Planning key in managing time

By Jamie Herzlich | Tribune Newspapers

May 5, 2008

Feeling stressed—like there aren't enough hours in the day to get your work done? It's possible you're not making the most of your time.

Many entrepreneurs wind up behind the eight ball because they aren't very good at managing time effectively, experts say.

"Entrepreneurs are often wearing many hats," explained Andrea Feinberg, president of Coaching Insight LLC, a small-business and marketing consulting firm in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. "They become accustomed to doing everything, and that becomes a growing monster."

So it's important to understand you can't do everything yourself, and the key to effective time management is distinguishing between what's important and what's not.

"Many people concentrate on ant stomping when they should concentrate on elephant hunting," explained Peter Turla, president of the National Management Institute, a time-management consulting company in Flower Mound, Texas. "When you focus on stomping ants, you confuse activity with accomplishment. You're going for the small, insignificant tasks that are easy to do."

Instead, figure out which tasks will reap the biggest payoff in your overall long-term objectives, said Turla.

Try to capture all your commitments in a "sort of external bucket," suggests productivity expert David Allen, chairman of Ojai, Calif.-based The David Allen Co. and author of "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity."

Start by making a to-do list of what needs to be accomplished. Next, clarify what action needs to take place to accomplish those tasks, said Allen, who also wrote "Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life."

Martin Gringer, a principal at the Garden City, N.Y., law firm of Franklin, Gringer & Cohen, likes to write down his tasks for the day on a pad.

He checks off tasks as he completes them and tries to delegate jobs that don't need his personal attention.

"At some point, you have to really look at how much your time is really worth and farm out tasks that don't make you money or could be done by somebody else," explained Linda Berke, president of Taylor Performance Solutions in Melville, N.Y., which offers time-management training.

And plan ahead when possible so you don't fall behind. Berke recommends tackling a project bit by bit so it doesn't get away from you.

Special to Newsday