Episode 4 - Time Management is the Biggest Lie

Transcription

Time management is the biggest lie in the book.

You’ve been told your whole life that if you just managed your time better, everything would work. You’d hit your goals. You’d get everything done. Your staff would perform better.

But here’s the truth: time cannot be managed. You can’t stop it. You can’t move it. You can’t stretch it.

Calendars and apps don’t manage time. They only organize tasks.

Welcome to the Provider Power Moves Podcast. I am your host, Sara Sherman. Here, I leverage my 35 years of experience in the field to give you practical steps that create big results in your agency and in your workday.

Pause for a moment. How often do you blame yourself or your staff for poor time management? I hear it all the time. I continually hear about employees who simply need to manage their time better.

Given that time management is simply not possible, these staff will never achieve success. They’re focused on the wrong thing — and so are you.

Further, think about all the time and energy that is devoted to nagging, harassing, pestering, and writing up employees who fail to “manage their time.”

Now you may be thinking, Okay, so Sara, if time management isn’t the issue, then what is — and how do we get staff back on track?

Well, I am so very glad that you asked.

Here’s what we know. We know that staff are not getting their tasks done. And right now, that’s all we know. So let’s start there.

Because staff are not getting their work done in the time allotted, something must be getting in the way. Somewhere, there is a barrier that is impeding the completion of the tasks assigned within the allotted time.

This means we have to investigate.

If the work isn’t getting done, there are only two possible reasons.

First, there may be too many tasks for the time available. So you need to think about whether the amount of work assigned to that period of time is actually completable in that amount of time. This is a process issue.

We know that before we can identify a people problem, we have to rule out a process problem.

This means you have to first confirm that the work can be done within the time allotted. You can complete a formal time study to figure that out. You can observe staff, or meet with them and discuss the workload.

If the work cannot be done within the time available, you’re going to have to make changes in order for you or your staff to be successful. That means you have to move things. You have to figure out what work will be eliminated from the task list and where that work is going to go.

If the work can be done within the allotted time, then you have a different problem. You probably have a people problem.

While we do not control time, we do control attention.

I remember when I was working in case management or service coordination. In social services, we tend to spend a lot of time talking, and not everything we talk about has to do with the tasks of the day.

Sometimes we get a bit philosophical.

I have to confess, there were days when I was talking to lots of people and felt really tired at the end of the day because I had expended a lot of energy. But when I got back to my office, I realized I hadn’t done anything on my list — and the day was gone.

And I thought, Oh my gosh, how did I lose a full day?

Was everything I was talking about necessary for the job and for the day? And I had to be honest. The answer was no. Not all of those conversations were necessary.

I gave my attention to those conversations in error. It was a mistake. I did not have the available minutes to have some of the conversations that I had.

This means I put my attention in the wrong place.

Now the good news is that I have complete control over where I put my attention. And so do you. And so do your staff.

So if the work can be done in the allotted time, then we know attention is drifting. And we have to ask: Where is our attention drifting?

Think about it. Is there anywhere right now that members of your team are experiencing this drift of attention?

If the answer is yes, then let’s do a deeper dive.

We need to ask the question: What is being done instead of the required tasks? What is being done instead of the required tasks?

Make a list. If you’re supervising someone, have them make the list. Then check that list to see if you agree.

What kinds of things are taking a little too long? What are you lingering on? Write it all down.

You already know the work can be done in the allotted time. Now you’re figuring out what’s getting in the way.

Once you’ve reviewed the list and agreed with your staff person’s assessment, the next question is: Why does this barrier exist?

Is it because someone is confused about the tasks or task execution?
Is it because someone is getting distracted?
Is it because the task isn’t enjoyable and gets pushed to the end — and oops, now we’ve run out of time?
Is it because there’s a lot of coworker chatter?
Or is something else getting in the way?

You’ll do this same exercise whether you’re the one experiencing the challenge or you’re supervising someone who is.

Once you identify the barriers, you’re going to make a plan to eliminate them.

And through this process, it’s really important that you do not judge yourself and that you do not judge your staff. Shame serves no purpose.

You’ve analyzed the situation. You’ve compiled the data. You’ve analyzed the data. And you’ve created a solution.

Now it’s time to implement that solution and confirm that the problem of not getting the work done in the allotted time is resolved.

There is one particular barrier I want to talk about, because it happens commonly.

Staff will say something like, I didn’t have time to do the tasks because I was interacting with the people I serve.

In our field, there’s sometimes a perception that hanging out with the individuals we serve forgives other job requirements. And this is not true.

All tasks are required in order to effectively serve individuals.

For example, not documenting in favor of hanging out with the individual served robs that individual of having their life — their activities, opinions, desires, dreams, problems, challenges, relationships — documented.

The individuals we serve have a right to have their lives documented. They have the right for the people who need to know what’s happening in their lives to be able to know.

And we do that through effective documentation.

Through effective documentation, the people we serve have the ability to have their lives continue forward consistently, moving in the direction they want.

Without documentation, no one knows what’s happening on the next shift. No one can identify when problems first began. No one can pick up what’s happening in a day program and help the person have a similar experience in the evening.

Documentation serves many purposes. This is one of them.

Good documentation supports continuity. It supports dignity. It supports the individual living their life the way they want to live it.

So if you hear those words from your staff — or you struggle yourself with knowing when to step back in order to document — remember how important documentation is, and how much the people you serve are counting on you to have their back.

Alright, let’s do a quick recap.

Time management isn’t real. Don’t shoot for it — you’ll never get there.
Attention management is real. Shoot for that.

Make sure all tasks can be done within the time allotted. If not, move tasks.

If yes, investigate where attention is going. What is creating the barrier when you or your team run out of time before tasks are completed?

And remember: hanging out with the people you serve is fantastic. It is not a valid reason to skip other required tasks.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Give this a try and let me know how it goes.

Contact me at Sara — (S-A-R-A) — sara@providerpowermoves.com.

Until next time — power on.