My husband’s manager tells him he needs to learn to do a better job at estimating time required on projects (he tends to underestimate, sometimes very badly), and in the past year this has been a problem for his team.
Based on my observation, he also needs to learn a different method of approaching projects: usually, he puts things off until the last minute, and then works ‘under the crunch’. He actually works well under that kind of pressure. But there’s never enough time.
He doesn’t like to say “no” when somebody comes to him with other things to be done, even if he’s working under a deadline. But there are only so many hours in the day, and he has to sleep sometime. And eating, and seeing his family are also important.
In effect, he needs to learn to work smarter, and this means changing the habits and tendencies of decades.
I’ve suggested he go to his manager and say “Please help me understand how we’re prioritizing this project, so I know how best to focus my time,” and that if a coworker comes to him with something else, if necessary, to pop over to the manager’s office and say “This has just come in, Joe, but you’ve got me working on X, under deadline Y. How do you want this prioritized, and why?” After all, that’s management’s ultimate job: to decide what’s most important,and get people to do it.
I’ve suggested he go in to work earlier than they expect him, shut his door, close his blinds, and be unavailable to coworkers, who interrupt a great deal, and break his linear focus. (He is very linear, not a multitasker at all, and interruption can throw him off for extended periods).
I’ve also suggested he write useful self-management points on his whiteboard, so he can just glance up and have help deciding how best to prioritize things.
Beyond that, does anyone have suggestions? I’m looking for resources - books, audio series tapes or CDs, or internet resources that help teach workplace and project prioritization. (Please, no comments about how he just has to ‘buckle down and do it’. That’s the sort of thing his parents tell him, but it has never yet taught him the skillset required to do it, or done anything except make him an anxious wreck.)