How I manage my tasks in Cyber Security

Prioritization is a skill I was forced to develop.

The cyber security industry has a horrible habit of overwhelming people. It can feel like you’re constantly drowning in a sea of emails, messages, and tasks.

I don’t claim to be a guru on this topic, but I’ve discussed my approach to time management with a couple of people, and they’ve found it useful. So, I thought I would share it more widely.

I start by reminding myself of the “mission statement”. This could be for the organization, the department, or the team. It should be easily understood and is the guiding star (or goal) for all your activities!

Before you agree to do anything, ask yourself one question: Does this activity contribute towards the mission statement? If the answer is no, it must be placed in the “volunteering” column.

When planning, I have 3 columns of tasks. I break them into: what’s going to get me fired, what’s going to get me promoted, and finally, volunteering time.

I know, it's very odd, but it works for me 😄

Tasks that are going to get me fired

These are the most mission-critical tasks (the reason the day job exists). If they didn’t happen or were done poorly, it would be damaging to the organization/my reputation and could lead to me losing my job.

This typically takes between 70% to 110% of my weekly availability. These are the tasks that would require overtime and cause other tasks to be paused. It’s the core part of the job, and some weeks are better than others.

The point is these tasks take priority over all other tasks!

I think about department vision, finances, people management, critical vulnerabilities, and incidents but a Security Engineer would have very different tasks on their “get me fired” list.

Tasks that are going to get me promoted

These are the tasks that you know will make the organization, department, and yourself better. They’re the operational or capital efficiencies you’ve been waiting to test out, the relationships you want to strengthen, or the education/growth you’ve been waiting to apply.

All tasks under the "get me promoted" column must align with your mission statement.

This is about you doing amazing things above and beyond the regular day job and getting the exposure for it!

Volunteering time:

Life will give you allot of side quests. Volunteering time is ANY task that does not directly contribute towards your mission statement. If you do this properly, you’ll be amazed at how many things you complete within a week that do not directly benefit your job role or your promotion prospects.

Giveback is good, and volunteering is a valuable part of your weekly routine.

I highlight it as you need to find the balance right. You’re empowered to define your ratios between the 3 columns.

Finally, use task delegation.

One of the hard lessons managers and leaders need to learn is task delegation.

I did, and still do find it difficult at times. In my mind, I could do the task quicker and better, so why delegate? It seems inefficient.

The reality is, that you rob yourself and others of growth experiences.

Yes, it will take longer to train someone, but once it’s complete,  they've benefited and you get that time back to apply your skillset on tasks only you can do. 

The last and final lens I apply to all the tasks on the list is: what are the tasks that only I can do?

In theory, all other tasks could and should be delegated.