Journal of Library Administration

ISSN: 0193-0826 (Print) 1540-3564 (Online) Journal homepage: http://tandfonline.com/loi/wjla20

Time Management

Maggie Farrell

To cite this article: Maggie Farrell (2017) Time Management, Journal of Library Administration,
57:2, 215-222, DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2017.1281666

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2017.1281666

Published online: 07 Apr 2017.

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Journal of Library Administration, 57:215–222, 2017
Published with license by Taylor & Francis
ISSN: 0193-0826 print / 1540-3564 online
DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2017.1281666

Leadership Reflections

MAGGIE FARRELL, Column Editor

Dean of Libraries, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

Column Editor’s Note. Leadership skills are essential to creating

libraries that are effective and relevant in their communities. While
some individuals seem to possess inherent leadership capabilities,
it is possible to develop and strengthen skills to effectively lead a de-
partment, unit, or organization. This column explores ways for li-
brarians and library workers to improve their knowledge and abil-
ities as they lead their units, libraries, communities, and the library
profession. Interested authors are invited to submit articles for this
column to the editor at maggie4@clemson.edu.

TIME MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT. Time management is an essential component of lead-

ership. Leaders need to develop strategies to maximize time in or-
der to achieve personal and organizational goals. While there are
numerous time saving methods, leaders will need to test and de-
termine which patterns are most effective for their personal style.
There are some organizational strategies that will benefit the in-
dividual leader as well the organization such as planning, goal
setting, delegation, decision authority, and work life balance. By
managing time, the leader is accounting for the important com-
modity of time within an organization.

KEYWORDS leadership, management, time management.

INTRODUCTION

The U.S. federal government recently changed the parameters of the Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA)1 regarding exempt and non-exempt categories.


C Maggie Farrell

Address correspondence to Maggie Farrell, Dean of Libraries, Clemson University, 116

Sigma Drive, Clemson, SC 29634, USA. E-mail: maggie4@clemson.edu

215
216 M. Farrell

This change will impact many employees who previously were exempt from
overtime pay or compensatory time to being non-exempt causing supervi-
sors to closely monitor workhours to avoid additional personnel costs. For
many in the public sector, this revised regulation will change how we work
to ensure that services are covered within existing budgets and/or personnel
staffing levels. Combined with recent budget constraints and likely fewer li-
brarian and staff positions, time management becomes a critical component
of organizational management in order to achieve high productivity. Discus-
sions regarding workloads and managing schedules provides an opportunity
to also consider time management for leaders. There are numerous articles,
workshops, and tips for managing time but for leaders, this proves to be very
challenging. The demands on leaders’ time is all consuming and difficult to
control yet a leader needs to develop strategies to manage not only their
personal time but the workload of an organization, department, or team.
Management literature has numerous articles and books regarding time
management including such phrases as manage your work—don’t let it man-
age you; work smarter, not harder; 10 tips to control your time; path to more
productivity; and so on. As leaders, we lack the time to figure out all of the
time saving strategies! The amount of advice and possible solutions are al-
most as overwhelming as the pile of work sitting before you. There are no
perfect solutions and how one individual is able to manage their time is
quite different from a successful model of another individual. In my experi-
ence, organizations vary so methods that worked for one team or institution
may not be effective with a different team or organization. Individuals need
to develop methods that work for managing oneself while also meeting the
expectations of the particular institution.
Most importantly, leaders need to understand that time management is
essential as a component of their responsibilities and accountability. Lead-
ers need to develop systems that manage the day to day demands as well
as flexibility to deal with many last minute changes or interruptions based
on pressing needs often beyond the manager’s control. Leaders also need
to manage time for the organization or those that work with them as time
management is not only about one’s individual productivity but also about
the productivity of an organization. Leaders recognize that time is an im-
portant commodity in managing how work is prioritized, goals are accom-
plished, and resources are allocated as critical skills for every manager and
leader.

