Better Decisions: Good time management can help your business- and your health

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Taking care of the time stealers and developing your time management skills are key to a successful farming operation and a happy family life

by GARY MAWHINEY

How often have you heard the phrase, "When you need a job done, get a busy man?"   
In today's hectic world of agribusiness, producers and farm managers need to develop time management skills in order to become successful. Additional benefits of good time management are improved physical and emotional health, productivity and, perhaps most importantly, a happy family life.

Time management is not exactly what it sounds like. It is not a device to make you work harder or longer, but rather a technique to make you work smarter. It is a fact that, in today's world, everyone must constantly make adjustments to change, and time management is a good tool to help you with that necessity. Everyone has to "do more with less" and, without a good sense of time management, you will find yourself constantly wondering where the time went.

In some instances, you may be overwhelmed with all the demands being placed upon you. Your body has a wonderful mechanism built in if your brain keeps pushing you and you don't make adjustments. It will stop you in the form of chronic illness or, in some worst-case scenarios, heart attacks. Getting better organized and knowing when to say "no" is key in today's business world.

Individuals vary greatly in their ability to sense and utilize time. What you are able to accomplish over a day depends largely on your motivation, energy, skills and other resources.

Each one needs to examine his or her own time patterns as a first step in establishing good time management skills.

We all function at a different pace and according to different schedules. Most people find that they work in a normal day environment quite well.

But some seem to be "night owls" and find they are at their peak during the night or late in the day. You need to find out where you function best and try to schedule your work period during that time. It is very difficult to work at night on a farm, but nonetheless, with some creativity, it may be possible to accomplish this routine.

As a farm owner or agribusiness manager, there are some periods in the day when you have to share your time with others. Set aside a specific time when you will be available to employees and other outside business demands. This will help to reduce or eliminate that "killer" of time management, frequent interruptions.

Another step in developing time management skills is to analyze where you spend your time and look for problems in your current system. This will involve logging a typical day in written form, with time frames attached to each activity. Try doing this for a leastone week or one business cycle in order to understand where exactly you are spending your time. Once you have done an analysis, you can then set up a schedule that works best for you.

Since the advent of e-mail, the average office worker spends excessive amounts of time and energy reading and responding to this electronic time stealer. Many corporations are now introducing ways and means for their employees to work more efficiently and make better use of e-mail.

While running a farm may not involve heavy e-mail use, there are many other time stealers which you have to deal with on a daily basis. Unexpected visitors, salesmen, clutter and even family members all contribute to making inefficient use of your day.   
There is no time management plan that will work absolutely or perform miracles. There will always be interruptions and problems that have to be dealt with immediately.

Some time management strategies include using a "to-do" list and keeping a notebook and calendar with you at all times. Electronic personal assistants such as a Blackberry or a Palm Pilot, if used properly, will help a great deal.

But always remember that these assistants do have an off button and, when you need some quiet time, make sure you use the button.

We hear a great deal about work-life balance. Although it may sound like the health industry's "flavour of the month," there is a great deal of merit in establishing this balance. Your family, personal health and well-being should take precedence over any job or business.

When we are young and seem to have limitless energy, our primary goal is to succeed at any cost. However, life has a way of happening to you when you are not looking. Without a balance in your daily life and routine, you may find yourself with a multi-million dollar business but nobody to share it with. I have never seen a Brink's truck at a funeral yet and paying attention to family and friends should rank high on your list.   

Another buzz word from the world of business today is multi-tasking, but I sometimes call it multi-mistaking. When you try to do several things at once, you often end up with nothing being done very well in any of the jobs. Pour your energies and concentration into one major thing at a time. If you have the ability to say no, you will find that you do not have several major projects on the go at one time.

The old adage of spending 80 per cent of your time on 20 per cent of your activities is a very sound. When you use good time management skills, you will find that the value of your work or business will increase as well as your sense of well being. BF

Gary Mawhiney is Human Resources Management Program Lead with the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Email: gary.mawhiney@ontario.ca