To help you improve your time management skills as a leader, we’ve gathered insights from various professionals, including founders, CEOs, and business coaches. From hosting individual meetings and reflection to limiting open door policy time, discover 11 effective time management strategies these experts swear by in their leadership roles.

HOST INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS AND REFLECTION

Time management can be a challenge for leaders because of their often-hectic schedules and the pressure that comes with making responsible decisions. One strategy I find effective in managing my time is scheduling individual meetings with those who report to me. 

After every five meeting blocks, I allow for a brief break for reflection. This uncommon approach allows me to stay fully engaged during each session and ensure that no individual has been neglected; then, it gives me the space for assessment and resetting goal structure prior to continuing on to the next set of meetings. 

This strategy helps minimize the risk of burnout/frustration while also affording team members much-needed direct interaction with leadership.

Julia Kelly, managing partner, Rigits

UTILIZE THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE

As a leader and people manager, the key to my workload has been ensuring that the short blocks of time I have between calls and meetings are maximized as much as possible. 

I’ve tried many methods—time blocking, checking emails at set times, and more—yet I’ve found that using Francesco Cirillo’s Pomodoro technique has been most effective in ensuring my productivity is as high as possible day to day.

The main objective of the technique is to take short bursts of time to work on a set task, then take a break (make a coffee, context switching, etc.) before the next quick burst. 

I try to use a productivity planner, yet allow myself flexibility, so as not to get frustrated if a certain day does not go to plan. Working for a fast-paced organization means that flexibility is needed regularly.

Rosie Gladden, marketing director, ImageX

APPLY THE “TOUCH IT ONCE” PRINCIPLE

The “Touch it Once” (TIO) principle means handling a task right away the first time you look at it, so you don’t have to come back to it later. Here’s how it works for me: If I can do a task in 10 minutes or less, I do it right away. If not, I either delegate it to someone else or set it aside for at least a week. I receive a plethora of emails daily, many of which require quick decisions. 

If I’m just bcc-ed, usually my action is no action at all. If I know someone who knows an answer better—I forward an email. My focus is on being helpful instead of crafting a beautifully looking but useless email. 

This principle helped me to hire a very strong developer a year ago. We did not postpone the decision and sent him an offer faster than others. He proceeded exactly with us for this reason. The TIO principle helps our company win the top talent and the best customers and prosper while others keep postponing their tasks.

Vladislav Podolyako, founder and CEO, Folderly

SEQUENCING SCHEDULES AND TIME BLOCKING

Being intentional with time blocking both personal and team schedules and then sequencing them appropriately across the week will help you be a more effective leader, avoid the cognitive cost of context-switching, and improve the flow of information across your business.

For example: grouping all of your direct report 1-1s into a single day or block not only helps you stay mentally in the flow of “coaching mode,” but, when strategically placed during the week, will make communication flow vastly more effective.

Let’s say you have an executive meeting on Mondays and a wider team meeting on Wednesdays. Sandwiching 1-1s between these allows you to communicate strategic decisions from the exec meeting to your reports quickly, as well as surface challenges from your reports for discussion in tomorrow’s team meeting—all within a 48-hour period.

This frees up time later in the week for deeper work and collaboration, avoiding the random patchwork of meetings that thwarts productivity.

Tom Lloyd, founder and managing partner, tllo

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