ESSENTIALS OF TIME MANAGEMENT

While there are many ways to organize time, the fundamental basis for any
time management process is linked to the planning process. In setting indi-
vidual and organizational priorities, the vision and goal of the organization
 Leadership Reflections 217

will assist employees in determining their work and what is most important
to accomplish. Fitsimmons provides an outline of steps in the planning pro-
cess linking time management to cost savings for an organization (2008a,
p. 61). He further states that while “it takes time to plan it is an investment
that will pay back heavily in time saved later on” (p. 61). The goal setting
process is the key to managing time as it is the basis for articulation of pri-
orities, determination of action items, and personnel deployment. But more
importantly, the vision of the organization is the foundation of determining
if time is being utilized to advance or manage the organization. In juggling
multiple tasks and responsibilities, individuals will have a better sense of
what is important if they know the vision and goals of the organization to
help them focus on priority projects. Plans help to avoid wasted tasks and
underproductive time while employees wait as problems or procedures are
addressed according to Fitsimmons (2008b, p. 129). Often we ask ourselves,
what can we stop doing or put off in order to create more time? The plan-
ning process will help leaders to determine where to spend the majority
of one’s time or how to direct others in their time management challenges.
A component of the planning process is communicating the vision to the
organization or unit. Ensuring that employees know the broader goals of
the organization will assist them in allocating their time and assessing work
responsibilities. By communicating the vision of the organization, a leader
is also outlining how he/she will spend their time. For example, if a leader
articulates that a new library building is the top strategic goal, then em-
ployees will understand that the bulk of the leader’s time will be focused
on raising funding for the building. Confusion sometimes occurs when a
leader articulates a top priority but then uses his/her time on other activi-
ties contradicting the stated priority. While the planning process might not
be considered a time management technique, it very much sets the stage for
analysis of resource allocation that includes managing a leader’s time as well
as the organization’s.
Understanding how a leader is currently spending time helps to assess
the workload and decide what strategies work well to maximize time. In-
dividual leaders will develop patterns that work for them such as a limited
number of meetings per day, carving out personal time, management of
email correspondence, and travel schedules. Ifijeh recommends conducting
a time audit to take “a critical and retrospective look at the demands on
you as a person, your use of time to meet the demands and identifying
gaps and possible areas of adjustment” (2012, p. 568). Once a leader has
an overview on how time is being used, then adjustments can be made
to be more effective in managing time. This may require breaking patterns
and setting forth expectations such as unscheduled meetings are not possi-
ble on certain days. As a leader advances within an organization, typically
there are more evening and weekend responsibilities as well as requests for
personal meetings. For librarians, interpersonal relationships are critical to
218 M. Farrell

our work and we value the importance of personal attention so strict time
management versus interpersonal time may be in conflict stressing our li-
brarian leaders. This is why it is so important to determine organizational
priorities and communicating these with employees so that colleagues be-
come a support during demanding times. Seeking the balance between what
needs to be done with how one would prefer to spend time is tricky for a
leader but the articulated priorities and time audit will assist the leader in
determining how time should be allocated in order to be successful for the
organization.
Delegation is another tool for leaders to utilize in managing time. As
individuals move into progressively more responsible positions, they have
to learn why it is important to delegate, when to delegate, what to delegate,
and how to delegate. Delegation is important as a time management tool as
it prioritizes the time of individuals while assigning responsibilities to those
who are best able to manage a task due to time, level of responsibility,
and/or knowledge. A leader learns to determine when a task is better man-
aged by another individual or that individual needs to develop their skills
in an area to be more effective or to build skills for career development. An
effective leader outlines what tasks should be appropriately authorized for
another employee. But a leader should also have a clear understanding of
what responsibilities should not be delegated. For instance, working with
donors is typically the responsibility of the library director and while library
employees should be engaged with fundraising activities, typically donors
prefer to work with key leaders for donations and estate planning. In over-
seeing delegation, a leader typically learns best practice in delegation. Baker
outlines her learning process in noting that she had to learn to clearly artic-
ulate the desired outcome but how a staff member completed the task was
up to the individual (2012, p. 2). Some leaders may be hesitant to delegate
considering it as a request for help or one should be able to accomplish
every responsibility. But delegation is a very good time management tool if
correctly applied as it helps the leader manage what is likely a very com-
plex and impossible set of responsibilities. “Delegation will not only provide
more time for you to focus on your priority, it will also help you achieve
personal effectiveness as you concentrate on the things you do best” (Ifijeh,
2012, p. 570). Delegation can build team spirit in acknowledging the range
of organizational responsibilities, build expertise and capability of others,
and distribute responsibilities according to the appropriate positions within
an organization.
Decision authority is a component of delegation. An effective leader
outlines not only responsibilities but the authority for decisions and the types
of decisions that are delegated to others. Employees should have a good un-
derstanding of what decisions they may make and what decisions should be
moved up the chain of command. Outlining the sphere of responsibility will
help everyone in the organization manage their time and this will contribute
 Leadership Reflections 219

