
Most discussions of the executive’s task start with the advice to plan one’s work. This sounds eminently plausible. The only thing wrong with it is that it rarely works. The plans always remain on paper, always remain good intentions. They seldom turn into achievement. Effective executives, in my observation, do not start with their tasks. They start with their time. And they do not start out with planning. They start by finding out where their time actually goes. Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back unproductive demands on their time. Finally they consolidate their “discretionary” time into the largest possible continuing units. This three-step process
is the foundation of executive effectiveness.
ACTION POINT: Find out where your time goes by recording, managing, and consolidating your time.
The Effective Executive
* Source: The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker