Hey there, welcome to Mak TV. My name is Mak,
and this is a channel for first time managers who are just looking to up
level their skills and build their confidence so that they can lead their teams
effectively.
So it's very common for me to receive messages or emails or even DMS
via Facebook from particularly new managers who are just having
a tough time with time.
So they're struggling with some time management issues.
And so oftentimes in the discussions, they'll say, you know, Mak,
I'm really feeling overwhelmed by everything that I have to do.
And it just always feels like there's never enough time in the day. And,
you know, I can certainly relate to that. I remember feeling exactly like that,
particularly at the beginning. And perhaps you feel that way too,
which is probably why you're watching this video today. But, you know,
in talking to them,
I realized that there is a couple of belief systems or
misconceptions that a lot of us have. You know,
I definitely had this at the beginning too.
It's actually keeping managers stuck.
So some of the belief systems that you're holding with regards to time
management is actually hampering you from making progress and gaining more
time in your schedule.
And so I actually had a mentor or my coach at the very beginning,
just call me out on this.
Like he literally called me out on my BS when I was like complaining about not
having enough time.
And it helped me to really realize that these beliefs that I was having was
hampering my progress.
And so I wanted to do the same thing for you today and just call out some of the
common misconceptions that a lot of managers specifically new managers have
around time management. And of course what you can do instead.
So the first misconception around time management that a lot of new managers
have is this idea that if they want to get something done and they want to get
something done fast that they might as well just do it themselves.
I cannot tell you how many times I've actually voiced that.
It's embarrassing to say, but I've said it so many times,
whether like out loud or in my head where I'm just like, listen,
if I want to do this quickly, I might as well like, just do it myself.
And maybe you have thought the same thing,
or maybe you've said the same thing out loud as well.
And the truth of the matter is that that's not necessarily
true. It's not necessarily true.
But I do understand where that belief comes from.
Particularly if you are a manager that just transitioned from
being an individual contributor on the team.
As the individual contributor on the team,
you most likely understand like the inner workings of the
department really well. So when you get to that management role, you're like,
well, I know how to get this done really quick,
but that's a really bad trap to fall into because honestly speaking,
you can't do everything by yourself and nor should you, Now yes.
There are things that you absolutely have to do. In fact,
in my new manager accelerator program,
I actually teach my students in the delegate module exactly what those things
are that really applies across industries because of the fact that a lot of
people are usually very unsure about what are the things that they can delegate
and what are the things that they should keep to themselves.
But even with the things that you have to like,
definitely keep on your plate,
the majority of the tasks that you probably have can be delegated,
it's just a matter of learning how to delegate and accelerating that delegation
process so that you can empower your team members and free up your
time. So it's really, really important that you,
as a manager learn how to delegate,
because that literally is a really core aspect
of freeing up your time and managing your time effectively.
So the second new manager time management misconception is that the
answer is in the prioritization list. Now I don't know about you,
but I'm the type of person that loves to plan and organize. In fact,
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day,
and I was telling him that I was the type of person in school that loved my
agenda. In fact, my agenda was my BFF. I took it around with me everywhere.
I would write out it, write in it exactly what was due when it was due,
when I should do it. Like I loved that planning aspect.
I think actually I loved the planning aspect more than I liked doing the work
itself.
But my point is that I did have that executive functioning skill very early on
in life. And I did take it with me into the corporate world. Here's the thing,
even though I had that skill,
I still found myself strapped for time all the time.
And I couldn't understand why. I mean, I was doing all the things, right.
I was planning out my day,
the day before I was looking over my list in the morning,
I was grouping my tasks together for efficiency sake.
I was doing all the things yet. At the end of the day, I was tired.
I was drained and I just didn't have enough time to do everything.
The reason was not because I wasn't prioritizing things.
It was because I hadn't set boundaries.
And so if you're finding yourself in the same situation where you are a super
planner, but you're still strapped for time,
then maybe the problem is that you haven't set proper boundaries. Now,
what do I mean by setting proper boundaries? Well, what I mean is simply saying,
no. Now I know this is really hard,
particularly for a manager who is maybe a people pleaser or who wants to be
liked, right? You want to be that go to person for everybody,
but you just can't.
