Thanks for joining us today. I’m your host, Jill Fowler of Songbird Leadership.
For our first episode, I wanted to talk about a common lament I hear from my executive coaching clients – not having enough time to get everything done in the workday. From my seat, I see talented nonprofit leaders who are frustrated about working long hours, never reaching anywhere near the end of their task list, and then going home with nothing left in their tank, only to start it all over again the next day. Every day. For years.
When I ask them what ideas they have for more effectively managing their time, I sometimes hear a bewildered sigh, followed by, “I just don’t know.” They’re so overwhelmed by the weight of their daily volume, they truly can’t envision any options for improvement. And it takes time to create a goal and experience change, which they don’t have, so it becomes a vicious cycle of wanting to do something differently, thinking they don’t have time to address it, continuing the behavior, and then further wanting the change. Ugh!
For those who truly have no idea about how to go about more effectively using their time, I often suggest a time audit. A time audit is a method used to track and review time spent in an effort to determine where optimization can take place and then set goals accordingly. It can be a powerful first step – a real-world examination of exactly how you’re currently allocating the hours in your day. Once you have a handle on that, you can evaluate, set a goal, and go about achieving it.
Yes, it does take time to do a time audit, time you probably feel like you don’t have. But ask yourself, “What would happen if I do nothing?” If you don’t like your answer to that question, it may be worth spending some time up front to potentially get significantly more balance and time in the end.
So, here’s how to do an audit. First, start by imagining your ideal workday. What does it look like schedule-wise? How do you feel? What are the critical activities you’ll complete and what is the ideal percentage of your time you’ll spend on them? Also ask yourself what you’re willing or able to give up, delegate, rearrange, etc., in order to accomplish those critical activities. These preliminary questions are going to help you identify what’s important and be of value when it comes to goal-setting later on.
Next, you want to choose your tracking method. The most common being pencil and paper, a simple spreadsheet, or a time tracking app. When keeping time, you want to keep it in real time, rather than trying to recreate it at the end of each day. It’s also a good idea to review your timesheet twice a day, say at 10a and 2p, to fill in any gaps while your activities are still fresh in your mind. Knowing this, pick the time tracking method that is easiest for you.
Now it’s time to decide what period you’ll track. I recommend five consecutive workdays. One day isn’t enough to observe trends and longer than a week might not be manageable. When considering your tracking period, try to pick a regular week if you can – meaning, no holidays, when you’re not short-staffed, and when you’re not launching a new program. Just a typical week.
So, you’ve visualized your ideal workday, you’ve chosen your time tracking method, and identified the period of time in which you’ll be tracking. Now, it’s time to track.
Let’s assume you’re using the spreadsheet method. Your sheet should include six columns – the date, a description of the activity, time started, time ended, total time, and a rating for each activity – more on that last part in a minute. As you go through your workday, enter everything you do, from meetings and phone calls, to water cooler conversations and breaks. Literally track every minute of your workday. In the description column, enter just enough information so you can identify what you did when you review your list in the future, but not so much that it’s a time suck. For instance, “Met with Bob to discuss our annual fund progress,” is a great example of a time tracking description. It’s just enough detail to recall what you did, but not so much that it's overwhelming. And be honest. If you spent time scrolling on your personal social media account, put it on there. The more accurate data you collect, the better it will be for your outcome.
I mentioned before the notion of rating your activities in that final column on the spreadsheet. As you enter your time, consider the importance of the activity through the lens of what would happen if you didn’t do it, and measure it on a five-point scale. For instance, 5 is a Critical Activity – If it didn’t get done, there would be serious consequences. 4 is an Important Activity – If it didn’t get done, the consequences are manageable. 3 is Neither Important nor Unimportant – If it didn’t get done, there may or may not be consequences. 2 is an Unimportant Activity – If it didn’t get done, there would be no consequences. And finally, a 1 is a Waste of Your Time – This activity has no benefit to you or to others. Use this scale to rate every activity you enter on your timesheet.
Continue these timekeeping activities for five days. When you’re done, observe. Categorize how your time is currently being spent. What percentage of your time is focused on 1s and 2s vs. 4s and 5s? Note any trends in the time of day when you are completing certain types of tasks. Are you repeatedly starting and stopping certain tasks? If so, why?
Remember when you visualized your ideal workday and the amount of time you wanted to spend on critical initiatives? Now’s the time to revisit those considerations. How does your ideal workday compare with your actual workday? If they are different, what steps can you take to make them more aligned? Can you delegate more? Block time? Better utilize technology? Adjust your schedule so you’re accomplishing the critical tasks during times of the day when you’re at your best? Something else? There are infinite options to consider.
Once you have decided what you’ll do to make your day more ideal-looking, write it in a SMART goal format. If you aren’t familiar, SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. Here’s an example of a SMART goal someone might set for this exercise if they found they were dedicating too much time surrounding staff meetings: “Beginning May 1st, facilitation of staff meetings will rotate among the four members of the Leadership Team. Each member will be responsible for creating the agenda, leading the meeting, and associated follow up. On June 1st, the Leadership Team will meet to evaluate and revise the method, if necessary.” You can create one goal or multiple goals – whatever amount you feel appropriate for your needs.
The final step in the time audit is to evaluate your progress toward your goal after a period of time. If you met it, celebrate! If you still have work to do, that’s totally fine. It might take a couple of tries, so try not to get discouraged if you don’t see meaningful change overnight. Take a step back, review your goal, retool, and try again. You’ll get there.
The time audit is an excellent tool to help you consider where you want to be, observe where you are currently, set goals to bridge those two spaces, and stay accountable for your progress. It may sound like a lot, especially when you’re already feeling overloaded, so I’ve created a tool with everything you need to successfully complete a time audit exercise. Get it for free at SongbirdLeadership.com/Time.
Best wishes for a successful time audit. If you try it, please let me know how it goes. I really hope it’s a helpful resource for you.