Handbook on Time Management Skills

1 Introduction

Understanding Time Management

“We all have time to either spend or waste and it is our decision what to do with it.
But once passed, it is gone forever.”

- Bruce Lee (“Zen in the Martial Arts” by Joe Hyams)

Every individual on earth has the same amount of time - 60 seconds in a minute; 60
minutes in an hour; 1,440 minutes in a day; and 525,600 minutes in a year. While a
vast majority of people confesses faltering to come to grips with it, extremely few can
claim to have made the most of it. How is it that they have got it all done? It’s because
they have managed a way to figure out how to manage their time effectively.

Time Management is more than just managing time. It is about controlling the use of
the most valuable - and undervalued - resource. It is managing oneself in relation to
time. It is setting priorities and taking charge of the situation and time utilization. It
means changing those habits or activities that cause waste of time. It is being willing
to adopt habits and methods to make maximum use of time.

With good time management skills one is in control of one’s time, stress and energy
levels. One can maintain balance between one’s work and personal life. One finds
enough flexibility to respond to surprises or new opportunities. It is not how much time
one has, but rather the way one uses it. The bottom line is how well one manages time.

Internationally known authority on time management Dr. Alec Mackenzie in his book
The Time Trap argues that the very idea of time management is a misnomer because
one really cannot manage time in the way other resources can be managed: financial
capital, physical capital, human capital, information and time. While each of the first
four can be augmented, reduced, transferred or otherwise controlled, Time cannot be
manipulated. Dr. Mackenzie contends that when it comes to time, one can only manage
oneself in relation to it. One cannot control time as one can control other resources –
one can only control how one uses it. In the world in which we live, time cannot be
replaced or re-created. It is therefore not for us to choose whether we spend or save
time but to choose only how we spend it.
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2 Misconceptions about Time

There are several misconceptions which we all have about time. They affect everyone

including those persons who may be considered quite successful and effective. Here are

some of the misconceptions identified by Dr. Mackenzie:

· Time management is simple - all it requires is common sense. While it is true

that the concept is simple, the self-discipline required to practice effective time
management is not easy.

· Work is best performed under pressure. Psychological studies show this to be

no more than an excuse for procrastination. One does not work well under pressure
- only does the best one can under the circumstances. Pressure and challenge
must not be confused. Lara’s performance when the West Indies Team is in trouble
has more to do with application and determination rather than pressure.

· I use a diary, a to-do list and have a secretary to keep me organized. One
has to keep oneself organized - no one can do it for others. The trouble with the
disorganized person is that he hardly has time to listen to his secretary or look at
his diary.

· I do not have the time. The effective worker or manager often gets more work
done in the earlier hours of the morning than most laggards get done in the whole
day. He then no longer has to work against tight deadlines and under stress which
contributes to heart problems and not unusually the ultimate reduction of time on
this earth.

· Time management might be good for some kinds of work but my job is
creative. Time management is not about routine: it is about self-discipline. Lack of
discipline prevents one from being great instead of simply good.

· Time management takes away the fun and freedom of spontaneity. Is working
under stress, forgetting appointments, making constant excuses and apologies to
be fun? Would it not be much more fun if by better organization one had one or two
more hours every day to spend with the family, to play games, read a good book,
plan for tomorrow and the day and week after or just relax?
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3 Symptoms of Poor Time Management

Poor time management shows up by way of one or a combination of typical perceptible

symptoms. Managers would do well to look for and reflect on whether they are subject to

any of those symptoms with a view to take necessary corrective actions.

The following are some of the indicators of poor time management:

· Constant rushing (e.g. between meetings or tasks)

· Frequent delays (e.g. in attending meetings, meeting deadlines)

· Low productivity, energy and motivation (e.g. ‘I can’t seem to get worked up
about anything’)

· Frustration (e.g. ‘Oh, things just don’t move ahead)

· Impatience (e.g. ‘where the hell is that information I’ve asked him for?’)
· Chronic vacillation between alternatives (e.g. ‘whichever option I choose it is

going to put me at a big disadvantage. I don’t know which way to jump’)

· Difficulty setting and achieving goals (e.g. ‘I’m not sure what is expected of me’)

Why do/will I have so little time ?

