Understanding Time

Evaluating Your Use of Time 1. What are the principles of time management? 2. How can understanding my time benefit me? Recognizing Personal Habits 1. How do personality types hinder time management? Procrastinator Perpetually late Perfectionist Easily distracted Do-it-all 2. How can a self-assessment help me understand how I manage my time? 3. Why is considering cultural concepts of time important? 4. What are productivity cycles? 5. How can evaluating productivity cycles help me better use my time? Determining How You Spend Your Time 1. How can pricing my time help me manage it? 2. What is a time audit? 3. What are the steps for creating a time audit? 1. List the tasks you must accomplish for the day 2. Set a deadline for each task 3. Record every task throughout the day, noting interruptions 4. Note how much time you spend on each task 5. Evaluate how much time was spent on priority tasks 4. What is the Pareto principle? 5. How does the Pareto principle affect how I spend my time? 6. How can I make the Pareto principle work to my advantage?

Group II/1

Developing a Time Management Plan

Getting Started 1. What is a time management plan? 2. Why do I need an overall time management plan? 3. Should I commit my plan to paper? 4. Why do I need to keep track of my time? 5. What are the guidelines to modifying how I spend my time? 6. Correspond your activities with your productivity cycle 7. Create your ideal schedule 8. Modify your current schedule Creating a Time Management Plan 1. How can I become familiar with my company's priorities? 2. Why should I match my priorities with those of the company? 3. What obstacles do I need to prepare for when creating a time management plan? Interruptions Projects taking longer that anticipated Crises 4. What are the steps for creating a time management plan?

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Identifying Goals and Setting Priorities

Making Lists 1. How can making a ''to do'' list help me better manage my time? 2. How can making a ''not to do'' list help me better manage my time? 3. What are some guidelines to remember while making a ''to do'' list? Identifying Goals 1. What is the difference between an objective and a goal? 2. Why are goals important in time management? 3. What are some characteristics of goals? 4. How can I identify and work toward my goals? Setting Priorities 1. What are some characteristics of priorities? 2. Why are priorities important in time management? 3. How do I set priorities? 1. List your tasks for the day 2. Ask yourself whether you want or need to accomplish certain tasks 3. Rank tasks in order of priority 4. Match your priorities with those of your organization 5. Schedule top ranked priorities during productivity cycles

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GOALS

Generate

Generate your goals on paper. Write down your objectives for those goals on paper. If you do not, you may forget your goal or it may slightly alter in your mind as you think about it. Keep your goals visible so that you are periodically reminded of them.

Organize

Organize your day's activities. After you have written down your objectives and goals, write down your schedule for the day so that you know how much time you have to accomplish your goals. Be sure to account for meetings, possible interruptions, and breaks.

Align

Align your goals with company goals. Some of your goals will be individual goals, but it is also important that you consider the goals of the company when setting short-range and long-range goals. If you do not know you company's goals, ask your boss for a mission statement or ask him or her to identify goals he or she thinks you should focus on.

Line up

Line up tasks according to priority. When looking at your list of goals, you should always prioritize them, listing your most important goals first. You should generally rank short-range goals first since you usually have less time to accomplish them, but you should be careful not to neglect long-term goals when you are prioritizing.
Stay focused Stay focused. Use your goals to keep focused on your work through crises and interruptions. Let your goals help you better manage your time. By setting goals that are important to you and that motivate you, you will be less likely to waste time because of unexpected occurrences.

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Saying ''No'' to Doing Too Much

Doing Too Much 1. What are the causes of doing too much? The need to achieve Insecurity Failure to delegate Unrealistic time estimates Lack of organization 2. How can I avoid doing too much? 1. Prioritize 2. Delegate 3. Concentrate on your priorities 4. Be flexible 3. How do I stop doing too much? Saying ''No'' 1. What are the causes of not saying ''No''? Looking for gratitude Guilt Fear of expendability Belief of indispensability 2. What are the steps to saying ''No''? 1. Pay attention 2. Analyze the request 3. Utilize your decision-making skills 4. Supply reasons 5. Examine alternatives

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Developing a Daily Plan

Understanding How to Plan 1. What are the benefits of planning? 2. How much time should I spend planning? 3. When should I plan? 4. What are some obstacles to planning? Routine tasks No immediate reward Habits Planning and Scheduling Your Day 1. How should I plan my day? 1. Set aside fifteen minutes a day 2. Write down all tasks you need to accomplish 3. Prioritize your tasks 4. Correspond each task with productivity cycles 5. Estimate how much time each task requires 6. Assign a time of day to each task 2. What are some guidelines to remember when creating a daily plan? 3. How can I schedule effectively? 4. What tasks should I not schedule?

