Time Management Essays-Various
Top Five Time Management Mistakes
Time management is not necessarily working "harder", but rather, "smarter." And to
accomplish significantly more in our days, we need not increase our efforts. As an
example, in a horse race, the first horse may earn a $50,000 purse and the second horse
may earn a $25,000 purse. The first horse gets twice as much money as the second horse,
not because it ran twice as far or twice as fast. It was only a "nose ahead" of the
competition.
So it is with our daily results. We need not run twice as fast or put in twice the effort to
significantly increase our daily success. We only need to be a "nose ahead" of where we
already are. We are all productive in our days. We would not survive the demands of this
world if we were not. The real challenge is how much more productive can we become?
And, a lot of our time management has to do with more of what we are not doing rather
than what we are doing. Sometimes our mistakes and omissions will keep us from
running at a full pace. Here are the Top Five Time Management Mistakes we should all
avoid to help us to increase our daily success both on and off the job, in less time and
with less stress.
1. Start your day without a plan of action. You will begin your day by responding to
the loudest voice (the squeaky wheel gets the grease) and spend it in a defensive mode,
responding to other people's and events' demands. The tail will wag the dog. If there is a
void of leadership in your time management life, someone will fill that void, not that
others are bad people, but others will take all of your time if you let them. You will have
worked hard but may not have done enough of right things. Time Management is not
doing the wrong things quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time Management is
doing the right things.
2. Get out of balance in your life. Our lives are made up of Seven Vital Areas: Health,
Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. We will not
necessarily spend time every day in each area or equal amounts of time in each area. But
if in the long run, we spend a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, our
lives will be in balance. But if we neglect any one area, never mind two or three, we will
eventually sabotage our success. Much like a table, if one leg is longer than the rest, it
will make the entire table wobbly. If we don't take time for health, our family life and
social life are hurt. If our financial area is out of balance, we will not be able to focus
adequately on our professional goals, etc.
3. Work with a messy desk or work area. Studies have shown that the person who
works with a messy desk spends, on average, one and a half hours per day looking for
things or being distracted by things. That's seven and a half hours per week. ("Out of
sight-out of mind." And the reverse of that is true too, "In sight, in mind"). And, it's not a
solid block of an hour and a half, but a minute here and a minute there, and like a leaky
hot water faucet, drip, drip, drip, it doesn't seem like a major loss, but at the end the day,
we're dumping gallons of hot water down the drain that we are paying to heat. If you
have ever visited the office of a top manager, typically, that person is working with a
clean desk environment. Many would attribute this practice to that person's access to
other staff members. While there may be some truth in that conclusion, in most cases, if
we went back some years in that person's career, they probably were working with a
clean desk back then which gave them the focus they needed to become promoted to
where they are today.
4. Don't get enough sleep. Studies show that nearly 75% of us complain on a regular
basis, all throughout our days, that we are flat-out tired. For most people, they get the
quantity of sleep, but they lack the quality of sleep. Their days are filled with so much
stress, they are out of control, working harder but maybe not smarter, that it's difficult to
get a full night's sleep. (For some, they simply do not allow for a sufficient quantity of
sleep.) If you will plan your day, then work your plan, you will get more done, feel a
higher sense of accomplishment, and experience less stress and enjoy a more restful
night's sleep.
5. Don't take a lunch break. Many do not take a lunch break, working through that time
period in the hopes that it will give them more time to produce results. Studies have
shown it may work just the opposite. After doing what we do for several hours, we start
to "dull out." Sure, we can work through lunch and be productive, but that is not the
issue. The issue is "how much more" productive we can be. A lunch break, even a short
fifteen minute break, gives us a chance to get our batteries all charged up again to more
effectively handle the afternoon's challenges. We are then less likely to procrastinate a
few of those difficult tasks that, in the long run, will make a positive difference in our
personal productivity.
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Stop Wasting Time
Life is often what happens to you along the way when you have planned otherwise
because there are time wasters out there to throw you off the track. Your performance
may not always match your intentions. To help you to increase your productivity each
and every day, both on and off the job, here are five easy tips to overcome the major time
wasters to help you to stop wasting time.
Plan your day. Set aside time each night for Daily Planning, a time for you to take control
of your most important asset, the next twenty-four hours. Create a To Do list with all the
things you "have to" do and, more importantly, all the things you "want to" do. Don't be
afraid of putting down too much. A project tends to expand with the time available for it.
