Kiersey 1
Competency Paper: Time Management
Adam Kiersey
Siena Heights University
Organizational Cultural and Communication
Sherrie Bertram
March 24, 2016
Kiersey 2
Benjamin Franklin said, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff
that life is made of,” (Time Management,”). As I continue to work toward becoming a part of the
everyday work force I have found that there are many parts that go into becoming a professional.
I feel that the way to be on top in any profession is to be able to have good time management
skills. In the end, time management comes down to choices. Good choices lead to better results,
while poor choices lead to wasted time and energy (“Time Management,”).
The first part of having better time management is to write things down. A common time
management mistake is to try to use memory to keep track of too many details leading to an
information overload. Using a to-do list to write things down is a great way to take control of
your projects and tasks and keep yourself organized ("Time management,"). I feel myself trying
to do much from memory and then I will remember something last minute and have to rush to
get it done. When I rush at getting a task done it does not get done to the best of my ability. Not
having work done the best I can does not help me be ahead in my profession. Keeping notes or a
planner of things and when they are due is something that I believe would help me.
Prioritizing your to-do list helps people focus and spend more of their time on the things
that really matter to them, (“Time Management,”). After writing things down and creating a list
for myself I think that prioritizing would make me know what needs to be done first and help me
plan ahead on other task. Prioritizing can allow me to know how much time and effort has to go
into a task as well. Having prioritized items allows for everybody to meet deadlines and helps
meet these timelines.
The next step in perfecting time management skills is planning the week. Spend some
time at the beginning of each week to plan your schedule. Taking the extra time to do this will
help increase your productivity and balance your important long-term projects with your more
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urgent tasks. All you need is fifteen to thirty minutes each week for your planning session,
(“Time Management,”). Most everything that gets done in work place should be planned ahead.
This is something that I try to do because I don’t like to go into something without a plan, but
like everything else in life, I can improve on this. With coaching I try to plan my week out with
practice, games, and recruiting, but I feel that I can be more specific with my planning.
Improving myself as a professional is something that I am trying to do. Making time in
my schedule to learn new things and develop my natural talents and abilities. For example, I take
classes, attend coaching conventions, or read books. Continuously improving my knowledge and
skills increases my marketability, can help boost my career, and is the most reliable path to
financial independence, (Time Management,”). Going to these classes also adds to my issues
with time management, but I know in the end that getting my degree will allow me to advance in
my career goals. Things are always changing in today’s society, so keeping up with the new
trends will help me stay on top of the sport industry.
Giving up a leisurely activity is something that I have trouble with and know that I need
to do to help me manage my time better and get work done before I do other activities. It is a
good idea to evaluate regularly how I am spending my time. In some cases, the best thing I
should do is to stop doing an activity that is no longer serving me so I can spend the time doing
something more valuable, (“Time Management,”). I have trouble in the evenings, outside of
normal work hours, working on getting some work finished or even getting ahead on some
things. I don’t stop to realize that if I get ahead on my work I won’t have as much to do or
scramble to get done during the week. I feel that this is not just a problem with me, but with a lot
of people that needs to be worked on. Making a list of habits that are stealing my time,
sabotaging my goals, and blocking my success is something that will work as well. After I do,
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work on them one at a time and systematically eliminate them from my life. Remember that the
easiest way to eliminate a bad habit, it to replace it with a better habit, (“Time Management,”).
Using a time management or schedule system will help keep me on track with getting my
work done in a timely manner. Using a time management system can help me keep track of
everything that I need to do, organize and prioritize my work, and develop sound plans to
complete it. An integrated system is like glue that holds all the best time management practices
together, (“Time Management,”). Putting things into a schedule is something that is very
important, but yet over looked. The hardest part is making myself follow the scheduler. Setting
up a time schedule will allow me to set and evaluate my goals on getting work done. Starting a
journal and writing down my progress for each goal is something that I think will help keep me
on track. Going through my goal journal each week to make sure I am on the right track is would
be the best way to be sure that I am on task.
My progress can easily be measured by the productivity of my work and the time that it
takes me to get it done. I feel that if I plan out my work week with midweek goals to have things
done, I can be a better time manager and not feel pressures of last minute deadlines. If I follow a
schedule I will be able to get my work one in a timely manner ahead of time and this will allow
me to have some of the free time that I am using. I feel that if I follow a schedule I will still get
my work done and have lots of extra time to do the other activities that I am doing instead of
getting my work done ahead of time. I have been a last minute kind of person, but that has had
me stressed out, but I think that following a schedule idea will get me on track.
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Work Sited
Time management. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.timethoughts.com/time -management.htm