Group II/6

Managing Technology
Controlling Technology 1. How can technology help me save time? 2. What are some guidelines for making good decisions about technology? Managing Your Time with Computers 1. How can computers waste my time? 2. How can I organize my computer and its electronic files to benefit me? 3. How do I organize e-mail and fax documents to save time? 4. What are some guidelines to handling e-mail? Look at the subject line Request junk mail to stop Schedule times to check e-mail Turn off notification devices Be selective when giving out your address Use just one mailbox 5. What are some guidelines for not wasting time on the internet? Keep a record of interesting and useful sites Familiarize yourself with different search engines Do not become overly curious Managing Your Time on the Telephone 1. How can the telephone waste my time? 2. What are some guidelines for not wasting time on the telephone? Plan your calls in writing Focus your concentration on the subject of the call Stand up while talking Put a time limit on each call Develop verbal phrases to end a call 3. How can I manage my voice mail?

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Plan Your Day Effectively 1. Set aside fifteen minutes a day You should spend the last fifteen minutes of our workday planning what you will be doing the next day. This planning period should be considered the highest priority of your day, and you should make sure that you are not interrupted during this time. If you do not allow yourself time for planning, a plan will never exist. 2. Write down all tasks you need to accomplish During your fifteen minute planning period, write down the specific tasks and projects you need to accomplish the following day. Look at your list, and decide which tasks could be delegated to someone else. Decide who to delegate those tasks to, and cross those tasks off your list. Any task on your list with a specific future deadline can be written on your calendar. You should then be left with the tasks you have chosen to do the following day. 3. Prioritize your tasks After you have a list of the tasks you need to accomplish for the next day, evaluate the list and determine which tasks are high priority and which tasks are low priority. To help you make this distinction, try to determine which tasks are urgent and which tasks are not so urgent. For example, you may have a meeting at one o'clock in which you are expected to discuss your proposal for a new sales strategy. This task is more urgent than organizing your file cabinet. Therefore, you should place the urgent task higher on your daily list than the not so urgent priority. 4. Correspond each task with productivity cycles Productivity cycles are periods of time throughout the day when you feel most productive. For example, you may already know that you are not a morning person and that you accomplish less in the first few hours at work than in the afternoon. If this is the case, you should schedule your most challenging priorities during the time of day when you are most productive. Schedule your routine tasks during times when your energy levels are low. 5. Estimate how much time each task requires After you decide the order in which you should work on your tasks, estimate how much time you think each task requires for completion. Doing so will enable you to determine if your list is realistic. You do not want to make a list that is overwhelming and frustrating. 6. Assign a time of day to each task After you have made a realistic list of tasks, you should assign specific times of days to accomplish each task. Make sure these times coincide with you productivity cycles. Also, take into account that you should work on high priority tasks before working on low priority tasks. Once you have assigned a time of day to each task, you are ready to implement your plan.

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Controlling Productivity by Dealing with People

Handling Interruptions 1. Why is learning to control my productivity when dealing with people important? 2. How do interruptions affect my productivity? 3. How can I minimize interruptions from visitors? 4. How can I minimize interruptions from co-workers? Keeping Meetings Productive 1. How can meetings affect my productivity? 2. What are some steps to follow to make meetings more productive? 1. Invite only those who need to attend 2. Get input before scheduling a meeting 3. Notify people in advance of the agenda and their responsibilities 4. Start the meeting on time 5. Cover the most important item on the agenda first 6. Control the discussion 7. End the meeting on time 3. How can I be more productive when attending a meeting? Overcoming Personal Time Wasters 1. How does procrastination affect productivity? 2. How can I overcome procrastination? 3. How does perfectionism affect productivity? 4. How can I overcome perfectionism? 5. How can my inability to say ''no'' affect my productivity? 6. How can I overcome my inability to say ''no''? 7. How can indecisiveness affect productivity? 8. What are some questions to ask myself to overcome indecisiveness? 1. What is the problem? 2. What are the choices? 3. Which is the better choice?

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Controlling Productivity by Controlling Information

Understanding Information Overload 1. What are the causes of information overload? 2. How can I distinguish important information from unimportant information? 3. What are some steps I can follow to overcome information overload? 1. Give yourself permission not to know everything 2. Trash, scan, and recycle 3. Create and carry a reading file 4. What are the different methods of screening information? Not screening Screening by support staff Source screening Organizing Paperwork 1. How does paperwork affect my productivity? 2. How can I control the amount of paperwork on my desk? Refer it Act on it Throw it away 3. How can the way I handle information help me control paperwork? Scan Read Study Controlling Productivity by Filing 1. How can my filing system affect my productivity? 2. What types of files can I create to be more productive? Tickler file Ideas and Plans file ''To Read'' file Travel file General file 3. What should I not file?

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Handling Time Management Challenges

Managing Challenges through Organization 1. How does the way I organize my office affect my productivity? 2. How can I organize my office to improve my productivity? 3. What systems can help me organize my office? Reminder systems Record-keeping systems Managing Challenges through Personal Skills 1. How can improving communication skills increase my productivity? 2. What are some common misconceptions about communication that hinder productivity? 3. What guidelines should I use when communicating? Remember that nothing is self-explanatory Explain all technical terms Answer expected questions Warn against common mistakes 4. How can listening improve productivity? 5. How can concentration affect productivity? 6. What are some steps to follow to develop focus? 1. Acknowledge your distraction 2. Use your ''to do'' list 3. Schedule your distraction

Group II/11

Make Meetings More Productive 1. Invite only those who need to attend You have probably attended meetings in which you sat wondering why you were required to attend because the topics discussed were not related to you or your position. You can avoid putting other people in that position by inviting only those who need to attend. Modify your list of meeting attendees every time you have a meeting, and suit your list to your meeting. 2. Get input before scheduling a meeting To minimize the number of meetings you schedule, ask for input from employees about what topics they find important to discuss. In addition, find out who will and will not be available to attend the meeting. Finding out who can attend the meeting will not only eliminate time consuming scheduling problems after the meeting announcement, but also prevents attendees from feeling as if they have to choose between attending the meeting or previous engagements. 3. Notify people in advance of the agenda and their responsibilities The third step is to make sure you have an agenda for every meeting. List all items for discussion on the agenda. Then, notify people specified to talk about certain subjects ahead of time of the subjects they will be addressing and of how much time they will have to address these subjects. Doing so enables people to adequately prepare for the meeting and eliminates time wasted because of lack of necessities, such as visual aids. 4. Start the meeting on time The next step is to respect the people who are on time to the meeting by starting the meeting on time regardless of whether or not everyone has arrived. Making everyone wait to begin a meeting because of latecomers wastes everyone's time and sends the wrong message to perpetually late employees. Starting meetings on time also helps ensure that lost production hours are kept to a minimum. 5. Cover the most important item on the agenda first If you want co-workers to make it a priority to come to meetings on time, covering the most important item on the agenda first is a good strategy. If employees know that by arriving to a meeting late they will be missing pertinent information, they might be less likely to straggle in late. In addition, covering the most important item on the agenda first ensures that you have enough time to discuss high priority issues. If you spend the first forty-five minutes of a meeting discussing trivialities, your meeting is likely to be less productive because you may have to extend the length of the meeting or rush through important issues. 6. Control the discussion The sixth step is to control the meeting discussion by limiting the amount of time spent on each subject. Using comments such as, ''Let's wrap this up with one final comment,'' can keep everyone focused and also allows you to move through the items on your agenda at a faster pace. If you feel that a subject needs more attention, ask co-workers to write down their thoughts on the subject after the meeting and bring them to the next meeting. Writing down their thoughts will allow them to prepare to discuss the subject more expediently in the next meeting. 7. End the meeting on time Ending meetings on time not only saves time, but if you build a reputation for starting and ending on time, employees will have respect for you and your meetings. If you have ever attended a meeting that ended at three thirty when it was scheduled to end at three o'clock, you are familiar with the kind of frustration created by not ending meetings on time. If you have a strict daily plan or miss an appointment because of a meeting that lasts longer than anticipated, you know how such meetings can decrease motivation.
Group II/12

Understanding Time
Evaluating Your Use of Time What are the principles of time management? In order to get control of your time, you need to be familiar with some basic principles of time management: Time ''goes'' where you direct it. You are in control of your time. Time management is about what we are able to accomplish with time. Time management means breaking old habits and realizing that your habits are usually the problem. Time management can enhance your work experience if you are able to accomplish your plan. How can understanding my time benefit me? There are several benefits to understanding your time: Control stress. Time management is stress prevention. Time management reduces stress because you can meet deadlines, and you can work fewer hours with greater results. Balance your life. Working long hours and taking work home with you can harm the natural balance you should have in your life. By learning to manage your time, you can do things you want to do instead of spending all your time on work responsibilities. Increase productivity. Part of time management is determining how you spend your time. Once you determine how you spend your time, you can modify your schedule to increase productivity. For example, you may find that you waste time in meetings when a group e-mail could address the issue just as well. Identify priorities. People who have the most trouble managing their time are those who do not know what their priorities are or should be. Knowing your priorities helps you spend valuable time where you need it most. Accomplish goals. One of the most important aspects of having a time management plan is setting goals. Without goals, what you are working toward is unclear. Following your time management plan increases your chances of accomplishing the goals you set. Recognizing Personal Habits How do personality types hinder time management? When thinking about time management, it is important to acknowledge that your personality type can affect how well you manage your time. You may find that you have some characteristics of several of the personality types, or you may find that none of them apply to you. However, you may find that some of your co-workers or employees have some of the characteristics of the following five personality types: Procrastinator Perpetually late Perfectionist Easily distracted Do-it-all Procrastinator
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Procrastinators put off anything they need or want to do until the last minute, when there is no valid reason for the delay. Procrastination costs companies millions of dollars and prevents countless employees from being as productive as they could be. Procrastinators tend to have lower self-esteem than people who do not procrastinate. Low self-esteem causes creativity blocks and the inability to set and accomplish goals. Since procrastination is a habit, it can be broken. If you are a procrastinator, ask yourself, ''What is the best use of my time right now?'' When you determine the answer to that question, you should implement a ''do it now'' strategy. Perpetually late Lateness is a habitual behavior that affects everyone. To overcome perpetual lateness, you should first evaluate the reasons for your lateness. Every time you are late, write down how late you are and why. Each day, examine your list to see if there is a pattern to your lateness. Once you pinpoint the reasons you are late, you can then create a plan that compensates for your lateness. For example, you may find the solution to your problem is to spend less time at breakfast and to leave fifteen minutes earlier for work. Perfectionist Perfectionists are never satisfied with the work they do. They often work and rework a project so much that they miss deadlines or do not finish projects at all. Perfectionism is a result of fear of failure and success. Perfectionists hesitate to delegate tasks to others, fearing the employees will not complete the tasks properly. To overcome perfectionism, you should learn from mistakes instead of fearing them. Also, know when to quit by allowing yourself only two ''do-overs'' for any project, and focus on actual results of your work, instead of worrying about criticism of your work before you have completed it. Learn to trust your employees and determine which tasks you can delegate. Easily distracted Easily distracted people have difficulty completing one project before moving on to another one. The easily distracted are interrupted easily by co-workers, telephone calls, and e-mails and often become bored working on one task at a time. In addition, they are often bored with the work they are doing. To become more focused, you should try to become interested in the work you are doing by seeing your work as a reflection of yourself. If you are bored with your work, try to find creative ways to complete routine activities. If outside distractions are a problem, you should close your office door, limit the time you spend on the telephone, and designate specific times to check your e-mail. Do-it-all Do-it-alls have a hard time telling people ''no.'' Part of changing this habit is realizing that doing everything all the time is just not possible. Telling someone ''no'' does not indicate that you are an incapable person. Often, realizing that you simply do not have time for another project saves you and the people around you time. It is important to understand that realizing your limits is not a weakness. Being honest about your limits allows the person making the request an opportunity to delegate the task to someone else.

