The ability to get things done is the hallmark of a great leader. How well do you, the individual leader, execute day by day? Do you meet deadlines? Do you move projects forward quickly or are you a bottleneck? Do you give most of your focus to the most important things—or do you frequently let meaningless tasks eat up your day?

What we’re really talking about here is time management. The scarcest resource for any leader is time. We have 24 hours a day, we spend maybe 8 to 12 of those at work, and it’s how we put those hours to use that determines what kind of leader we are—not to mention what kind of parent, spouse, partner, and friend. We need to get intentional about time management practices if we are to break the (sometimes unconscious) habits that are holding us back.

Great time managers are usually better leaders. Obviously, they are more productive. They make fewer mistakes and have to do less rework. (It reminds me of a saying I heard somewhere: If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, you don’t have time to fix it!) They are able to spend more time on learning, strategizing, and being well prepared—which creates more opportunities. And, of course, they get to spend more time coaching and mentoring—which helps employees become higher performers—which helps the company thrive.

The good news is that time management is a skill and it can be improved. When people tell me they need more I time, I always say what they really need is more skill (training)! Here are a few tips to help you become a better time manager.

• Get real about your time-management challenges. What is keeping you from making the most of your time? Do you need more training? Do you have trouble delegating? Do you get sucked in by distractions? Are you a procrastinator? Are you realistic about how long it takes to do things? Once you start to understand the root causes of your time management issues you can take the appropriate steps to correct them.
• Don’t just manage your time; manage your attention. Getting focused is tough in really busy environments, but it is key to getting things done. As tempting as it is, don’t multitask. Research shows that it does not lead to more productivity. In fact, it leads to less, and to more mistakes.
• Also, know when and where you do your best work. Schedule your day accordingly, and do your hardest work during your most productive window of time (and in your most productive location).
• Manage your schedule. Don’t overschedule. You get behind and problems pop up and you have no time to deal with them. This really leads to frustration, which is not productive. Be realistic about time allowances for yourself and others. Also, let others know your schedule so they know what you are working on. This will help eliminate interruptions. Knowing that others know what you’re supposed to be doing also holds you accountable.
• Create a dashboard. Leaders have a tendency to work “in” the business instead of “on” the business. It’s easy to get bogged down in busy work. It may feel good in the moment to check things off the list, but it feels bad to look at the clock and see that you’ve spent all day on B and C items and made no progress on A items.
• A good way to do this to keep a dashboard in front of you at all times. This will help keep your organization’s big goals top of mind. These are your high-leverage activities. Carve out some time each day to work on each of these things and delegate the rest. Remember the adage “Show me your calendar and I’ll show you your priorities.” If you don’t schedule it, it’s not really a priority even if you claim it is.
• Take a few cues from Stephen Covey. I love Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and often recommend it. One of my favorite tips in the book is to do the most important things first. Sometimes we have really important things that have to happen that day, but we don’t think they will take long and we put them off to the end of the day. Inevitably things go wrong (that we didn’t anticipate) and we are out of time to really fix it (creating missed deadlines or project failures and a heck of a lot of stress). Do the most important things first, when time is on your side. It will change your life!
• I also love Covey’s tip about beginning with the end in mind. For every task or project, start with the completion date and work backward. Break the project up into chunks and set mini-deadlines. Too often people underestimate how long things will take and overestimate the ease of getting it completed. Starting with the end in mind makes it likely to build in enough time to get the project done.
• Keep your to-do list updated. We’ve all heard “plan the work and work the plan.” Your list is how you put this principle into practice. There is just no way to hold everything that needs to be done in your mind. I have found the most effective people I know work from a list. Updating this list every day (or at the very least every couple of days) keeps critical items from dropping off and helps you stay mindful of what the most important items are so you can focus on them first.
• Also, know ahead of time what you’re going to do first thing in the morning. This will help you kick your day off quickly and get things rolling. When you start out like this, momentum takes over, and you tend to keep working at a good pace for the rest of the day.
• Frequently review the list with the boss. Teach direct reports to do the same. This is especially important in today’s deeply complex workplace where things change quickly and we must frequently reassess and recalibrate. Yesterday’s priority may not be today’s priority. When time is limited (and it’s always limited) we need to make sure we’re always working on what really matters—and we don’t know what we don’t know. Keep your list in front of the boss.
• Schedule time for deep work. If you don’t, it won’t get done. Actually write valuable time down on your calendar and stick to it. This may mean closing yourself up in your office and asking employees not to interrupt you for a few hours. For sure you will need to shut down your email and social media so that you can be fully present and focused. Without planning for this time to happen you won’t be able to do the deep, uninterrupted thinking you need to get big chunks of work done.
• Minimize digital distractions. Email, social media, and digital devices fracture our attention and focus. If you don’t manage digital distractions they will manage you. For example, schedule time each day to check voice mail messages and open emails and stick to it. Do not have instant messaging appear on your devices. Whether on your computer, phone, or tablet, every time a message appears, the eyes and mind wander. You lose concentration and that means valuable minutes.
• Do all you can to touch something only once. This is particularly true with emails. Yes, there are things that you will flag to respond to later. However, the more often you can handle something as soon as you open an email, the more time you create. Often the immediate reply saves lots of time instead of having to reopen and respond.
• Limit the number of people you put on the “to” line of emails. The more people on the “to” line, the more people feel the need to respond and the more cooks in the kitchen. Be clear on who needs to respond and by when (and be clear that those included on the “cc” line do not need to respond.)
• Don’t let a few missing details stall a project. Keep it moving forward. You can always drop in missing information later. In general, it’s more important to meet deadlines than to hold out for perfection. I always say that 90 percent is usually good enough.
• Cut time from all meetings. We tend to get stuck in scheduling meetings for 30 or 60 minutes. Why? Drop 30 to 20 and reduce 60 to 40 for a start. You will find you will get right to the point and cover same amount of material. Still hold the other minutes in case you do need more time and it provides time for any follow-up needed.
• Break the procrastination habit. This is a major time sucker. The more time you put between you and the project, the less you remember and you have to waste time reacclimating yourself with the details. It also narrows your choices, as a tight timeline often takes certain options off the table. Most of all, it can turn a fairly routine project into a stressful pressure cooker.
• Keep your workspace clean and organized. Having to search through stacks of papers for the one you need wastes more time than you might think. Besides, visual clutter leads to mental clutter. You’ll work more efficiently when you don’t have a lot of stuff lying around to distract you.
• Avoid idle chit chat. Relationship building is important so you do need to spend quality time with employees and coworkers. But make sure you’re talking about things that matter and not wasting the workday. Plus, if you aren’t careful, it can easily turn into a gossip session.
• Problem prevention is key. Anticipate problems and head them off. Thinking things through up front allows you to foresee what might go wrong and put processes in place to prevent that from occurring. There are lots of other ways to anticipate problems: doing a “post mortem” after a less successful project, seeking input from employees (who may be more familiar with the logistics of a process and see problems that you can’t), and making sure you communicate with transparency and clarity.
• Be responsive, not reactive. When we’re driven by a sense of urgency (maybe even panic) we tend to make knee-jerk decisions that can send people down the wrong road. When we’re reactive we may often lash out emotionally, which can upset employees. This not only harms your working relationship but is also counterproductive. Stay calm. Think it through up front. Carefully consider the options and then make a decision.
• Take a break! You aren’t saving time by working through lunch. When you walk away from your desk for an hour (or at least half an hour) you’ll be rested and ready to jump back in when you return.
• Enlist help whenever possible. You don’t have to go every project alone. Enlisting a few helping hands when it makes sense to do so will help keep you on track and will very likely make the project a more rewarding task. The best way to meet a deadline is often to get a team of people together to help. (Get the boss’s permission first, of course!)

