Effective Leadership and
Management in Nursing
EIGHTH EDITION
CHAPTER
13
Managing Time
Learning Outcomes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identify time wasters.
Identify goals.
Set priorities.
Group activities and minimize routine
work.
5. Manage personal organization and
self-discipline.
6. Minimize time wasters.
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Time Management
• No one manages time, but we can
determine how we use time
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Organizational Factors
• Job enlargement
– Organizational structure that can affect
time demands
• Flatter organizational structure
– Positions combined, with managers
having more staff to supervise
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Time Wasters
• Staff interruptions
• Meetings without a clear purpose
• Goals, objectives, and priorities that
are not measurable
• Plans without time parameters
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Time Wasters
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•
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•
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Disorganized files or papers
Time logs, not analyzed
Tasks/activities that can be delegated
Waiting for others
Inability to say no
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Time Logs
• Examine your planner or appointment
book to determine how you spend your
time
• Determine time wasters and activities
that can be delegated to others or
eliminated
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Goals
• Goals provide a guide, a time frame,
and a way to measure
accomplishments
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Goal Categories
•
•
•
•
•
Department or unit
Interpersonal
Professional
Financial
Social
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Goal Categories
•
•
•
•
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Vacation and travel
Physical
Lifestyle
Community
Spiritual
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Managing Goals
• Identify objectives to be achieved
• Describe specific activities necessary to
achieve these objectives
• Estimate time required for each activity
• Determine planned activities for
concurrent action versus sequential
• Identify activities that can be delegated
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Prioritizing – Urgent and
Important
• A patient’s condition becomes life
threatening and you have other
patients who need your care
• How do you handle the situation?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Prioritizing – Important but Not
Urgent
• You are the clinical preceptor for a
nurse resident who needs to debrief
about how he communicated with the
case manager about a patient’s
discharge plans
• How do you handle the situation?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Prioritizing – Urgent but Not
Important
• Today is the deadline to submit a
quality assurance report about
decubitus ulcers; the study results
demonstrate that staff practice is
consistent with standards and the
decubitus ulcer rate is decreasing
• How do you handle the situation?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Minimize Routine Work
• Group similar items within the divisions
of the work shift
• Group routine tasks during the least
productive time
• Use transition or waiting time
productively
• Implement the daily plan and follow up
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Self-Discipline
• Work from clearly defined priorities
based on measurable, achievable
objectives
• Establish realistic commitments to
manage time effectively
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Self-Discipline
• Explain to your superior how being
overloaded will have consequences on
your assignments
• Communicate your own needs to others
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Interruptions
• Each time you are stopped in the
middle of one activity to give attention
to something else, you are wasting
valuable time
• How can you approach interruptions to
save time?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Interruption Log
• List interruptions that occur
• Describe how the interruption affects
your work
• Analyze interruptions to determine
patterns
• Calculate how much time is wasted
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Paperwork
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Plan and schedule times for paperwork
Sort paperwork for effective processing
Send every communication online
Analyze paperwork frequently
Do not be a paper shuffler; handle
paper once
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Other Interruptions
• Phone calls, text messages
– Set a specific time for them
• E-mail
– Check only at specific times
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Other Interruptions
• Drop-in visitors
– Control frequency and duration
• Meetings
– Schedule only as necessary, have an
agenda, and set time limit
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan