Finding the time: How credit managers can master time management 

Working in credit can sometimes mean juggling many responsibilities at once. From the overflowing email inbox to the back-to-back meetings, your days in credit are often packed with so many urgent tasks that it can be hard to stay on top of it all.  

Why it matters: With so much on your plate, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by your ever-growing to-do list, especially when unpredictable fires pop up and throw all your plans out the window. Effective time management not only helps you stay on top of your work but creates a better balance to help ease stress.

Each day in credit looks different, and you might not approach your work the same way each day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to scheduling your days, but making a habit of organizing your daily assignments by urgency and crafting a schedule that addresses them without exhausting you can help.   

“Scheduling things helps me stay focused and ensures I transition smoothly from task to task,” said Michael Pica, CBA, ICCE, assistant credit manager for Washington Penn Plastics (Washington, PA). “I also set reminders to stay on track throughout the day. If unexpected conflicts or meeting overruns occur, I adjust my schedule strategically to minimize disruption while keeping priorities intact.” 

Planning your day around what assignments you need to complete can help you work more efficiently. To do so effectively, you need to know what needs to be done, how urgent it is and approximately how long it will take to complete them. “When deciding what to prioritize, I first assess which tasks have the greatest financial impact on the company—those take precedence,” Pica said. “Next, I consider what’s most critical to our customers. If two things conflict but neither directly affect revenue or client experience, I look at deadlines and due dates. When no time constraints exist, I focus on efficiency: I tackle the quickest one first.” 

For many credit professionals, the urgency of a task correlates to how closely it impacts customers. “The customer is the most important person,” said Michelle Kelly, CCE, CCRA, CICP, senior credit manager at Mansfield Energy (Gainesville, GA). “We prioritize the tasks that directly impact customers because we don’t run without customers. After customers, I prioritize the things management requires. Outside of that, I make an effort to prioritize team development and training as often as possible.” 

When blocking out time on your schedule around your core responsibilities, remember that the nature of credit management means you will always be reassessing your priorities as things can pop up at any moment. “When scheduling, build in buffer zones for the unexpected—because in credit management, interruptions are part of the job,” Pica said. “Don’t be afraid to delegate or push back on requests that fall outside your scope—protecting your time is part of protecting your performance. Be sure to review your week regularly, stay consistent and keep track of the items that you either over or under committed time to better understand how to handle those assignments moving forward.” 

When no amount of reworking your schedule can make your workload manageable, it can help to lean on your team and delegate. “At the end of the day, you cannot do everything and you have to make sure you have a strong team in place for these moments,” Kelly said. “Delegating an assignment to another member of your team not only helps you manage your to-do list, but gives them an opportunity to advance by rising to a new challenge. It’s important that we learn to let go of certain things in favor of developing a strong team to help you manage.” 

Credit managers are pulled in every direction, as their unique set of skills and position within the company make them a go-to resource for other departments. “Working in credit, we’re frequently pulled into issues beyond our core responsibilities,” Pica said. “Without solid time management, it’s easy to get sidetracked and lose focus on high-priority credit projects. By effectively managing your time, you remove the sense of guilt or inefficiency when accommodating others.”  

The bottom line: Effective time management strategies look different for each credit manager. It is important to remember there is no right or wrong way to go about prioritizing assignments each day, as long as you manage to strike the right balance between completing those urgent tasks while being careful not to overexert yourself.