Post on 04-Feb-2022
transcript
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EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT
Chaim Eyal, Ph.D.
Eyal & Associates ceyal@comcast.net (650) 349-5269
WHAT’S IMPORTANT?
Because we don’t know what’s really important
to us, everything seems important.
Because everything seems important, we have
to do everything.
Other people see us doing everything, so they
expect us to do everything.
Doing everything keeps us so busy that we don’t
have time to think about what is really important
to us.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TIME
It’s an economic resource.
It cannot be expanded or contracted.
It is irrecoverable and irreplaceable.
It is expensive and precious.
It is highly perishable.
It flows one way and it’s irreversible.
It’s quantifiable (seconds, hours, days, years).
It cannot be managed. It’s uncontrollable. We can only manage ourselves
and our use of time.
You cannot SAVE time ... you can lose, waste, buy, or spend it.
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THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF TIME
Attitude Analysis Goals Planning
Prioritizing Scheduling Managing
interruptions Effective meetings
Effective correspondence and paperwork
Overcoming procrastination
Delegation
ATTITUDE
How you choose to use your time, your belief in your ability to control what
happens to you, and your determination to be in control form the basis for
effective time management.
It’s all about control and motivation:
Your attitude is the key to success.
Changing habits requires commitment and persistence.
To take control of your time, you must decide to do it.
Control your habits and actions. Don’t be controlled by them.
The more you understand and plan your time-use, the more time you will
have.
Set goals and eliminate time-wasters every day and you’ll gain control
over time.
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ANALYSIS
Understand how you use time.
Discover your time-wasters:
You waste time in the same way every day.
Discover where and how you waste time.
Use a simple TIME LOG to identify your time-
wasters
Do this every day for one or two weeks.
GOALS
Identify and develop clear goals.
Focus on actions that achieve your goals.
Divide your goals into 3 categories:
Daily: Time management goals that become
part of your daily routine.
Company: Long-range goals that have been established by your
management.
Personal: Activities and commitments outside your work activities.
Define your goals clearly:
Write them down.
Prioritize them.
Assign them specific time duration.
Keep them visible.
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PLANNING
Determining beforehand what actions to take
Convert your goals into actions by listing all the necessary steps to
accomplish your goals.
Consider using a structured planning system, such as GANTT or PERT charts
or a computerized planner.
List and schedule activities and convert your goals into a plan of action.
If you listed too many actions, spread the
work over several days, or delegate it.
Impose deadlines on every task you list. Follow up regularly on tasks you
delegate.
Whenever possible, group similar activities together. It could be a surprisingly
major time saver.
Remember "The 5 P's": Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
Spend 15 minutes planning at the end of each day. You'll save an hour the
next day.
An hour of planning will save you four in execution.
Be realistic. Don't take on more than you can handle.
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PRIORITIZING
Deciding what actions to take, based on criteria
of importance and urgency.
Juggling shifting priorities:
Forget Multitasking. Doing two things simultaneously can be a huge time
waster.
“Anytime you switch between two tasks, there’s a startup cost and you are
more likely to make mistakes.”
(Engineering psychologist J. Rubenstein, University of Michigan)
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SCHEDULING
Deciding when to take the planned action
Planning and scheduling are not the same: Scheduling is processing and
allocating time units within which planned activities can happen.
PLANNING is deciding WHAT to do. SCHEDULING is deciding WHEN to do it.
PLANNING is an INTENTION. SCHEDULING is a COMMITMENT.
Things that are scheduled tend to happen - and happen on time. Things that
are not scheduled may never happen.
Tips:
Make a master schedule of fixed
activities for the week. Include in
it the things that you MUST do.
It will tell you what time is
committed, identify the hours that
are free, you have control.
Don’t schedule every minute of the
day. Leave room for the unexpected.
Schedule breaks and “quiet” time for
yourself, when you are not to be
interrupted.
Schedule the most important activities for each day.
Schedule tomorrow’s activities tonight. You will know exactly how to start
your day tomorrow.
Try to schedule related activities together.
Keep to the schedule. Start on time. Every time.
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MANAGING INTERRUPTIONS
Controlling unplanned and unscheduled activities.
Every time your concentration is broken, you spend at least some time
reorienting yourself.
Minimize interruptions as you recognize their causes and learn how to control
them.
Interruptions are not only caused by others. We often interrupt ourselves:
By losing concentration.
When we’ve “got to find out what's going on.”
Through in-basket and e-mail curiosity
Managing telephone interruptions:
Use a support person to buffer you, if available.
Return calls in batches, when you plan to do so.
Don't be a slave to the phone. You don’t have
to respond each time it rings.
Never hold on. Arrange for a later call or leave a
message.
Let the caller know that your time is limited.
Managing visitors:
Set a clear time limit.
The Closed Door technique: You can't manage anything with open access
to your office or workspace. At certain times close the door or close off the
entrance area to your workspace.