to effective decision making processes. Once the responsibility is delegated,

then the leader should step back and allow the individual to manage the de-
cisions and processes within his/her authority. Most library decisions are not
life dependent so if a leader disagrees with a decision, then he/she should
explain why and provide guidance for similar decisions in the future. Baker
encourages leaders to fight the urge to control but to provide feedback as
confirming success or providing guidance on improving in order to build
skills (2012, p. 2). Chances are that decisions or actions are not critical so it
can be used as a training moment to improve employee skills or it may be
an opportunity for a leader to discuss values, expectations, and/or vision.
Delegation and decision authority are ways to effectively manage time for
a leader but these are also tools to build employee skills and to share the
collective work of the organization.
Leaders ask for respect for their time but it is also important for lead-
ers to respect the time of others knowing that employee time management
is critical throughout the organization. This builds a culture that everyone
is important in the organization and that time is realized as a commod-
ity. Baker encourages leaders to be on time for their appointments and to
wisely plan meetings for them to be productive and respectful of everyone’s
time (2012, p. 3). Leaders should come prepared for individual and group
meetings prepared for the topics and having read in advance the meeting
materials. In addition to effectively monitoring how the leader uses em-
ployees’ time, the leader should attend to actions and details resulting from
meetings or team/group processes. The follow-up assists with workflow and
ensuring that everyone is attending to commitments made. Effective leaders
not only manage their time well but they respect the time of others to as-
sist them in accomplishing their responsibilities thereby furthering the entire
organization.
A component of time management is communication—not just about
vision and expectations but also about how organizational communication
will be conducted effectively to eliminate employees from wasting time
with unnecessary or unproductive communication. A leader needs to out-
line his/her communication preference so that others in the organization
understand how to allocate their time. For instance, if a leader prefers face
to face communications, then time should be structured to achieve this as
sending numerous emails may be unproductive. To facilitate communication
realizing that time is limited for everyone, leaders should outline their expec-
tations for keeping each other informed, updating projects, and requesting
action or decisions. For instance, a leader may request that email be at-
tended to within a three day period and priority email attended to within
four hours. For employees who are non-exempt, a leader may articulate that
such employees are not to respond to email when they are not present at
work. A leader also knows how to communicate with his/her upper admin-
istration or board. Some boards may prefer personal phone calls while a
220 M. Farrell

