Managing Your Time

The Wall Street Journal reports on the findings of a McKinsey study about time management by senior executives.  Not surprisingly, they find that many executives struggle with time management, much like the rest of us.  McKinsey examined those leaders who were not satisfied with how they managed their time, and they compared those leaders to others who were satisfied.  They found that the dissatisfied executives could be clustered into four subgroups.  Here's the description from the Wall Street Journal:

• “Online junkies” spent on average 38% of their time using email or voicemail, leaving little time for personal interaction.
• “Schmoozers,” represented well by CEOs and sales directors, interacted heavily with external stakeholders like clients and customers, at the risk of neglecting their own employees.
• Meanwhile, “cheerleaders,” often C-suite executives, spent a big chunk of their schedules meeting and managing employees, but considerably less time with outsiders.
• “Firefighters,” usually general managers, were often preoccupied with resolving short-term and unexpected issues.

Take a moment, and think about how you manage your time.  Are you inefficient?  Do you fall into one of these categories?