Managing the Time Crunch
It’s the year 2124. NASA is exploring the feasibility of sending people to live on the moon, in preparation for building a space station there. The space agency must determine how people will work, when given a limited oxygen supply. Therefore Team Fantastic has been hired to go to the moon and perform a number of common business tasks. The team will receive whatever equipment or supplies are necessary and scientists will be watching to see what happens.
You and your teammates are strapped to the seats of a rocket, counting down, “ten, nine, eight, seven …”
After landing on the moon, the team receives its final order: Stay until you have accomplished your team goals or until your fuel and oxygen supplies are depleted, whichever comes first.
If you were a team of astronauts, you would work efficiently to accomplish the vast array of experiments that have been planned. But you are not astronauts, and that’s not how you use your time. You hold lengthy, unproductive meetings. Tick, tick, down go your fuel gauges. You spend hours on the phone. Tick, tick, down go your oxygen gauges. You fumble around with ill-conceived plans before finally getting on track. Tick, tick, tick. At this rate, your fuel gauges will soon read empty and you will find yourselves gasping for air.
There is nothing like the threat of oxygen deprivation to put a team in high gear. Short of cutting off the oxygen, however, your real-life team can take several steps to make better use of time back on Earth. By taking these actions, you and your team can benefit from the advantages of teamwork without falling prey to one of the greatest disadvantages: wasted time.
Ways to Help
Prioritize team projects or responsibilities. One way to do this is to list your team’s five largest projects and ask members to rank their importance. Then, calculate the average ranks. A less formal approach is to say to teammates, “I know you are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Is there anything we’re doing that doesn’t really have to be done now?” If your teammates speak their minds, they may help you develop a strategy for focusing the team’s attention on what really counts.
Drive productive meetings with pointed questions. At the start of meetings, ask questions such as the following:
• What do we absolutely have to accomplish today?
• What decisions need to be made?
• How long do we plan to meet?
• Do we all need to be here for this discussion?
If a meeting begins to drag on, ask these kinds of questions:
• How can we get some closure on this?
• What do you need from me?
• What are we going to do and who is going to do it?
• Do we have enough information at this time to make a decision, or should we move on to the next topic?
Count your minutes. If you wanted to lose weight, you’d probably start by counting calories. Similarly, if you want to reduce the time you waste, start by counting minutes. How long do you spend in meetings? At the water cooler or coffee pot? On the phone? Only by recording how you spend your time can you find ways to spend it more wisely. Try this for a day. You might be surprised by what you find.
Be honest with callers about how much time you have to talk. Many of us rival social teenagers in the time we spend on the phone. To avoid long conversations, try greeting the caller as follows: “Hello, Pat, good to hear from you. Listen, I’ve got just a few minutes to talk now; is that all right?” Setting expectations in this manner will result in shorter, more productive conversations, especially when Pat loves to talk.
Study the accuracy of your planning predictions. We all try to plan realistically, yet we sometimes find ourselves in a panic, having underestimated the complexity of the job. After completing a task, determine whether you over- or underestimated how long it would take to do it. For example, examine old memos or timetables to see how long you thought the job would take. If you find that you consistently underestimate how long it takes to do a task, you have a common problem that can generate stress and eventually erode your credibility with people who rely on you. Although it is an exaggeration, Murphy’s Law may hold a grain of truth for you. In estimating the time to complete a job, make a guess (for example, two hours), multiply this number by two (four hours), and take the next larger unit of measure (four days). That’s how long it will take, according to Murphy!
Avoid overcommitting yourself. We often try to please others by saying “yes” to every request that comes our way. “Yes, I’ll write that report by tomorrow.” “Yes, I’ll perform this maintenance task this afternoon.” Although a “will do” attitude is essential for succeeding in most organizations, you can sometimes do yourself and others a favor by saying, “I would like to help you, but I don’t have time to do it now. How about next week?” It is better to be realistic than to make promises you cannot fulfill (and suffer the stress or guilt that results when you fall behind).
Prioritize the items on your to-do list. Although it is regarded as compulsive behavior by some people, writing to-do lists is a great way to get the load off your mind and onto paper. Many, perhaps most, people do this, but then they neglect to prioritize the tasks. Once you have listed the jobs to be done, rank them by level of urgency or importance, and try to accomplish them in that order.
If the team simply cannot accomplish the work in the allotted time, write a job description for selecting someone who could help. What roles and responsibilities would this person have? What skills, knowledge, or other qualities should this person possess? Whether or not your team has the funds to hire such a person, this exercise may help you understand your team’s weak points.
Establish quality control procedures to catch mistakes that are likely to happen when your team is in a hurry. When teams are not wasting time, they often are working under extreme time pressure, which can lead to mistakes. Make certain that at least two people on your team take a final look at your product, whether it be a radio or a report, before it goes out the door. Develop simple standardized checklists for performing complex tasks under time pressure.
Take steps to develop a more coordinated, efficient team. See chapter 8—“Coordinating the Team”—for suggestions in this area.