By Julie Adamen

Continuing our theme of giving managers tips they can put to use right now - this month we focus on the crucial skill of Time Management.

According to CNN, Americans are working longer hours than ever before -more than any other industrialized nation in the world. That's one statistic with which property management professionals are inti­mately familiar. Not only are you working longer hours, for the most part your pay has remained static and your responsibilities have increased exponentially.

So, how to maintain your job, balanced with your personal life and feel as if life isn't one big emergency? GOOD TIME MAN­AGEMENT SKILLS, which, in our business, usually means...

MANAGING INTERRUPTIONS

The telephone is not always your num­ber one priority. Radical thinking in some circles, but true. That's why almost everyone has voicemail. If it's a true "emergency," your voicemail should be directing them to an appropriate extension or number. There is no reason for you to answer every call, every time. All calls can and should be returned in an appropriate time frame (say, 24 hours) - but no one can accomplish all the tasks a manager is required to accom­plish and answer the phone, non-stop, all day long. Is your company or association requiring you to answer every call, all the time? For that I am truly sorry, and I can only say the decision maker(s) is making a very short-term decision and one based on outdated industry thinking.

Try this: Tomorrow morning, when you get to the office, pick up all your messages from the previous evening and return those calls. Then, have all of your calls transferred to voicemail. Blinking light on the phone driving you crazy? Place a sweater over it. Now, sit down, and accomplish the tasks you set out to accomplish, one by one, for the next two hours. After lunch, pick up your voicemail messages, return those calls in order of importance. The ones that are you know are unimportant, save. Now, go to your wall: through, or hack to your Action List. Later in the afternoon, an hour or so before you leave, pick up your mes­sages, prioritize them, and return those and then the remaining calls. I use this technique to this very day, and it is the only way I can accomplish any task that requires concen­tration and dedication, without interruption (like writing this article).

The "E" in Email does not stand for "Emergency." I plead guilty to this one! When I hear that "ding" I begin to feel like Pavlov's dog and can barely stop myself from clicking to the "In Box" to see what's going on (like right now!). STOP! This is a massive time waster - email can and should be treated just as we discussed phone calls. Check your email at specific times of the day, peri­od. (1. If you are able to adjust the set­tings of your email program, place those times in the settings. Voila! You have taken control of your email life. Do it. NOW

MANAGING YOUR TASKS - BY THE MONTH - BY THE DAY: THE ACTION LIST

Time Management + Property Management = List Management. The importance of making, keeping and updating lists cannot be over­emphasized. Effective managers live by their lists. They constantly update, re-organize, prioritize and otherwise maintain their lists. Personally, I keep anywhere from three to five lists going at any one time - and go over them at the end of each day. Think of the list as your "In Box" of tasks. Here are some suggestions:

Keep a list for each association you manage. Often known as "Action Lists," these lists are usually kept on a monthly basis - or the cycle of your Board Meeting. These are the things you need to do for the association in the coming three weeks - until you again prepare a board packet.

Keep Lists throughout your work­day - THEN CONSOLODATE. Did a thought occur to you - something you have to do, check on, or a mere stroke-of-genius-problem solving-idea? Write it down - keep something at your desk or with you, in your car (hand held tape recorders are good for this) and in your pocket, just jot down a word or phrase to remind you. Towards the end of the day, take all these pieces of paper, or listen to your tape - and put them on one list or distribute them to their appropriate lists. A word of caution, though - If you don't consolidate these lists everyday, or every other day, you can get in serious trouble, what with pieces of matchbooks, sticky notes, cocktail napkins, and etc. in your pockets and purses, and you won't know which end is up. Manage your lists, and they will help you become a better manager.

Lists are dynamic, not static, tools. Many people find lists discour­aging, because they give written evi­dence that as soon as you cross off one thing, another takes its place! Hello! Get over it. That's your job, and the point of the list is to help you organize the duties of your job.

FOCUS

No matter what, stay focused on the issue at hand. Staying focused on the task you are doing, right this minute, is the most effective use c your time. In this multitasked society, we are compelled to do at least three or more things at once, thinking we are "saving time." And I am the first to say I am VERY guilty of this attribute - but working on it. And you know what? I find I have just as much "time" as I had before. So, let's all take a deep breath and give ourselves permission to focus on one thing at any given time. Writing up minutes? Don't worry about the blinking light on your telephone - it will be there in 30 minutes. Talking on the phone to a homeowner? Stop, and give them your attention. In a meeting with a colleague or a vendor? Turn off the cell phone. You and your work prod­uct will reflect your focus. One meet­ing spent effectively is better than two spent ineffectively. A letter composed once, error-free, is good time manage­ment. Re-writing that letter three times because you just had to pick up your email, is not.

SUMMARY

As we walk in to our offices in the morning, we usually have an idea of what we would like to accomplish that day. But someone or something will always derail it if you manage your time poorly. In order to begin today your dedication to good time management skills, you must be able to recognize priorities and stay focused. Do this by asking yourself four basic questions:

1. Is this (phone call, email, and task) regarding a threat to life or property?
2. Is this (phone call, email, task) pertinent to what I am trying to accomplish at this moment?
3. Is this (phone call, email task) from my boss? Or, for on site managers, is it from the Board President?
4. Is it on my list?

Obviously, I am simplifying and I think all readers will be able to use their judgment. And the subject of Time Management could fill up the entire Newsletter for the coming year, and then some. But these few basic skills I have outlined are what you can start using right away, today, to make your life and your work better.