Time is Money: Pay it down, Part 2 of 2

by Josh Mathews

In the first post of this two-part topic, some parallels were drawn between the deficits of time and money that many of us experience. Returning to this "time is money" equation: I wonder, are there any principles that help in managing finances that can apply to time management as well?

Now I am neither a financial adviser nor the son of a financial adviser. However, it seems to me that, given some similarities between time and money, there is at least one practical bit of financial advice that works well with time management too.


Manageable Bills: Rapid Paydown


I once heard a finance expert say that the best way to pay down debt quickly is to start with the smallest bill and work up from there. Focus as much of your resources as possible on one debt at a time in order to pay it off completely. Getting one debt totally taken care of breeds extra motivation to keep going and pay off the next one, and the next one, and so on.... On the other hand, it's hard to get excited about making minimal payments on several bills only to make very gradual progress on each individual bill. This expert even admitted that, given interests rates and other factors, this approach does not always make the best sense mathematically. His point, however, was that with finance management, success fosters a sense that debt and bills are more manageable than they sometimes seem. And this perspective motivates further financial success.


A Manageable Agenda


An undergrad professor of mine had a rule of thumb for staying on top of the various teaching, administrative, writing, etc. duties and responsibilities that were on his desk each day. He would try to work on one thing at a time, giving it his whole attention until it was completely finished. Only then would he move on to the next thing. Just like the rapid paydown principle in finance management, this "system" of time management takes into account the negative effect of having so many things on our plate that, at times, we can get overwhelmed and bogged down.

Sometimes I've thought it would be better to make progress on the overall mass of responsibilities before me, committing time to several individual tasks in a given day in order to chip away slowly but steadily on all of them. While this may theoretically be a more efficient way to make progress on the overall sum of work to be done, it is not effective towards limiting and managing the number of tasks on the agenda. And I might speak for myself (though I doubt it) when I say that completely wrapping up a task is exciting and energizing. Even if I still have several things to do, it helps greatly to devote my attention to one task until it is finished before moving on to another thing.

Of course, this principle does not apply without exception. If the tasks on my agenda include, say, writing a monograph, teaching classes, applying for jobs, contributing to a blog, and being a husband and dad, the principle becomes a bit more complex. I can't focus all of my time on applications or the blog and leave the monograph revisions completely on the back burner. Large projects (dissertation much?) obviously require consistent attention, even though many other small responsibilities will come up before the large project is finished. And things like teaching, parenting, or "husband/wifing" cannot always flex around our plan for effective time management. On Thursday mornings, whether or not I'm finished with the small task I'm focusing on in order to finish it completely, I need to teach from 8-11 AM.

Taking into account these qualifications, it does seem to me that the rapid paydown principle of finance management may have some helpful application to time and task management.

Time is Money: Burnout and Bankruptcy, Part 1 of 2

by Josh Mathews

We have all heard it said that "time is money."  If there is indeed any truth to this adage, typically attributed to Ben Franklin, then some parallels may be worth exploring. In this first of two posts I'm suggesting a few parallel struggles related to time and money respectively. Then, in part 2, I'll explore a helpful financial principle applied to time management.


Busyness and Burnout 

There are more things I need to do today than time enough to do them.

Many of us face this struggle often, if not everyday. And this situation does not apply only to those who use their time poorly, wasting much of it on frivolous things (and whether watching college basketball in March is frivolity is perhaps a debate for a different time). Even if we don't spend one minute of the day wasting time, chances are we all wish that we had more time, and that we could be more efficient with the time we do have.

I've thought about this issue often. How do I accomplish all I need to accomplish in a limited amount of time? Are there things I can do, principles I can apply, that will help me to be more efficient with my time? With several things on my plate, how do I know what to work on first? How much time do I spend on a given task when whatever time I give to one task is time I am not spending on another, perhaps equally important, task?


Bills and Bankruptcy

Whether school loans, credit cards, or rent or mortgage payments, there are certainly many people dealing with overwhelming bills and debt, especially in these economically difficult times. All kinds of obstacles foil efforts to get out from under this financial burden. For some, getting ahead financially can be a very slow and long process. Others remain stuck with apparently insurmountable financial debt, living from paycheck to paycheck and breaking even, but never able to pay down the bills that have accrued. Still others find themselves going deeper and deeper into the red, sometimes to the point of bankruptcy.

Tasks add up in a way similar to the accumulation of debt. We might have several things on our to do list and at certain times it might seem like we are far into the red on the budget of time we have available to allot to those tasks. As with money, we can find ourselves either making slow progress to get ahead, stuck in a constant state of being behind, rushed, and unable to do anything as well as we would like, or getting further and further swamped with responsibilities, sometimes to the point of burnout.

Let's say I've made a plausible case for the analogy between the "debts" of time and money. In Part 2 I will apply one particular finance management principle to the struggle of time management.

How to Motivate Others to Be Productive

by Timothy Howe

No chain is stronger than its weakest link. Thus, it is important that every person in an organization contributes his or her best for highest mutual achievement. Yet, there are times when someone lacks motivation to move the organization forward to the degree necessary. How a leader attempts to motivate others is important. Done poorly and the opposite could result. How does a leader motivate without the risk of discouraging others?

Define a succinct objective
A key to motivation goes back to the earliest stages of a task, a project or employment. The leader must articulate the objective of the organization or task in a succinct manner that captures the imagination of the soul. If someone is unable to retell the objective, then they don't get it and they won't accomplish it.


Share in setting goals
One task of a leader is to move others towards goals that benefit the group. Yet, no one likes to be told what to do. One way that a leader can get someone to sign on to the task is by having him or her share in setting the goals expected of him or her. By starting at a point of shared expectation the leader creates "buy-in" while creating an effective tool for follow-up. 


Establish benchmarks jointly
Similar to sharing in goal-setting, the leader will find that someone who is able to help establish his or her benchmarks will be more likely to achieve them. For starters, he or she will have no excuse of lack of awareness of what was expected. Better though, by having a say in personal accountability, a person is able to assess what is realistic and will have a certain pride in achieving or excelling past the benchmark. 


Announce reviews well in advance
It is disheartening to be told of an imminent meeting in which one must provide accountability. People are better motivated if they are aware of a review well in advance. This permits them to organize a schedule that anticipates work at a regulated progress which can be charted to determine achievement.


Remain in constant communication
As the saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind." A leader must remain in constant communication with those he or she leads. This does not need to involve lengthy meetings; just a quick word or message will suffice. The leader must remain in clear communication that keeps the objective in front of the person or group.  


Provide regular encouragement
In any worthwhile endeavor, there are setbacks. Miscalculations, interruptions, poor planning, technical problems are just a few of the things that can go wrong. A leader will use positive reinforcement to re-encourage the team to move forward. Everyone needs a cheerleader sometimes. Sure, the negative task-master can force a project to be accomplished, but the motivation will eventual do harm to the team, if not now, definitely later. 


A leader can find a way to motivate others to be productive.