Time – you can’t put it in the bank and save it up for later. It must be used properly right now. When it passes, there is no getting it back. As a project manager I think about time continuously – project schedules, estimating activity durations, meeting milestone criteria, and, oh, the list is endless!
A particular thought about time comes to my mind this morning – being considerate of others’ time. Have you ever been in a project team meeting to which one of the team members was late? Typically, the explanations and apologies follow. But because our schedules are so tight and hectic some days, maybe some tardiness should be expected? I stumbled into a technique several years ago that may be helpful in being considerate of the hectic schedules of your team.
My team members explained that their other meetings immediately preceding my team meetings were scheduled to last until the top of the hour. My meetings were scheduled to begin at the top of the hour. Unless my team members could move at the speed of light, they had to miss a portion of one or both meetings to change conference rooms or teleconference bridges. So, I committed to start my meetings at 5 minutes past the top of the hour. As a result, meetings began promptly as scheduled with the entire team present!
I also committed to conclude meetings no later than 5 minutes before the top of the hour, no matter what. This approach helped team members be on time to their next meetings. Combined with a pre-published agenda and prompt meeting starts, meetings were more productive and the objective was reached often before the designated hard stop time – so we adjourned early!
Starting and stopping meetings 5 minutes away from the top of the hour is a practice that can catch on throughout your organization – maybe you are to be the agent of change to initiate this approach! I’d love to hear about your experience in putting this concept into practice – being more considerate of others’ time!