Learn to say “no” nicely: “I’m busy, sorry. I’ll be happy to see you in 30
minutes…”
Learn to say “NO”
Most people don’t like tedious or difficult jobs. If they can, they’ll shift
them onto you. Some may have found that the best way to get the
monkey off their backs is to place it on yours. If you are receptive and
overly cooperative, you may find that your time fills with other people’s
tasks. The way to get out of it is to say “NO” in a polite but firm way.
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MANAGING INTERRUPTIONS (Cont.)
Be a good listener, but don’t “fake it.” If you convince others that you are
interested, they’ll come back for more. Say, “As much as I’d like to listen to
you, this is not a good time… I have an important report to finish, and
several phone calls to make…”
Don’t accept unfinished work from your subordinates or assistants. You will
have to complete the job yourself.
If interrupted and you must meet the person, go to his or her office or
workspace ... This gives you better control over when to leave.
Make interruptions productive. When interrupted with a matter that will need
attention, ask them to see you later or to bring the matter up at an upcoming
meetings.
MEETINGS
Running productive, effective, and efficient meetings.
Hold meetings only when needed. Consider: Is it worth the time? Will it be
more effective to hold the meeting only when necessary?
Use the agenda effectively:
Use an agenda to focus the meeting, to
prevent it from drifting off, and to create
organization, structure, and flow.
Distribute the agenda in advance to allow
participants to prepare and be
oriented as to the meeting’s purpose,
objectives, and details.
Scheduling meeting:
Where people tend to be overly talkative,
schedule the meeting just before lunch or
before going home. This gives people an
incentive to be brief.
Where people tend to turn up late, start a meeting at an unusual
time, e.g. 23 minutes past the hour. This tends to improve punctuality.
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MEETINGS (Cont.)
Start exactly at the scheduled time. Don’t accommodate and reward late
comers.
End on time, every time.
Bring only the minimum number of participants to a meeting.
The more people present, the more will want to air their views.
End by summarizing the points discussed, and make action plans out of the
decisions taken. This ensures that everyone understands what has been
decided, and who will do what.
If you have limited time, hold stand-up meetings. You'll be surprised how
fast these meetings are wrapped up.
Attend meetings only if needed. Be on time if you have to be there.
CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERWORK
Effective management of written communication
A messy desk is a major time waster. (Looking for some piece of vital
information… Reshuffling… Rearranging files and sheets of paper…).
Handle each piece of paper just once. Not important? Throw
it away. Important? Need to take action? Act now.
Will need it later? File it.
Effective use of e-mail:
Use a short, clear, and focused subject line.
State exactly what you want in the first paragraph.
Keep only the relevant “history.”
Insert attachments BEFORE writing the text.
Use a rules macro. It can delete, move, flag for follow-up, print, launch an
application, etc.
Limit distribution: Be selective about “broadcasting” your messages.
Be selective with your reading:
Reading can take up a considerable amount of time.
Delegate to others who can also benefit from the information.
Assign priorities to your reading material.
Schedule a specific time for reading and do it in one session.
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OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION
Avoiding the habit of spending time and effort on low-priority
actions in favor of high-priority activities.
Why we procrastinate?
Anxiety
Feeling inadequate
Fear of failure
Lack of information
Lack of time
Not knowing where to start
Performance fear
Boredom
Fear of success
Inexperience
Lack of interest
Lack of relevance
Stress
To overcome procrastination:
Work with your energy level. You may work faster
in the morning.
If you’re energized early, take care of the most
demanding tasks early.
If you’re a slow starter, try to complete a few
quick tasks first.
Tell yourself, “I’ll quit in 5 minutes if it’s really
terrible.” It might not be as
bad as you imagined.
Use the “salami” approach: Chip off and cut away
as you find available time.
Start and complete short tasks whenever you have
a few minutes.
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DELEGATING
Getting things done through the efforts of others.
“If you want a job done right you have to do it yourself.” Really?
What should you delegate?
Duties that can be assigned on a temporary basis.
Research and fact-finding; data collection for reports/presentations.
Draft preparation of written material.
Problem analysis and solutions.
Routine tasks.
Small units of work assignments from your
responsibilities and functions.
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SUMMARY
Become aware of time. Know where the minutes and hours go.
Accept that you cannot beat the clock. Work smarter NOT harder and longer.
Use a time log to discover your time wasters.
Start or improve your "to-do" list.
Identify your short and long term goals. Align your activities with your goals.
Plan ahead and allow short periods of time for crises and unexpected events.
Prioritize tasks using the criteria of IMPORTANCE and URGENCY.
Work with your calendar and clock. Schedule activities and execute them on
time.
Try to cut down on interruptions.
Make meetings meaningful, focused, and productive.
Organize and streamline your correspondence and paperwork.
Overcome procrastination through determination and by chipping away
at your tasks.
Delegate as much as possible.