Now, we’re moving into an area that deserves more explanation. See below to learn more about why leaders have trouble with delegation and how you can learn to do it well.

Some Thoughts on Delegation

It can be hard for some leaders to delegate. New leaders especially may have trouble moving from doing to leading. It’s easy to see why. Leaders are often promoted because they’re good at what they do. They get into a mind-set of “By working harder and longer I can be more productive.” In other words, they see a direct connection between effort and outcomes. This is no longer true when they become leaders. No matter how much effort they put in, it may not be enough to achieve the results they want (unless they are very skilled at coaching others).

Yet, of course, no one person can do everything. You just need to change the way you think about delegating. It’s a way of moving action to the best place in the organization. It’s a way to better manage resources. Not only does it free you up to work on other, more crucial items, it creates a training ground for others to become more valuable. This is a platform for building respect and trust. It develops employees and creates more engagement in the organization.

Here are some tips to help you get better at delegating:

• Really get to know employees. Effective delegation requires you know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Giving someone a task that they can’t do well frustrates and upsets everyone. On the other hand, matching their skill set with work from your “to-do ” list can give them a real chance to shine.
• Give really great instructions. We delegate when we are busy so we often don’t take the time to do this up front. Yet by giving great instructions we make it less likely that the employee will have to redo the work. Instruct, then ask them to give you a written summary of what they heard. Share the project’s deadline and ask them to prioritize accordingly.
• Keep in mind that the employee will want to jump right in and start working. In tense situations, it’s a natural instinct to do this. But without full working knowledge of the entire project, it’s unlikely the employee can determine where their skills are most impactful. When you give good instructions you make it less likely the employee will make assumptions.
• Know that it might take longer, the first time! Let them make a few mistakes. This is part of the learning process.
• If they need resources or additional training, make sure they can get them. This is part of setting them up for success.
• If you give them the responsibility, give them the authority. Don’t make them have to keep coming back and asking permission for every detail. This wastes their time and yours. Also, let others know they are now in charge of this project so they will be more likely to cooperate.
• Let them know it’s better to check in if they have any questions. They might think you are too busy otherwise. In fact, it’s best to schedule regular check-ins. Likewise, tell them if they see a better way to run it past you first. They may not know all the variables. (This falls into the “making assumptions” category we’ve already discussed.)
• If it doesn’t go well, have an honest conversation about why. Don’t just pull the project with no explanation. Also, reassure them that all is not lost. Let them know that you will delegate something else to them in the future.
• Thank them very publicly when the delegation is successful. This inspires their commitment as well as the commitment of others.
• Finally, teach employees to delegate. Explain that is a way to manage resources, not a sign that they don’t want to do the work. When they see you modeling this, they will be more likely to follow suit.

Keep practicing all of these time management behaviors. The better you get at them, the more you will be freed up to do other things. You get more effective.

It is amazing how much better you’ll feel when you learn how to take control of your time. It forces you to think about what is most important to you and allows you to carefully distribute your most precious commodity (your time) to the tasks that matter. In the end you will feel a far greater sense of accomplishment, you’ll be less stressed, and you’ll be able to focus more on the people and activities outside work that you truly care about. It’s no exaggeration to say that good time management skills can truly change your life.