Interview Question for Assistant Manager at Michaels Stores:

I am currently a manager in a much bigger store, so my time is important. I have to make sure that all my work is submitted on time as well as be available to my dept managers for questions, answers, problem solving, etc, so there isn't much room for error or over/under planning at all. A mistake can mean hours of needless energy spent chasing a phantom... I plan my week every Monday on a rough structure. The smaller details get filled in as I go and then the tiny, almost in the moment issues/events may get filled in hours before they are scheduled or arranged to happen. I've trained several people to handle questions that are merely process or priority based, so only the important ones that they can't handle (things that need policy interpretation and etc) are brought to me. This minimizes 'fires' so to speak.
After I pencil in my tasks/events, I prioritize them, using my own system. I follow that as closely as possible. Anything that doesn't get done on a lower priority moves to the next day. Anything on a higher priority may mean that I get another person to work with me on it for some 'hands on training time' because I typically don't go home until all the highest and higher priorities are taken care of or complete. And so far, my system has worked for me in multiple job titles in multiple companies, as well as personally.