The Art of Time management— Successful CEOs as the case study.

Business LoungeFebruary 15, 2019

It is no news that CEOs do possess authority/ power that can be linked to that of the President of a nation.

However, they certainly do not wield power to be able to add more days to the calendar.

Nonetheless, virtually every other person wants a moment with them; from the Managers to Investors and then to customers. The list is quite endless. They usually seek attention either on face to face basis, through an email or text.

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Forbes named Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg as the top 3 most powerful CEOs in the world.

In addition to their professional demands, their personal lives are not left out. He or she is expected to rest every single day, spend quality time with family and meet the doctor for checkup et al.

It is a result of this that individuals spearheading corporations are careful in making the best use of their time.

There is no gainsaying the fact that those who have their time well outlined are not easily distracted by random events or meetings that should be handled by another member or staff of the organization.

According to our thorough survey, it is estimated that an average CEO spends at least about 60 hours on a weekly basis.

A further research on how CEOs spent their time unveiled that most CEOs spent at least 3-4 hours daily on weekends trying to chart the company to a newer stage. They also spend about 2 hours when on vacation; working for the firm.

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CEOs hardly take a break from thinking and planning for their companies.

Studies have indeed shown that the manner through which CEOs manage their time do not only showcase their hard working spirit but also helps in pushing the company to newer and better platforms.

The following observations will be of immense help:

Be as brief as possible during meetings

According to the opinion of various CEOs, during meetings, they intentionally do not allow the meeting to exceed one hour.

It is recommended that the meeting should be shortened to be able to increase the CEO’s efficacy.

CEOs further opined that an hour meeting even could be shortened to thirty minutes or less to avoid wasting time that should have been invested in being productive.

Create a “me-time.”

It is quite expected of CEOs to showcase a blueprint the company must follow to reach their goals safely. There is no doubt that this is indeed an arduous task assuming the CEO is always on the move attending to issues without a moment of meditation on how to run the company.

It is estimated that CEOs spend an average of 25% during work hours alone reflecting on ways of improving the company.

Learn to assign works to others

The importance of delegating duties cannot be overemphasized here. The CEO is expected to assign duties or works to members of the corporation as he or she will definitely go off track when he expends his energy on areas it is not needed the most.

Spend less time on Emails

It is estimated that CEOs spend not less than 60% of their working time engaging in facial discussions as well as spending about 20 percent on digital platforms.

In as much as Email has been proved as a reliable means of discussion, it also consumes a huge chunk of time.

Emails often than not contain information that should be accessed by another staff other than the CEO. This is where the issue of delegation can come in, to checkmate the wastage of valuable time that should have been spent in a more productive venture.

Moreover, emails usually sent by CEOs do have a disastrous effect: conveying of needless information or behavior especially when sent very late in the night or periods the CEO was meant to be on vacation.

Learn not to schedule the whole day

It is quite important that CEOs spend a reasonable amount of their time on random conversations.

This is as a result of the fact that when CEOs or their secretaries are always rejecting a minute or two for a conversation with an individual on the basis that the CEO is not free, it may convey the wrong message. The message is simply that the CEO will be viewed as a proud or self-important fellow who doesn’t want to communicate with others.

Be friendly with employees

It is expected of a CEO to spend reasonably quality time with his low ranking employees.

This is quite important as aside availing him of the happenings in the corporation, he or she is able to transfer work ethics and values expected in the company effectively.

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Time management for CEOs should also include spending adequate time with junior staff members, to encourage ethics and efficiency from bottom to the top.

It also helps in winning the trust of the led(employees) which will further encourage them in being more efficient.