As a junior manager, one of the biggest challenges I faced was not focusing on what was important, but rather what was urgent. This often resulted in feelings of frustration, negativity towards others, and low self-esteem. So, I decided to find answers to the question, "what does it take to manage effectively?" and I found the best answers in Peter Drucker's 1967 book "The Effective Executive". The first piece of advice he offered was to "Know Thy Time". This is something I would highly recommend to any startup founder, especially since time is a crucial asset in disrupting the market.
To "Know Thy Time", follow these three simple steps:
Track it - you can't manage what you don't measure. Keeping a log of how you spend your time helps you understand how it relates to your goals and aspirations.
Systematically manage it to eliminate time-wasters and delegate tasks that can be done better by others. You'll be building resilience in your team and giving them opportunities to learn and grow.
Aggregate it into large chunks to allow for creative work. Jeff Bezos schedules important meetings for 10 am. We had a no-meeting day on Fridays at App in the Air to enable uninterrupted creative work sessions. Batching meetings into specific days frees up other days for focused work.