• Management by crisis • Paperwork
• Lack of Planning • Poor communication
• Incomplete information • Poorly organized meetings
• Personal disorganization • Leaving tasks unfinished
• Attempting too much • Inadequate controls
• Inability to Say No • Lack of self-discipline
• Responsibility unclear • Socializing
• Ineffective delegation • Drop-in visitors
• Inadequate staff & resources • Telephone interruptions

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4 The Eleven Time Thieves

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore ( “Time Thieves: The 11 Biggest Time-wasters Revealed”) lists out
the eleven ‘inconsiderate troupe’ of eleven thieves that gang up to steal some of the precious
time away from productive use of managers.

1. Poor Planning: Failure to see the value of planning and getting impatient to get
something done are the causes of poor planning. Absence of a plan of action is likely to
trigger off a false start, resulting in unproductive time utilization on the critical path of the
task being undertaken. Consequently, the managers might not find enough time for
completing the task.

2. Crisis Management: Most often, crisis management is an offspring of lack of

prioritization of tasks. As a result of the inability to distinguish between the urgent, the
important and the unnecessary tasks, unimportant tasks are likely to get done first at the
cost of important tasks. Consequently, the managers are not likely to find enough time to
get around to the important things.

3. Procrastination: It is easy to put off tasks if they are not due right away. The trouble is,
tasks pile up and can force managers to run into a time crunch later. Procrastination is
generally triggered off by the fear of failure / success, perfectionism, wanting to do it all or
incorrect priorities. It is a virtue to want to do a good job. But some people become so
anxious about getting a job done perfectly that they never complete it. Managers should
examine whether their efforts to get the job done perfectly are really improving things or
preventing them from getting the job done.

4. Interruptions: Interruptions and distractions arise due to lack of planning, poor

concentration and lack of control over environment. They are unnecessary thieves of a
manager’s time and come in many forms – drop-in visitors, telephones, e-mails
unscheduled meetings, poor communications and confused chain of authority etc. Managers
should be less willing to automatically give away their time just because they demand it.
They should learn to avoid distractions if they are to get work done. They should work in
areas where they are less likely to be disturbed and tell people when they are busy and
cannot be disturbed.

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 Handbook on Time Management Skills

5. Not Delegating: Wanting-to-do-all by oneself is yet another thief that could let the
managers lose control. They feel that employees can never do anything as well as they
can. They fear that something will go wrong if someone else takes over a job. They lack
time for long-range planning because they are bogged down in day-to-day operations.

6. Unnecessary Meetings: If a meeting is held without a specific agenda and nothing

productive comes out of it, clearly that meeting was unnecessary. Obviously, such meetings
are thieves as the time is wasted and things just do not get started.

7. The “shuffling blues”: Managers often waste much time because of disorganization.
Keeping things that they need in a specific place, eliminating clutter, making sure that they
have all the materials or information that they need before starting on the task and following
a day-planner or schedule will help keep the ‘shuffling blues’ away at the work place.

8. Poor Physical Setup: Not having the things that the managers need frequently within
easy reach and having a lot of the things that they seldom require close-by results in wastage
of a lot of time, wearing out the carpet, retrieving what they frequently need. And of course,
as they pass others they will often pull them aside to steal some of their time.

9. Poor Networking: Quality relationships with employees and others can be a substantial
time-saver as they open doors for the managers with all kinds of opportunities. Failing to
develop a good network base will cause them to waste time creating what they might have
had through their network.

10. Bad Attitude: Nothing sinks a day more effectively than having a poor attitude. It
causes the managers to dwell on the problems and not the solutions and makes it possible
to throw the day away. When they are burdening others with their problems and complaints
they are forfeiting their valuable time.

11. Negative People: Being surrounded by negative people could mean the managers
are spending a lot of their time listening to them but getting nothing much or purposeful
from them. Obviously, avoiding such people will help the managers to minimize wasted
hours and get some of their productive time back.

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Soft Skills for Public Managers

How much time do your spend each day on the following time stealers?

• Watching TV
• Reading Newspapers / Magazines excessively

• Idle chat, gossip and telephonic talk

• Opening and sorting mail

• Returning telephone calls

• Meetings

• Paying bills
• Day-dreaming

• Fretting over personal problems

• Caught in traffic snarls

• Planning how to change things

• Waiting for things to happen

• Taking naps
• Eating snacks between meals

• Drinking

• Smoking
• Shopping

• Wagering money