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How can a self-assessment help me understand how I manage my time? Doing a self-assessment helps you understand how you currently manage your time by allowing you to see what habits hinder your ability to manage time. In a self-assessment, you might ask yourself the following questions: Do I wait until the last minute to accomplish a task? Do I often arrive late to work or meetings? Do I re-work an assignment more than twice? Do I often move from one project to another before completing the initial project? Do I have difficulty turning down requests even when I do not have the time for them? Why is considering cultural concepts of time important? With the amount of diversity in the workplace today, it is important to consider different cultural concepts of time. If some of your co-workers or employees are from different ethnic backgrounds, they may have different philosophies about time management. While some cultures may find it very offensive to arrive late to work or a meeting, other cultures find it quite normal to be ten, fifteen, or even thirty minutes late on a regular basis. In addition, some employees from different backgrounds may have a different point of view about what a deadline means. To some, a deadline is very non-negotiable, while to others a deadline could mean ''around that time.'' If problems arise, you should speak with colleagues about their concepts of time and evaluate together the company's expectations concerning these issues. What are productivity cycles? Productivity cycles are the periods of time when you feel most productive, and they vary from person to person. You may already know whether you are a morning person or a night owl. You can determine your productivity cycle by keeping track of when you feel your energy dip or rise. For example, you may realize that for the first two hours you are at work you accomplish very little but that during the afternoons, you are more efficient. How can evaluating productivity cycles help me better use my time? Once you know your productivity cycle, you can plan to work on your top priorities during that time. For example, if you commonly feel tired after lunch, you can schedule priority tasks in the morning instead of scheduling them after lunch. Determining How You Spend Your Time How can pricing my time help me manage it? When thinking about managing your time, you should price your time, so you understand just how expensive your time is and how much it costs your company when you do not spend it wisely. To price your time, multiply your annual salary by 1.5, which accounts for bonuses and additional monetary benefits. Then, divide the resulting number by the number of working hours per year. Then, divide that number by 60. This resulting number gives you the price of every working minute. (Annual salary X 1.5 / working hours per year = cost per hour. Cost per hour / 60 = cost per minute.) For example, if you make $40,000 a year and work 40 hours a week, your equation would be: 40,000 X 1.5 / 2,000 = $30.00 per hour. $30.00 per hour / 60 = $00.50 per minute. Every minute you waste, costs your company fifty cents.
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What is a time audit? A time audit is a method you can use to determine how you spend your time. If you write down tasks you are working on, noting when you stop working on a task and switch to another one, you can evaluate how you spend your time and what you need to change in order to be more productive. What are the steps for creating a time audit? Time management is a vital issue in the workplace today because employees are expected to accomplish more work in a shorter period of time. In order to change bad time management habits, you must first determine how you are spending your time now. A time audit is a very effective way to evaluate your time. To create a time audit, you should follow these steps: 1. List the tasks you must accomplish for the day 2. Set a deadline for each task 3. Record every task throughout the day, noting interruptions 4. Note how much time you spent on each task 5. Evaluate how much time was spent on priority tasks 1. List the tasks you must accomplish for the day List your tasks in order of importance, starting with your top priority and ending with your least important task for the day. Only list tasks you know you have to finish by the end of the day. Be realistic with your list. Do not over-schedule yourself. 2. Set a deadline for each task Be realistic when setting deadlines for each task. If you think a task will take thirty minutes, schedule forty-five minutes. This allows you time for interruptions or for a task taking longer than you think it might. Make sure you consider the time you will need for small breaks and lunch when determining how much of your day you will have to complete your tasks. 3. Record every task throughout the day, noting interruptions Every time you shift your attention, record what you are doing. Be very specific when recording activities. Instead of simply noting that you wrote e-mails for half an hour, try to determine which emails were a waste of time and which ones were worth your time. Be sure to include interruptions in your audit so that you can look back at the end of the day and determine how to minimize time-wasting interruptions. 4. Note how much time you spend on each task As you record shifts in your attention, be sure to write down how much time you spend on each task, including interruptions. Do this all day long without exception so that you can see how accurately you determine how much time it will take you to complete a task. 5. Evaluate how much time was spent on priority tasks At the end of the day, evaluate your time audit and determine how much time you spent on priority tasks. If you spent only half an hour on your top priority and three hours on your least important priority for the day, you can begin to understand what you need to change about how you manage your time. What is the Pareto principle? The Pareto principle, also know as the ''80-20 Rule,'' is a principle discovered by Victor Pareto, an Italian economist and sociologist who studied land ownership at the turn of the 20th century. Pareto
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discovered that more than 80 percent of the land was owned by fewer than 20 percent of the people. When you apply the Pareto principle to workplace time management, you can determine that 80 percent of the value of a group of activities is generally concentrated in only 20 percent of those activities. For example, when you create your daily ''to do'' list, only 20 percent of the activities you write on your list is going to produce 80 percent of your productivity for the day. How does the Pareto principle affect how I spend my time? According to the Pareto principle, 20 percent of your priorities are producing 80 percent of the results coming from your work. In some cases, the first 20 percent of the time you spend working on a task will produce 80 percent of the payoff you receive. If you are a manager, 20 percent of the people you manage cause 80 percent of the problems you deal with and require 80 percent of the total time you spend with all your employees. By realizing the effects of the Pareto principle, you can begin to understand how to avoid wasting your time. How can I make the Pareto principle work to my advantage? To make the Pareto principle work to your advantage, you must establish priorities. Since 20 percent of your priorities are producing 80 percent of the results, you must have a clear idea of what your top 20 percent priorities should be. Since 20 percent of the time you spend working on a task will produce 80 percent of the payoff, you should work on those priorities during your productivity cycle. If you are a manager, you should try to determine which employees create most of the problems you deal with and make it a priority to talk with these employees about their behavior.

