I spoke on Time Management for Engineering Managers at the Developer First Conference on June 12, 2020. Here are the slides.

1. Time Management for
Engineering Managers
Vidal Graupera
12 June 2020
Developer First

2. Topics
1. Introduction
2. Why It's Hard for EMs
3. Rethinking How to Use The Tools
4. Techniques to Plan Day/Week/Mo
5. Tips (time allowing)
6. Resources and Wrap up
7. Q&A

3. Introduction
● A bit about me… & my mission
● Why important?
● Can be overwhelming especially for new
managers!
● Time management is a constant challenge for all
EMs interviewed on managersclub.com
“What’s your work day like and how do you
manage your time, emails, etc.?”

4. Why is it hard?

5. Concepts
● You will not get everything done!
● Never enough time…. Everyone has the same amount of
time (even other managers)
● Manager’s schedule vs maker's schedule, article by Paul
Graham
● Be really conscious of how you manage other people’s
time.
● What we can learn from computers

6. Being a Perfectionist
● Parkinson's law states that "work
expands to fill the amount of time
allotted to it ."
● The Pareto principle (80/20 rule)

7. The Fallacy of Multitasking
● Very tempting. It’s a myth that
this works.
● Human beings are single
threaded
● Subject much research
● “Your effective IQ goes down
by 10% on these tasks!”

8. Interruptions
● Learn to love internal interruptions:
they’re often your job
● You are an unblocker.
● OK to be strict with external
interruptions from 3rd parties,
vendors, social visits, etc.

9. Rethinking the Tools

10. Emails
● Inbox Zero - very popular
● Quickly scan for fires. Priority one: Can
I unblock anyone or another team?
● Work toward acting on an email
when you read it – delegate it, reply
to it, trash it, etc.
● 80/20 rule.
● Turn off all email alerts.
● If you can, only review a few times a
day at fixed intervals. Block time for
communications. Keep this time
sacred.

11. Emails Continued
● Filters and rules
○ Addressed only to you, or where you are named
○ From manager or manager’s manager
○ From team(s) and peers
○ With “Action Required” or Invite to Edit or Comment
○ Code Reviews, Alerts, Outages, etc.
○ Automated emails and newsletters -> File
● Last resort declare email bankruptcy

12. Calendar
● Whatever happens…. Your Calendar is not the enemy
● Scan calendar first thing, which meetings can I skip, cancel,
etc.?
● Defrag calendar
● Schedule like items together, e.g. 1:1’s but not more than 3
● Themes by day of week, e.g. Monday 1:1s, Tuesdays on
Project A
● Defensive calendaring; avoid temptation to over schedule
your day
● Plan breaks for unplanned work and add (do not schedule)
DNS blocks.
● Prep for meetings 1 day in advance

13. More on Calendar
● Decline meeting and send
representative. Delegate as learning
opportunity.
● Declare a no meeting day, e.g. No
Meeting Weds
● Color code your calendar for easy
scanning
● Set meetings with your future self to get
work done, or to check in with people.
2+ weeks out.

14. Meetings
● Meetings are often the main work up to 80% of time
● Learn to love meetings!
● Running effective meetings is super important
● Action items, agendas, meeting notes, etc. “If there are no
notes and AI, then meeting never happened.”
● End early and return time to people!
● Keep short (Parkinson's Law)
● Laptops down. Notice how many people are paying attention.
● Send surveys after meetings to improve them.
● “Meeting in writing” e.g. use Google docs

15. Personal Planning
● Consider using an asset allocation
strategy
● Develop a Time Map showing a
picture of when you’d like to do each
of your major activities during a
normal week, e.g. 20% on recruiting
● End of week review on Friday or
Sunday

16. Eisenhower Matrix (EM version)
Adapted from a system used by
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
and later popularized by
Stephen Covey, as the “Time
Management Matrix”

17. To-dos
● Create a daily “TO-DO” list of most
important 1-3 items.
● To-Do lists and apps are very
popular
● They do not have a sense of time so
instead put items on calendar
● Create checklists, daily and weekly
so things don’t slip through the
cracks
● Pro-tip a Personal Kanban Board!

18. Personal Kanban Board

19. Books on “Time Management”
● Getting Things Done by David Allen
● When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
● The Checklist Manifesto
● Personal Kanban
● The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
● The Surprising Science of Meetings

20. Times Up - Wrap Up - Q&A
Thanks for your time! I hope you found this useful.
Contact Info
● Twitter: @vgraupera
● vgraupera@linkedin.com
Deck: https://managersclub.com/talks
Images from Unsplash & pixabay

21. Thank you

22. Tips & Ideas
● Get in early before everyone else and things get busy or plan it
out night before.
● Or “Work 1 late night” e.g., stay late on Mondays to get week off
to strong start and build momentum
● Think what is the most important thing I can do, or that no one
else can do or is able to do
● Exercise and meditation to keep energy
● Study and learn using audiobooks while driving or commuting

23. More Tips
● Become a faster typer
● Autocomplete app e.g. TextExpander
● Leave your desk and book a conference room to work with
focus, e.g. writing perf reviews
● Most productive 2-4 hours after waking up. Don’t squander with
e.g admin stuff, routine staff meeting, etc. Use it for deep,
creative work work. Avoid getting sucked into email and
calendar first thing.
● Capture system. Get things out of your head it’s stress inducing.
(GTD). I carry a paper notebook and Evernote.