Don't Think Time Management - Think Conflict Resolution

David began, "I have a major time management problem. As an editor, I often get two clients calling with assignments. They call around ten AM and both want their projects completed by mid-afternoon. Then a third client calls around lunchtime with a crisis. So I have too many projects all at once. The next day the phone is silent." Davids dilemma made me think of Jennifer, who worked for two bosses, Blue and Green. Blue would give her an assignment to be completed by noon. Green would call five minutes later with another assignment you guessed it to be completed by lunchtime. Jennifer was stressed and frazzled all day long. We helped her negotiate with her internal customers her management team to set up a service delivery schedule that would be fair to everyone. Whether your customers are internal or external, the key is to design consistent policies to avoid conflict. Here are some suggestions that worked for my clients. . Train your customers from the get-go. Clients typically are nice people who have no clue about what it takes to deliver your service. For example, one client sent me a project, along with a ten-page single-spaced set of "notes." When I called with a question, she asked, "Cant you just read the notes?" I explained that I might spend an hour searching for the answer to my question -- and I would have to charge accordingly. Sometimes clients will pay the fee as long as they get to remove themselves from the fray but sometimes theyll prefer to become more involved. Its up to you to give them that choice. . Develop a conflict resolution plan before you need it. As you face conflicting demands, develop a system so you wont have to play referee every day. You can insist on hours notice, command extra charges for rush jobs, or adhere strictly to first come, first served rules. Working for a company? Get everyone to agree on a rule for setting priorities. Match your communication style to your organizations culture. If nobody wants to negotiate, or if youre working late on everybodys projects (while the folks who assigned those projects left hours ago), your challenge becomes, "how to deal with unreasonable bosses." . Design your promises ahead of time. When a clients on the phone, its so tempting to say, "You only want to pay X dollars? No problem." Or you invite everyone in a class to send questions, which you promise to answer within hours. Off the phone, you realize youve just committed to an hourly rate thats a fraction of your normal fee. (Weve all done this at least once.) Either you deliver a half-baked solution or you put in lots of unpaid overtime. And either way, youll find yourself resenting the client and wondering why you got into this business in the first place. Lessons learned: Conflicting demands? Youre not facing a time management challenge. Youre looking for a new strategy -- a way to mesh your preferred working style with the needs of your clients and a set of policies to protect you from your own generosity.