Group II/17

Developing a Time Management Plan

Getting Started What is a time management plan? A time management plan is a schedule that works best for you and your company. Creating a time management plan includes identifying priorities, setting goals, and giving those goals and priorities places in your schedule. A time management plan includes understanding the appropriate time to tackle your goals. Good time managers also make short-range and long-range plans, keep realistic schedules, and take time for energizing, timely breaks. Why do I need an overall time management plan? Creating an overall time management plan enables you to see both major and minor tasks you want to accomplish. By creating an overall time management plan, you can more easily determine which areas of your work you tend to neglect and in which areas you tend to spend too much time. Since an overall time management plan requires you to write down daily, weekly, and even monthly goals and priorities, you are better able to determine how you should schedule each day when you need to accomplish long-term goals. Having an overall time management plan minimizes your stress, helps you balance your life, increases your productivity, identifies your priorities, and helps you accomplish your goals. Should I commit my plan to paper? Committing your plan to paper is a crucial part of time management. Writing down your plan diminishes the likelihood that you will forget important details. Keeping your plan visible also serves as a constant reminder and motivator. It is virtually impossible to prioritize effectively for the long term if you do not write down all your tasks and goals. Writing them down enables you to visually select which should be top priorities and which could be left until more urgent goals are accomplished. Why do I need to keep track of my time? Keeping track of how you spend your time lets you see how you manage your time now. By looking at how you spend your days, weeks, and months, you will be able to determine what is and is not working about your current time management plan. Keeping track of your time allows you to realize what you need to keep doing and what you need to stop doing when managing your time. What are the guidelines to modifying how I spend my time? In order to modify how you spend your time, you should follow these guidelines: Correspond your activities with your productivity cycles Create your ideal schedule Modify your current schedule Correspond your activities with your productivity cycle If you make frequent trips for coffee to keep yourself from falling asleep at work in the morning, your productivity cycle is probably not in the morning. If you feel like doing nothing but waiting for your food to digest after you return from lunch, you should not plan to work on challenging priorities during the afternoons.

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On the other hand, if you feel as if every morning is a fresh start to another day, and you find yourself singing in the shower, this time may be your productivity cycle. If you seem to have a high energy level as you are leaving work in the afternoon, consider your productivity cycle to be in the afternoons. Whatever your productivity cycle may be, you should select that time of the day to concentrate on your most challenging priorities and goals. Create your ideal schedule Part of learning how to manage your time is knowing exactly what you want to accomplish with your time. Creating an ideal schedule enables you to see how you could spend your time if your plan for the day was successfully achieved. In order to create your ideal schedule, use the following process: Correspond your activities with your productivity cycle Schedule only the tasks you know you can realistically accomplish Schedule time for yourself to relax Modify your current schedule Once you know what your ideal schedule is, look at your current schedule and note how they differ. Are you taking your productivity cycle into account? Are you over scheduling yourself? Are you allowing yourself to take appropriately timed breaks? If the answer is ''no'' to one or more of these questions, you should analyze your schedule to determine how you can better modify it to adhere to your ideal schedule. Creating a Time Management Plan How can I become familiar with my company's priorities? When creating a time management plan, it is very important to align your goals with those of the company. If you do not already know your company's priorities, you should make an appointment with your boss to talk with him or her about your company's long-term goals. For example, you might ask your boss whether your company has a mission statement and if he or she could provide you with a copy. If your company does not have a mission statement, your supervisor should be able to provide you with a general outline of the company's goals and priorities. Why should I match my priorities with those of the company? It is important that you align your priorities with those of the company so that you can create a time management plan that allows you to accomplish goals that are important not only to you but also to your organization. If you are working hard to accomplish goals you consider of top priority, but those goals are not top priority to your company, you may become frustrated and unmotivated when you do not receive the recognition you believe you deserve. However, if the priorities you are working on coincide with those of the company, you are more likely to be promoted or offered pay increases. What obstacles do I need to prepare for when creating a time management plan? You should prepare for the following obstacles when creating a time management plan: Interruptions Projects taking longer than anticipated Crises Interruptions
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When you create your time management plan, you should try to allow time for unexpected interruptions. For example, if you plan only thirty minutes to finish a project you know will take you at least that amount of time to finish, and you are interrupted by an unexpected meeting, you will become frustrated and will fall behind schedule. Situations like these can cause you to become stressed, and too much stress leads to decreased productivity. Projects taking longer that anticipated When you make a time management plan, it is important to overestimate the time it will take you to finish a project. You may encounter unforeseen problems with a project or find that a project is more demanding than you initially thought. If you plan extra time for projects, you will be able to stay on schedule and avoid overloading yourself with tasks you cannot accomplish in one day. Crises A crisis has the potential to divert you from your priorities for the day. Fortunately, creating a time management plan that accounts for possible mishaps can stop a crisis from happening in the first place. When creating your time management plan, include potential problems you may encounter and prioritize them. Then, develop steps to prevent crises or at least to limit their consequences. What are the steps for creating a time management plan? When creating your time management plan, you should follow these steps: 1. Identify goals. The first step to creating your time management plan is to identify your goals. Your goals should have a deadline, be challenging, achievable, and specific. Your goals should be aligned with the goals of the company. You should write down all of your long-range and short-range goals and prioritize them. 2. Determine objectives to meet your goals. Once you have identified your goals, it is important to create objectives to meet those goals. Write down each goal and determine the best way to accomplish it. For example, your goal may be to improve the productivity in your department, but your objectives for that goal may be to research the needs of your employees and to take a seminar on how to improve productivity. 3. Create a strategy. Once you have identified your goals and the objectives of those goals, you need to create a strategy. Write down all possible ways to accomplish your goals. Determine who needs to be involved in the implementation of your plan to achieve these goals, as well as what tools you will need. Determine how much time each possible strategy will take you and choose the best strategy after discussing it with others involved. 4. Implement the strategy. After you have chosen the best strategy, decide when you should implement it by determining where your goals fit in to your list of priorities. Gather all tools, talk with the others involved in your plan, and implement it.

