Amol Titus,
Living in Jakarta, we have all had experiences related to poor time management. It is almost as if there is a growing culture of jam karet or casually extended time in which deadlines are not honored, guests -- including ministers and officials -- cancel at the last minute, project overruns become the norm and days are spent wasting time followed by hours scrambling to catch up. The excuses are often the same -- the omnipresent macet (traffic jam), scheduling mix-ups, unforeseen emergencies, communication problems, tendency of pelupa (forgetful) and so on.
When left unchecked or not confronted jam karet becomes a habit. A habit in which we effectively devalue time, choosing to extend, prolong, procrastinate, postpone or defer in preference to closure, execution, completion or punctuality. Since time is a precious and limited resource this attitude clearly has adverse implications for the individual, businesses and the economy in general. Delays breed inertia that in turn fosters low productivity.
The first cause of ineffective time management is mixed priorities. The Italian economist Vifredo Pareto hypothesized, ""twenty percent of the time at work is spent doing things which account for 80 percent of the results and 80 percent of the time is spent doing things which account for 20 percent of the results"". Put another way, the Pareto Principle challenges managers to constantly evaluate what are the important tasks -- important from the perspective of the shareholders, the business, staff or customers rather than important to the individual manager. Important does not necessarily mean urgent, and important also does not mean always doing first what the boss wants. Remember bosses can also often be weak time managers.
There is an unfortunate tendency in some companies to look at firefighters or managers constantly battling crises with respect and admiration. In a volatile operating environment like Indonesia the ability to manage crisis is essential but we often notice ""the scrambling individual"".
Such individuals create the impression that every thing is most urgent every time. Often such managers have mixed-up priorities and are struggling to cope with the range of their tasks. Their lack of organization at times is the cause of the crisis and the last minute panic is an attempt to disguise their own weakness or miscalculation. Remember, scrambling does not denote positive business development energy.
The ability to correctly prioritize is a prerequisite for a modern manager. To understand the key tasks that need to be performed. To be able to recognize the value that these tasks are generating in terms of customer satisfaction, employee morale, market share growth, profits, quality and so on. To allocate commensurate time that is proportionate to the importance and priority of the tasks.
The second cause of ineffective time management is inability to say ""No"".
Martin Scott, a writer on the subject of time management, states ""a common problem of poor time managers is over-commitment. It is also a frequent cause of stress. Therefore, a key element in effective time management must be the word 'No'. It is a very simple word but some people have an awful lot of trouble with it."" This is quite true in the Indonesian context where often due to cultural sensitivities people are reluctant to say ""No"" upfront.
Though appearing to be popular or respectful, the inability to say ""No"" often results in bad time management. Decisions are deferred, files left unattended, commitments are kept hanging and there is a tendency to become risk averse. By not saying ""No"" (which can be said firmly but politely) important tasks start getting affected as attention gets divided or distracted.
Learning to say ""No"" starts with empowerment-- if a manager is constantly overriding juniors in decision-making then the subordinates will not develop the confidence or ability to say ""No"". Saying ""No"" correctly also requires staff to understand the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness. In the former you are making a confident statement without trampling the esteem of the counterparty. Assertiveness is more suited to the Indonesian psyche as compared to aggressiveness or one-upmanship that is harmful to teamwork.
The third aspect in ineffective time management is self-organization.
Take a look around your office and you will find that amid all the harried or rushed colleagues you will find the rare individual who is punctual, neat, appears to be in control and often manages a good work-life-family balance. Such individuals demonstrate a high degree of self-organization.
Self-organization stems from the following -- first, effective activity management; second, multi-tasking or simultaneous handling of tasks; third, role clarity in being aware of the expectations in terms of delivery and quality and fourth, a general dislike for time wasting. A belief that time is finite and precious and not to be taken for granted like the elastic or stretchable karet (rubber).
Ultimately, as the management guru Peter Drucker summarized ""time is the scarcest resource of the manager, if it is not managed, nothing else can be managed"".
The writer is a Nehru scholar from St Stephen's College, Delhi, currently working as a senior vice president at HSBC Indonesia. The views expressed in this article are his own.
