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Time Management Tips for Project Leaders 

In the eyes of many project managers, time is their most important resource and often in short supply. Learn how effective time management can make a real difference. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Prioritize your work based on urgency and importance. 
• Help manage your time by scheduling periods for different tasks and letting people know your schedule. 
• When delays become inevitable, tell the impacted people so they know what’s happening. 

PMI Picks offers the following insights for all project managers to consider when it comes to time management: 

Project managers commonly find they don’t have enough time to do everything that is expected of them — and that’s okay. It’s essential that pms prioritize their work to focus on the aspects of their role that make the most difference to the project’s success, which requires the consideration of two factors: importance and urgency. 

Start by asking which elements of the work are the most important. For example, if you have a team member who is unable to proceed with their assigned tasks because of a problem they are experiencing, then that is more important than updating the weekly status report. 

Next, ask which tasks are the most urgent. For example, if two team members need help, but one has a deliverable due tomorrow, whereas the other’s work doesn't have to be completed until next week, it’s obvious where you should turn your attention to first. 

To some degree urgency trumps importance but be sensible in making that determination. You shouldn’t focus on trivial matters just because they are more immediate than a significant crisis that also must be dealt with. 

Even if there are no immediate challenges to deal with, project managers have a lot of work to do, and it can feel impossible to complete everything in the available time. A lot of that is because it is inefficient to keep switching between tasks. So, if you are trying to update a status report but keep stopping to answer emails, talk to team members and so forth, it's going to take far more effort to get that status report completed than if you just shut yourself away for an hour or so and get it done. 

There are several techniques you can use to help you manage your time more effectively, including: 

• Schedule time each day to complete different tasks, stick to that schedule and communicate it to your team. For example, if you want to catch up on email from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. every day, then let your team know they shouldn’t schedule meetings or ask to discuss something with you during that hour. 
• Ensure your weekly split of activities reflects what will make the project successful. Working with the team, resolving issues and so forth, will have the most significant impact, so that should be how most of your time is allocated — not on updating plans or status reports. 

• Delegate appropriately to avoid work you don't need to do. Your team is busy as well, but they may also be the best people to monitor a particular risk, talk with a stakeholder about a specific question and so forth. It’s also possible that your project management tool allows stakeholders to run their status reports, so feel free to ask them to do that.