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Identifying Goals and Setting Priorities

Making Lists How can making a ''to do'' list help me better manage my time? Making a ''to do'' list can help you manage your time by allowing you to visualize your tasks for the day on paper. A ''to do'' list should help you to organize your day, making you more productive. The more work you have to do, the more helpful a list can be. ''To do'' lists become dangerous when you create a wish list instead of a ''to do'' list. When you write down everything you hope you are able to accomplish in a day, your list becomes overwhelming because you are trying to fit in more work than you are able to do. If you see something on your list that you could postpone for another day or delegate to someone else, you should take that task off your list and concentrate only on the tasks you know that you must accomplish for that day. How can making a ''not to do'' list help me better manage my time? Making a ''not to do'' list helps you to better manage your time by allowing you to make smart choices about what tasks should be your priorities. Time management not only involves making decisions about what tasks you should be concentrating on during the day, but also involves making choices about what you should not be doing. When you evaluate your day-to-day tasks, you may find that there are certain tasks you are doing which you should not be doing at all or that should be delegated to someone else. For example, you may find that you are responding to voice mail or e-mail that do not really need responses. Cutting out even these minor tasks could enable you to spend more time on high priority tasks. What are some guidelines to remember while making a ''to do'' list? If you do not already make daily ''to do'' lists, you should start. Some people do not find ''to do'' lists very helpful. Ineffective ''to do'' lists can become obstacles to your priorities, especially if your list becomes too demanding and overwhelming. To prevent your list from becoming a time waster instead of a time saver, you should remember the following guidelines when creating your list: Do not put too much on it. Do not overload your list with an unrealistic number of tasks to accomplish in one day. Otherwise, you will be trying to catch up to your list all day and the end result will be lost productivity because of stress. Allow yourself ample time for every task. If you find that you finish your tasks ahead of schedule, spend that time however you want or need to. Overestimate time. If you think it will take you fifteen minutes to check your e-mail, schedule twenty. If you think a meeting will take an hour, schedule in ten minutes for the wait that frequently occurs as a meeting is starting. Allowing a few extra minutes for interruptions and unexpected delays provides flexibility to your list, which will help you cut stress that may occur because of schedule delays that are beyond your control. List the most important tasks first. Listing your most important tasks first saves time since you do not have to look at your list later to determine which task you should accomplish first. Moving through your list from top to bottom and crossing off finished tasks can also give you a feeling of accomplishment and organization. Schedule time for breaks. Most of us do not schedule time for rest while we are at work. After you have made a list of your tasks, revise your list, adding brief breaks at times when you think you might become stressed or tense. Brief breaks at the appropriate times will help you remain productive and will give you something to look forward to as you work through your list.
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Schedule for long-range and short-range goals. Scheduling for long-range and short-range goals reminds you of goals that you know you should accomplish but keep putting off. For example, you know you should talk to your boss about a new idea you have that will save everyone time. Put the idea on your list. Even if you do not immediately follow through with talking to your boss, putting it on your list every day will encourage you to accomplish that task just by seeing it on paper. Identifying Goals

