Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/138003
WINE WISE MARKETING ELIZABETH SLATER How Do You Eat An Elephant? Manage projects one bite at a time or many years, I've understood that there is time and that, in theory, it could be managed. Yet I never really subscribed to the theory that "time management" was actually a real thing – especially once I started working in the wine industry. However, since there are no longer 24 hours in a day (someone or something is taking away a few hours from me every month), I realize that I can't afford to see time management as a theory, and that I have put some time-management tools + Eliminate distractions that keep you to work for me. from getting things done. Let's talk first about the myth of total time + Use tools and systems to set priorimanagement – and it is ties and goals. a myth. While there are + Set time limits for tasks, projects and things that you can do to particularly meetings. better manage your time, it helps if you clearly + Take a little extra time to do it right so understand that, to parayou won't have to do it again. phrase the Scottish poet + Make time for yourself. Robert Burns, the bestlaid schemes of mice and men often go awry. You know that life doesn't always go the way you want it to. If you decide to spend two hours working on budgets, you know that's the day your best customers will want to visit the winery and have lunch with you. There go the budgets. Don't expect to control your time every day; go for controlling it one day a week and work up from there. SHORT COURSE ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS One of the first things I started to do when I decided to get more control over my time was to remove the things that distracted me, or at least some of them. 18 V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | July - Aug 2013 I turn off my e-mail and social media. It's amazing how very few e-mails or posts actually need to be responded to the second they hit my inbox. Once I am finished with the task at hand, I turn everything back on. I pick a few hours two or three times a week when I close my office door and am not to be disturbed. OK, when my best client wants to see me, I make an exception, but many of the minute-by-minute distractions are deflected when I close that door. Turning off my phone is another way to avoid distractions. I realize that not everyone can do that, but my life is not prone to emergencies and I don't have small children, so this is a viable option for me. We have become indoctrinated to the idea that we have to be available 24/7, and there is a frisson of fear when we realize that we are out of touch. It goes away after awhile. Trust me. CREATE ORDER You know what your goals are, so now set your priorities. There are lots of ranking systems out there; choose one that works for you. Here is one I have adapted from the Basic Priorities Rating System. Organize tasks by: + The significance of the task + The size of the task + The impact/effectiveness + EARL: Economic feasibility, Acceptability, Resources available, Legality Measure your projects against these criteria to see whether the task is something that needs to be done now or later. How significant is the task or project? Is w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m