Time is Money: Navigating the Daily Balancing Act in IC

Time is like a daily bank account. Each day, you start with a full balance, and as the day progresses, you spend it on various activities. Your goal is to manage it wisely because, by the day's end, it's depleted until the next refresh. This analogy is particularly crucial when you're an internal communication (IC) team of one. Valuing your time is essential because, if you don't, no one else will.

As a solo contributor, effective time management is critical for achieving daily goals and avoiding burnout. While it won't solve all your challenges, it's an excellent starting point. Here are some of my top tips for time management as a team of one.

• Know your priorities
  Having a good handle on your priorities is just as important with time management as it with being well-organized. Understanding your priorities keeps you from feeling overwhelmed and incapable of meeting deadlines. Invest your time in actions that produce the results you want.
  
  

• Use technology to streamline IC processes
  For things like system outage notifications, technology can work wonders for teams of one. Connect with your IT team to explore ways that technology can automate some of your routine tasks, thereby freeing you up to focus on more worthwhile endeavors.
  
  

• Set meeting agendas (and ask others to do the same)
  When scheduling meetings, give attendees a set of clear topics and objectives. Most people don’t expect a minute-by-minute overview of meetings that run 60 minutes or fewer. A brief bulleted list within the invite is usually sufficient. Any prework should also be clearly communicated beforehand in a timely manner. And feel free to ask other meeting hosts to do the same for you.
  
  

• Respect other people’s time
  If you want others to respect your time, you need to extend them that same courtesy. Assume everyone is just as busy as you are—if not busier. Meetings without clear goals can quickly lead to a waste of time. Setting meeting agendas and sticking to them is one way to demonstrate your respect for others’ time.
  
  

• Avoid multitasking
  Resist the urge to multitask, as it often leads to frustration and decreased productivity. Focus on one task at a time for better results.
  
  

• Leverage a content calendar
  Content calendars are a great tool to keep you focused and on track. At a glance, you can see what needs to happen today, tomorrow, and so on. Consistently referencing the calendar helps you plan for the known as much as possible, so you’re ready when the unknown arrives.
  
  

• Standardize your approach for recurring IC needs
  Any time you can rinse, repeat instead of reinventing the wheel is a major timesaver. Recurring IC needs like new hire announcements and weekly email newsletters are perfect candidates for standardization. Your standardized approach could include a series of message templates and a list of key stakeholders to involve, creating the framework for a communication plan.
  
  

• Document IC processes
  Knowing how recurring IC processes work is a time-saving essential. If you’re fortunate, your predecessor will have left you some documentation for routine processes like how to publish content to the employee app. If you don’t have this, I highly recommend building it yourself.
  
  

• Create an IC reference library
  Every IC item you document needs a home. Enter, a reference library. This library should live in an easily accessible place for you and anyone else who needs it. Maybe it will live on a shared drive or the back-end of your team’s intranet page. Wherever it is, get all your IC documentation rounded up and organized in this one spot.

For more tips on thriving as an IC team of one, check out my book “Me, Myself, and IC: A Guide to Building Internal Communication as a Team of One.”