What is the difference between an objective and a goal? The primary difference between an objective and a goal is that a goal is long range and an objective is an intermediate step that helps you accomplish the goal. For example, your goal may be to get a promotion before the end of the year. An objective for that goal may be to take a class in computer programming in order to fill the educational requirements for an upper level position. Why are goals important in time management? Goals are important in time management because they give you something to work toward. They are the focus of how you manage your time. Through time management, you can accomplish your goals more effectively and more quickly. Because of increased progress, your confidence can increase, and you can start to set higher goals for yourself, enhancing your productivity. What are some characteristics of goals? Very generally, a goal is the predetermined result toward which effort is directed. Goals must have certain characteristics that make them effective: Goals must be challenging. A goal that is challenging motivates you to do your best. If a goals seems very easy to achieve, you will be likely to put it off, thinking you can accomplish it anytime. Goals must be achievable. If your goals are impossible to attain, you will become frustrated and unmotivated. If you are consistently unable to achieve unrealistic goals, you might stop setting goals because you believe them to be useless. A goal should be specific. If a goal is abstract and unspecific, it will become difficult to determine how or whether you have accomplished your goal. For example, ''To get organized'' is an unspecific goal. To make the goals more specific, you should determine how you will become organized or what needs organizing. Making goals more specific gives you direction and a way to measure whether you have accomplished your goal. A goal must have a deadline. If you do not assign deadlines to goals, you will not take the goals seriously. Deadlines also provide you with a way to determine your progress. How can I identify and work toward my goals? Use the GOALS acronym to determine how to identify and work toward your goals: Generate your goals on paper. Write down your objectives for those goals on paper. If you do not, you may forget your goal or it may slightly alter in your mind as you think about it. Keep your goals visible so that you are periodically reminded of them. Organize your day's activities. After you have written down your objectives and goals, write down your schedule for the day so that you know how much time you have to accomplish your goals. Be sure to account for meetings, possible interruptions, and breaks. Align your goals with company goals. Some of your goals will be individual goals, but it is also important that you consider the goals of the company when setting short-range and long-range goals. If you do not know your company's goals, ask your boss for a mission statement or ask him or her to identify goals he or she thinks you should focus on.
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Line up tasks according to priority. When looking at your list of goals, you should always prioritize them, listing your most important goals first. You should generally rank short-range goals first since you usually have less time to accomplish them, but you should be careful not to neglect longterm goals when you are prioritizing. Stay focused. Use your goals to keep you focused on your work through crises and interruptions. Let your goals help you better manage your time. By setting goals that are important to you and that motivates you, you will be less likely to waste time because of unexpected occurrences.

Setting Priorities What are some characteristics of priorities? Priorities are your objectives ranked in order of importance. Priorities can either have the characteristic of having long-range importance or short-range urgency. Priorities of long-range importance are priorities that will have an important effect once they are accomplished. For example, your priority may be to go back to school to fulfill the educational requirements in order to accomplish the goal of getting a promotion. This priority is of long-range importance. A priority of short-range urgency is something that, no matter how important it is, must be done immediately. For example, today is the last day for you to make a reservation to attend the company picnic. This priority must be given special attention today, but is not of great importance long-term. Why are priorities important in time management? Priorities are important in time management because when you identify your priorities, you know how you should spend your energy. You may have a list of tasks that are all very important to you, but until you prioritize those tasks, you will have difficulty knowing which task you should complete first. According to the Pareto principle, 20 percent of the time you spend on your tasks will produce 80 percent of the results. Therefore, it is important that you identify your priorities accurately. Priorities give your time direction. Once you know your priorities, you can schedule your day to accommodate those priorities. For example, you should choose to work on your top ranked priorities during your productivity cycle. How do I set priorities? To set your priorities, you should implement the following steps: 1. List your tasks for the day At the beginning of the day, record on your ''to do'' list all the tasks you need to accomplish before the end of the day. Make sure you remember to schedule breaks for yourself and to try to account for interruptions. Be careful not to over-schedule yourself. 2. Ask yourself whether you want or need to accomplish certain tasks Priorities include both tasks you need to accomplish and tasks you want to accomplish. You should distinguish between what priorities, that if left undone will cause detrimental after effects, and what priorities you would like to do because they are personally important to you. An example of an urgent priority, or one you need to accomplish, is finishing a report you are writing that you should turn in to your boss by the end of the day. An example of a not-so-urgent priority, or one you want to accomplish, is making photocopies for personal documentation purposes. 3. Rank tasks in order of priority
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After you have listed your tasks and distinguished which tasks are urgent priorities and which are notso-urgent priorities, you should prioritize your list. Usually, tasks you need to accomplish should be listed as your top priorities while tasks you want to accomplish should be lower on your list. 4. Match your priorities with those of your organization Be sure that your priorities are in alliance with the priorities of your company. For example, your first priority may be to create a plan to keep overtime down to a minimum while your company's current priority is to meet a rapidly approaching deadline that may require employees to work overtime. To avoid mismatching priorities, make sure you keep yourself updated by your supervisor as to what your company's current goals and priorities are. 5. Schedule top ranked priorities during productivity cycles After you have prioritized your list, you may want to modify the order in which you choose to start working on your priorities. For example, you may not want to attack your most challenging priority first thing in the morning if you have a tendency to feel tired and nonproductive. You may choose to attack some of the more routine priorities you have instead and wait to accomplish your challenging priorities until the afternoon, which you may have determined as your most productive time of day.

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