Time Management

I didn’t have enough time to do this

Is probably the most frequently conveyed message in every organisation around the world.

When I hear it I try reframe it. I also recall doing this on a job interview that was a mock 1:2:1 with a engineer. I think it strongly aided me getting that job.

I noticed you said you didn’t have time to do this a couple of times today and I am going to challenge this. There are 40 working hours in a week. Everyone has the same amount of time to spend [at work]. So rather than saying you didn’t have time, say you didn’t prioritise this. It is true, right? You opted to do other things instead.

We work in an agile way. Top down. Most valuable thing first. If you manage your time in the same way then the the conversation changes from a potential performance challenge to a prioritisation one.

• Now, if you didn’t prioritise the right things then that’s an alignment problem. There has been a failure to express the urgency and priority of the work. We can agree what the priorities are going forward. Check then act.

• If the work got superseded by something else, e.g. a production incident then that is fine. That is the right call. You re-prioritised effectively.

• If you re-prioritised effectively, but it was unknown to others that the work was at risk then that is a communication problem. Be pro-active in setting expectations going forward.

• If you focused on the wrong thing, yet it felt right at the time. That is a learning opportunity. More so if this becomes commonplace.

• If you didn’t know where to start or it felt like an insurmountable problem then it is a sizing issue. Break it down. Seek help. Start Small. One step at a time.

• If you opted to think about it instead, you needed comprehension time. This is fine, to a degree - if this is happening frequently, for extended periods, or in specific work areas it might hint at a training need.

• If you opted to do nothing instead, then that is a productivity issue. Get your act together.