Time Management for Managers: Prioritising and Delegating Effectively

Living in an ever faster world, it becomes increasingly difficult to squeeze in all our tasks into a single day. There just isn't enough time. But we can't manage time. Time is always the same: 60 min per hour, 24h per day, 7 days per week. What we can manage are activities we decide to dedicate the time to.

One of the best way to evaluate what to deal with is the Eisenhower matrix. It's self explanatory and there are quite a lot of materials about it online, so I won't go into it in detail.

Eisenhower Matrix

Let's now go into two areas where managers often struggle when applying the Eisenhower Matrix: prioritisation and delegation.

Prioritisation

Endless meetings, constant stream of incoming emails, deadlines looming around the corner... Enough to raise anyone's blood pressure. So where do you start? With a clear head. Before making any decision, ensure that you have a big picture in mind: what is the most important think you need to achieve? What's your North Star? That's your baseline. Once you have that nailed down, review your activities and see how they contribute to the final goal and prioritise them based on it.

Here's a real-life example of the prioritisation criteria we had in one of my teams. It was used with having the overall goals in mind and it provided a clarity to all team members on what they should focus on:

1. Legal / regulatory requirements

2. Impact - What brings the biggest benefit for the company

3. Customer request

4. Makes sense to do

5. It's fun, I want to do it

Additionally, don't fall for false alarms. There will always be people who rush others and have their own tasks, but their priorities are not yours. Make sure you do things for the right reason, not because someone else is in the rush.

Delegation

One of the things I hear most often when it comes to the delegation is "It's faster for me to do it than explain it to someone". And it's true. It's also true that you'll never become a good manager unless you transition from primarily hands-on tasks towards more strategic responsibilities. So look at that time as investment into both your team and yourself, because delegation is a win across the board: you start dealing with higher level things, your team members are developing, thus becoming more empowered, qualified and creative. That's how you unleash the full potential you have at your disposal.

When delegating, make sure that your team members know what is expected. Managers sometimes forget that their teams don't have access to all information that managers have, so providing details on how the final result should look like and what goal it should achieve is key. Also, be available in case they have questions or need support.

By thoughtfully applying frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix and consciously focusing on prioritisation and delegation, you can navigate the demands of a fast-paced environment. Ultimately, effective leadership isn't about finding more time, but about strategically investing the time we have in the activities that truly matter.