city administrator may prefer email communication. Effective leaders alter

their communication styles to the preferences of others respecting their time
management strategies or work styles. Leaders need to mentor employees in
their communication as an aspect of time management for instance, guiding
employees in business writing so that memos are concise with the primary
points or recommendations presented at the beginning of a document. Lead-
ers also learn public presentations skills to tell a story quickly in order to
maximize time constraints with busy officials or boards. Such techniques can
be adopted by an organization for productive meetings and communication
that will manage the time well for all employees.
One of the most demanding challenges for leaders is creating reflection
time. Regardless of a preference for extraversion and introversion in per-
sonality types, leaders require time to step back to consider the big picture,
learn best practices, and glean ideas from other libraries or organizations. It
may be as a leader advances within an organization, this need for reflection
time may increase at the same time when personal time is likely decreasing.
Leaders may need to be more purposeful in creating time not just for work-
ing more but for spending time away from an organization. Professional
development and leadership development opportunities can provide such
time. The time away may be difficult to create but it might create a space
to develop strategies or to focus on a situation that needs time for proper
consideration. It might provide a distance to see a problem from new angles.
Professional development time may also cultivate a network of peers that a
leader can turn to for advice, perspective, or insights. While each leader is
different in their personal needs, development time may provide a number
of benefits worth the time away from the office.
In higher education, some leaders may be able to take advantage of
research or sabbatical leaves. If available, this is an excellent opportunity for
a leader to recharge and come back to a position with new ideas, explore
initiatives, focus on skill development, and/or conduct research relevant to
the organization or profession. If research leaves are not possible, a leader
may use professional development time as an opportunity to reflect on the
organization and personal leadership challenges. Visits to other libraries or
short leaves may be another way to build reflection time for a leader. As
much as possible, leaders need to also take their vacation or release time
to keep a balance in their overall life. Separation from work is difficult
and a leader may find spending long work hours prior to and following
a vacation to accommodate time away seems moot but individuals need
time to reenergize realizing that life is more than work. Understanding the
need to keep one’s skills fresh and to create time that allows perspective is
essential for leaders and will contribute to the daily management of one’s
time with healthy mindset.
Personal time can easily be sacrificed so a leader needs to include
personal goals within time management. Personal goals may include time
 Leadership Reflections 221

for tenure and promotion activities, advance education, professional service,

community service, engagement with nonprofits, while not to mention time
for a personal life. A former university president shared with me his time
management trick of protecting his mornings for time with his wife since
their evenings were typically scheduled for public events. Another former
university president when presented with an unexpected 15 minutes in his
day would read as he kept a book on hand in his office. Baker recommends
hat shopping as a way to create mental health time (2012, p. 4). As an interim
department head, it was difficult but I protected time to work on another
advanced degree that was personally satisfying while also contributing to
my career development. While managing time, a leader needs to consider
all aspects of one’s life in order to find the balance that works. That balance
may shift as a leader is appointed to new positions or there are life changes
such as children leaving home. Time management typically focuses on the
professional life but leaders need to include time management for personal
goals and living within the overall picture of life.

SUMMARY

Time management is challenging and solutions need to be tailored to fit in-

dividual workstyle preferences and organizational culture. Leaders need to
avail themselves of tricks, tips, and strategies to squeeze as much time out
of the day without compromising quality work and interpersonal relations.
The reality is that after all of those strategies, a leader will constantly struggle
with time management because there are so many competing demands and
shifting of schedules beyond one’s control. There are some ways to help
manage time and effective leaders have a plan, know the priorities, focus
on activities that advance the goals of the organization, delegate, outline au-
thority responsibilities, communicate expectations, and include personal and
professional development time within their schedules. While a leader may
sometimes struggle with their time management, leaders can assist others in
managing their time by setting priorities and communicating expectations.
The revised FSLA regulations remind employers to support employees in
managing their work life balance by overseeing hours within a workweek.
In addition to managing one’s own time, leaders need to consider the time
management needs of the entire organization which accounts for a critical
organizational resource—time.

NOTE
1. More information regarding FSLA may be found on the U.S. Department of Labor Website,
https://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/.
222 M. Farrell

REFERENCES

Baker, S. K. (2012). Leading a full life: Reflections on several decades of

work, family, and accomplishment. Research Library Issues, (278), 2–7.
http://publications.arl.org/rli278
Ifijeh, G. I. (2012). Time management strategies for improving librarians’ productiv-
ity. Information World / Bilgi Dunyasi, 13(2), 565–573.
Fitsimmons, G. (2008a). Time management part I: Goal setting as a planning
tool. Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, 21(2), 61–63. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1108/08880450810898328
Fitsimmons, G. (2008b). Time management: Part III: Plan implementation. Bot-
tom Line: Managing Library Finances, 21(4), 129–131. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1108/08880450810912853