Objective: Become more confident in managing self in relation to time
By: Haider Khan
Welcome to this one-day workshop on Time (Self) Management.
Have you ever heard yourself and others say:
’’I didn’t have enough time?’’
?There just aren’t enough hours in the day?’’
But why? Why can’t we get organized’’?
The answer is simple and very complex: human nature. Practically all the ’rules’ of time management are contradictory to the laws of human nature. Could it be:
These are human traits and can be deadly in our attempts to use our time efficiently and wisely.
If we are going to gain control of our time, we must learn to recognize our powerful tendencies relative to time, and teach ourselves to modify our thoughts and actions. We may not be able to completely eradicate these traits, but we can get them under control.
The idea is not only to save time, but also to expand time.
As you start chipping away at the biggest time wasters, you will see that their causes are connected to simple human nature - you.
CONTEXT OF THE DAY
Can you control time?
What can you control?
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INVESTIGATE TIME WASTERS
’’IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT,
YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT’’
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
Attack the problem of wasted time with these four steps:
- Identity wasted time:
Work life Personal life
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- What causes you to waste this time?
At work In personal life
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What stops you?
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WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF MISMANAGING TIME?
ACTIONS
What goals can you set to eliminate these time wasters?
a) Personal habits:
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b) Habits of your subordinates:
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Implement actions: This will require discipline. No matter how strongly motivated you are, others will need much persuasion. Maintain a chart of the weekly and monthly progress you make toward your goals. This will discourage backsliding.
Don?t just hope; DECIDE!
COMPETENCY
Creative time:Prime time:Overhead time:Review time:
Effectiveness with _____________ Efficiency with _______________
DELEGATION
What you can make people do, is the best thing
you can do for people
Show ?why? Don?t show ?why?
Show ?how? C D
Don?t show ?how? D S
COMMAND TIME
You can command time by following these three steps:
Establish a time frame for the activity you wish to keep under control. Fix your goals in your mind and enter them on a calendar or appointment book. If your activity is part of a larger organizational plan, the deadline may also be displayed.
Measure progress toward the goal or deadline.
Take steps to keep progressing. Change your approach to speed up progress. Add resources, use faster equipment, or delegate work to a subordinate. If corrective action is needed, you may have to make one activity a higher priority.
TECHNIQUES TO ALERT YOU TO TIME WASTERS
Limit social visits. Don’t make extended conversations comfortable for others. Say you are busy at the moment, or offer to schedule an appointment. Limit physical access to casual visitors.
Expect to be able to control only about 50% of your time. But devote that time to productive activities.
Expect idle time to crop up when you least expect it. Keep a block of productive activities in reserve for such opportunities.
Increase delegation. Assign routine work and unexceptional decisions to subordinates.
Check time estimates. Periodically assess how realistic your estimates are. Adjust your time budget accordingly.
Expect a 20% or more slippage in most time schedules. The unexpected does crop up.
Don’t over-commit your time. There will be new and unexpected demands.
Understand that every completion deadline invokes a related starting deadline. Proceed to the next activity without delay.
Decide quickly on small matters. Spending too much time on trivial issues leads to mediocrity.
Form the completion habit. Whenever possible, finish one task before starting another.
NEGATIVE STRESS
Negative stress is caused by time stressors, which are often the greatest sources of stress for managers. Managers are frequently interrupted, due to which they are seldom able to engage in long range planning. On average no manager works more than twenty minutes at a time without interruption. Most of a manager’s time is controlled by bothersome, persistent and energetic people.
Effective time management can enable managers to gain control over their time and to organize their fragmented, chaotic environments.
It is important to point out how dependent time management is on self-awareness. Frequently, time stressors are brought on by personal characteristics such as a strong need for power, a style that focuses on details, or a tendency to take on too much work. Unless one is aware of these needs, tendencies, or behavioral patterns, it does little good to suggest rules of thumb for managing time.