How to manage your time and not waste it - Sunday Times

Besides friends and family — so important at this time of year — nothing is more precious than time. We don’t have enough of it, make the most of it, or value it highly enough.

Over my 40-plus years as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that if you want to get more done, you need a proper structure that enables you and your teams to make each day matter. All the chief executives, chairpersons and cabinet ministers I’ve spoken to, say it’s about working smarter, not just harder and longer.

A recent Harvard Business Review study of CEOs showed that, on average, they worked around ten hours every weekday and 65 hours a week, with almost every respondent believing that the amount of time working was less important than the quality of that time.

So, I don’t just “start” work. I plan days that are rigorously scheduled by my support team of three. They make me more productive and whatever success I’ve enjoyed is down to them. For instance, for the past 23 years I’ve been lucky enough to have Jayne, one of the best executive assistants in the business.

One of the first appointments I made at HomeServe after securing investment was to hire someone to manage my diary, shield me from distractions and help me focus on important tasks. I’m amazed how many leading entrepreneurs boast about doing their own admin. Don’t! A great EA will transform your life.

It’s the same with travel. If you think your time is worth more than £15 an hour, don’t waste it. Pay someone to ferry you around if a journey is longer than 30 minutes, train yourself to read and work on the move (I no longer suffer from car sickness). It’s something that Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, tells me helps his productivity, too: “Make the car a second office.”

That same Harvard study showed as much as two-thirds of a leader’s time is spent with “direct reports” — managers who report directly to them. To get the most out of your time, help them get the most out of theirs. I’ve always felt the unsung heroes of government are the chiefs of staff and special advisers helping ministers cope with complex tasks and a heavy workload. I’ve adopted the same support structure with a chief of staff — poached from government — and a management assistant, setting out clear working patterns and delegating whenever possible.

Hannah, Ryan, Jayne and I meet every day for 20 minutes, face to face or virtually, to plan the day. They’ll take some meetings, summarise and prioritise documents just like the ministerial red box strategy. They sort through emails and screen replies.

A busy business life can feel like frantically spinning multiple plates without letting any smash. I trust my self-sufficient direct reports — and that includes six CEOs — to each take ownership of spinning some plates. I’m there to help, but they’re accountable for keeping them spinning.

How many of us have felt there are so many competing priorities that we don’t know where to start and feel panicked? That’s why I’m a firm believer in Stephen Covey’s Four-Quadrant Time Management Model.

Imagine four quadrants on a two-by-two grid. They’re split into:

With emails, I have a simple three-folder system to keep me focused. First, “Action”, stuff to be dealt with on the day they’re received. Then, “For Information”, messages that need reading but needing no response. Third, “Day File”, containing documents for the day’s meetings, which I read first thing in the morning and use to prepare and get the most out of those meetings.

I’m full of admiration for Sir Martin Sorrell who replies almost immediately to emails, but I prefer checking them a couple of times a day, responding to what’s urgent and important.

Find a system that works for you, so that you aren’t swamped by messages.

Efficiency measures are also crucial in meetings. On average, according to the Harvard study, leaders have almost 40 meetings a week, which consume two-thirds of their time. To make these more productive and shorter, materials should be sent out in advance rather than inflicting “death by PowerPoint”, with a defined agenda. Retail veteran Lord Stuart Rose asks anyone pitching him an idea to ditch slides, avoid business speak and plainly explain what they have and what they want to achieve.

Sikander Rashid, chief investment officer with Brookfield’s infrastructure group in Europe, tries to eliminate two unnecessary hour-long meetings each week. If, on average, four people attend these sessions, that’s a saving of more than 400 working hours a year. For him, meetings happen only when key decisions need to be made.

Efficiency is also about intelligent use of technology. Transformative AI tools will help us focus on higher-value tasks but, for now, I rely on my three iPads. One for video calls, one to refer to documents in meetings and a smaller one as my electronic daily notebook, using the Goodnotes app to prepare for meetings and write down learnings and proposed actions, to which my team have real-time access. Some are transferred to Microsoft Tasks to talk through with my direct reports.

I don’t only use tech, though, I also constantly write down big ideas and strategic thoughts in my notebook.

I sneak a bit of time at the weekend to visit a store of a business I’ve invested in, or assess the competition. Then I’ll set aside a couple of hours on Sunday evening to plan the week ahead and reflect on the previous one. My worst days are when I haven’t been efficient enough and found time for 45 minutes exercise, whether swimming, running, weights or squash.

Those moments of relaxation beyond work — especially downtime with family and friends — are so
important and the more efficient I can be, the more I can enjoy that side of life.

When I started out, I’d measure the day by how busy I’d been. Now, slumped on the sofa, it’s about how productive and efficient it’s been. It’s a mindset shift that might change the way you think about work. In the meantime, I’d love to know what makes you work smarter.

If you’ve not thought clearly yet about how to manage your time better, you really should. Believe me, it’s a piece of advice from me to you that could be the best present you’ve ever had. Merry Christmas!