We’re taught from an early age that there are 24 hours in a day. However, in public safety, we seem to continually stretch the boundaries of time. I’m quite certain there were many times during both my military and law enforcement careers that I worked a 30-hour shift over the course of 24 hours (or at least it felt like I did)! But whether you work eights, tens, twelves, or something in between, time is both our friend and our adversary. At the end of a long shift, time is our friend because going off-duty means a welcome rest period. But when it comes to completing required tasks, time is often our enemy. This is especially true if you’re a procrastinator or if you simply have more on your plate than one human deserves. In public safety, we always have more than enough work to keep us going.
Regardless of your situation, time management is an essential skill that must be mastered by those who work in public safety. Gone are the days of quiet shifts, flush budgets and full tables of organization. We work shorthanded and are continually forced to do more with less. As such, making productive use of time is critical. Motivational speaker and entrepreneur Michael Altshuler had the right idea when he professed, “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” In public safety, it’s easy to blame our time losses on the job itself. But when it comes to making good use of time, we are often our own worst enemy.
We run from call to call and then try to take advantage of the sporadic pockets of quiet time so we can catch up on required tasks such as training and report writing. It’s a challenge for even the most organized individuals. And if you aren’t good at time management, the costs are even greater. I’ve worked with people who are constantly busy but don’t seem to accomplish much. Once you move into a leadership position, it’s even more important to carefully manage your time.
In 2019, RescueTime analyzed 185 million hours of work time and found that although 94% of service professionals put in 50 or more hours per week, the average employee spends only 2.8 hours per day on productive tasks.[1] Projected over the course of a standard 40-hour work week, that leads to a 35% productivity rate each week per employee. The same study also found that just over 40% of our day is spent multitasking with communication tools.[1] Consider how that impacts our efficiency while on the job. In public safety, computers, radios and mobile phones/tablets are all part of our daily routine. As helpful as these devices are, they are also huge distractors, especially when you consider that 21% of our working hours are spent on entertainment, news and social media.[1]
It’s easy to see how much of our time slips away while doing regular or routine tasks. When we add predictable (special events) and unpredictable (natural disasters) responsibilities into the mix, our time is taxed even more. According to Valerie Jackson, MD, two major time management stumbling blocks involve procrastination and perfectionism.[2] Late author and speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer noted, “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today.” Procrastination really doesn’t need much of an explanation since it simply involves putting off until another time what you should be doing right now. It increases our anxiety level and becomes overwhelming as we get further behind, which can delay the work even more.
On the other hand, perfectionism might evolve innocently enough when we try to do too much in an unreasonable amount of time, or if we insist that required tasks are done perfectly. As Jackson proposes, “if 80% of the effort produces 95% of the [result], does it really make sense to reach for that final 5%?” This is especially true if we’re on a compressed deadline or have many competing and/or high priority tasks. Maybe 100% is the goal, especially in this line of work, but we must consider whether a 95% result gets us close enough to our task completion goals and objectives to move on to other tasks.
Whatever the case, in public safety, we can’t afford to be complacent with anything, especially our time. Effective time management not only makes the job easier; it creates less stress, allows us to complete required tasks, and makes it easier to disconnect from the job when we’re off-duty. This is probably the most important aspect of time management: saving enough of ourselves for life outside the job, either for when the shift is over or after we head down the retirement glidepath. Sadly, we are often ineffective at juggling work-life balance. According to RescueTime, 26% of work is completed outside of normal working hours.[1] Now, I’m sure that number is conservative when it comes to public safety, considering the 24/7 nature of our jobs. But just think about it – over a quarter of our time is conservatively spent doing work while we are off-duty. That means less than three-quarters of our time off is really detached from the workplace.
While time management is inherently challenging, we can get better at it—remember, we’re the pilot. After reflecting on my own experiences and reviewing quite a bit of literature on the topic, I’ve compiled five tips designed to help you better manage your time.
Working in public safety is demanding. Schedules are often volatile and there are myriad competing priorities around every corner. Staying on task is difficult, no matter how organized you are or how well you manage time. It’s tempting to expand our work life while off-duty, but just remember that doing so means sacrificing time for yourself or with loved ones. Even though life in public safety often means a life immersed in chaos, there are ways to manage your time effectively so you don’t simply spin your wheels. Carefully planning, prioritizing and organizing tasks will go a long way to ensuring you get everything completed in a reasonable amount of time.
Don’t forget about the power of delegation and how it can not only assist you but also help develop others who will do the tasks long after you’re gone. Use a simple checklist to keep track of what you wish to accomplish. Finally, don’t forget to relax. Take time away from the job and avoid the temptation of taking work with you after the shift unless it’s necessary. One of my favorite quotes from Benjamin Franklin is, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Years ago, I expanded on these words of wisdom, even to the point of placing it high on my wall where it was easily viewed: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today … Tomorrow may never come.”
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