And you do have to protect your time because your time matters.
Where you spend your time matters.
And so you have to learn to either politely or sometimes even
assertively say no to the things that don't make sense or unnecessary
in your schedule so that you can make time for the things that truly matter.
The other new manager,
time management misconception is that there's just not enough time for
development. Now I cannot tell you how many times I've heard this,
where it's like, Mak, I know I need to get better at this or that, but I just,
I don't have the time for it or Mak I know I'm feeling a little bit unsteady on
my feet with this new role,
but I don't have the time to learn the skills required. You know,
I hear this quite a bit. Now, if you've been following me for some time,
you know that I am one of your biggest fans, right?
I have this platform because I want to help you be successful.
I want you to win.
But part of helping you be successful is being honest with you and telling you
the truth. And part of the truth that you need to hear.
So some of the tough love I need to share with you right now about this is that
sometimes if we don't make the time for what is important,
that time will be made for us and not in a good way, right?
I've watched it happen to a number of people this year where they didn't make
time or prioritized, or they did not prioritize their development.
And as a result, they were asked to step back,
so to step down from their role and they were asked to go back to their previous
role. Or some of them unfortunately were let go.
And this was extremely sad, right? Because.
No one wants to be demoted and nobody wants to be like, Oh right.
So I don't want that to happen to you,
which is why I'm telling you the truth right now,
which is that you have to prioritize the things that are important.
And the truth is that companies are only going to accept or
tolerate subpar performance for so long.
They are invested in having you perform at peak,
optimal level, as quickly as possible. They do not have the time,
money or resources for you to slowly learn what you're supposed to do by
making a ton of mistakes over a period of time. They need to accelerate that,
right? Because the more mistakes you make, the more money you're costing them.
It it's, it's a cycle, right?
So they're invested in you performing at peak level as
soon as possible.
Which means that you have to prioritize your ability or capability
of, of management.
Like you have to prioritize that and you also have to prioritize helping your
team do better so that their performance is outstanding as well. Right?
So I just, like I said, I, you know, but I love you.
But part of that means, I gotta tell you the truth.
You gotta realize that making your, you know,
developing yourself as a leader is extremely important and it
has to be prioritized.
Another misconception that many new managers have around time management is
that, you know, if I just spend a couple of extra hours at the end of the day,
I'll, I'll get everything done. I know this all too well,
because there was a point in my career actually,
where I was getting to work at 8:00 AM in the morning,
and then leaving at 11:00 PM at night,
like this went on for weeks like this,
where I was putting in all these hours.
And if you had asked me at the time, like, why are you working all these hours?
I would have just said, well,
it's because I have a lot of work and I just don't have time to get everything
done during the nine to five work hours.
And I probably would have believed that that to be true at the time.
But the actual truth is that I was not managing my time
effectively. And a time audit that I actually did a couple.
I think it was a couple months later proved that that was true,
that I was not managing my time properly. So I tell you this,
because I want you to recognize that it's not the extra hours that is the
answer. It's the managing your time more effectively, that matters, right?
So you really need to learn,
like I talked about how to set boundaries for yourself and what those boundaries
mean. And you need to learn to delegate. That's really, really important.
And you need to learn to protect your energy because you know,
your energy matters as the leader of the team.
And so you need to learn to protect it.
And you need to learn to figure out where your time will give you the greatest
ROI, right? Because not everything we do has equal ROI.
Some things are more important for us to do than others.
And so you really need to be cognizant cognizant of that. Now,
if you are interested in diving a little bit deeper into time management
strategies, and I highly suggest you check out these videos,
or I'm not sure where I'm going to put them,
but at least suggest that you take out the two videos that I am putting up
somewhere around here. Um, because in these two videos,
I do go a little bit deeper on how to manage your time more
effectively. Okay. So I'll leave that around here somewhere.
And of course in the description box below, thanks so much for watching.
I hope you have a great rest of the day.
Don't forget to keep smiling and I'll see you in the next one.