If you give yourself one thing to do, it will take you all day. If you give yourself two
things to do, you will get them both done. If you give yourself twelve things to do, you
may not get all twelve done, but you'll get eight or nine done. Having a lot to do creates a
healthy sense of pressure on us to get things done. Prioritize this list. Put the number "1"
next to the most important item, "2" beside the next most important item, the number "3"
beside the third most important item, etc. People ask me a lot, "Do you do Daily Planning
every day?" I reply, "Only if I want to have a good day."
Control procrastination. The easiest way to avoid procrastination in your day is to do the
Daily Planning each day. Without a plan of action to direct you, you are often drawn to
the things that are easier or to the most urgent items that may not be the most important
use of your time. You can easily get caught up in "stuff", wasting time majoring in the
minor things, spending your day wheel spinning in the unimportant areas while the
important things get put off.
Avoid interruptions. A problem that is well defined is mostly solved. To define your
interruptions situation to permit you to take some preventive actions, run an Interruptions
Log. On a pad of paper, log in interruptions as they occur over a few days. Put down who
brings them to you, how long each interruption lasts, and whether or not they were
valuable or of no value. Once you accumulate your data, get the most frequent
interrupters who bring the interruptions with no value to change their actions and agree to
not bring as many low value interruptions to you in the future.
Delegate it. If you had unlimited amounts of time, you could do everything yourself, but
you don't. Each week has but 168 hours to get all you need and want to do. I review every
item on my To Do list each night in Daily Planning and ask, "Is this the best use of my
time?" If it is, I will plan to do it myself and if it's not, I will try to find a way to delegate
it to free up my time for something more valuable. There is a lot of difference between, "I
do it", and "It gets done". Sure, it's great to do a variety of things but you have to be sure
that your scarce resource is always being spent in the most productive way.
Manage meetings. Before you commit to attend a meeting with another or with a group,
ask yourself two questions. First, "Is it necessary?" Sometimes we go to a meeting solely
because we have been invited or because we have always gone out of habit without
ascertaining whether or not it truly is necessary. Second, ask yourself, "Am I necessary?"
Perhaps the meeting is important but if you don' t contribute anything to it or if you don't
get anything from it, try to find a way to excuse yourself from attending all or a portion
of the meeting.
5 Tips to Maintain a Clutter Free Desk
Getting Organised Saves Time and Money
The average American executive wastes six weeks per year retrieving misplaced
information due to messy desks and files, according to The Wall Street Journal. In this
article professional organiser Debbie Gilster of Organize & Computerize provides advice
on how to clean up your act.
A tidy desk is not the sign of someone with nothing to do, nor is a messy desk the mark
of a busy manager. Most of us can think and be more productive when sitting at a tidy,
well-organised desk. Here's how to manage your files, organise your desktop and reduce
stress so that you can better handle administrative tasks, which will help you become
more productive.
A tidy desk is different for everyone. Some people need a clean desktop, with such basic
tools as pens, stapler and tape dispenser out of sight in a drawer. Others are comfortable
with tidy piles of paper and knickknacks. Experiment to identify your style.
Getting organised takes time. Unless you are a professional organiser who loves putting
things in order, do not make this an all-day activity. It will take longer than you think.
Without a coach to keep you on track, you'll waste time reading papers and trying to
make decisions. Keep the time allotted to two hour increments.
Defined processes and the right tools make tasks successful. Follow the five steps in this
guide and make them part of your office routine. The result will be a clean & tidy desk.
Use quality tools, such as wire baskets and file folders that you can label and reuse.
Never give up. If you fall off the organisational cart, get back on. Congratulate yourself
on the progress you've made so far.
With the right attitude, getting organised is easy. It means an end to missed deadlines,
lost information and loss of control.
Just Say No
By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
I used to put everyone else's requests and needs first and if there was any time left over at
the end of the day for what I needed and wanted to do, that was acceptable. That is until I
began to realize that if you and I are going to be effective time managers, we have to stay
away from allocating our time solely on the basis of those who demand it. Instead, if you
and I are going to be effective time managers, we have to allocate our time on the basis of
those who deserve it.
I don't mean this in any negative or arrogant way. It's just you have limits to the amount
of time you have to spend and so one of the most powerful words in your Time
Management vocabulary is the word, "no". Almost everyone you encounter will think
they have a better idea about how you should be spending your time. It doesn't make
others bad. It's just the way the world works. If there is a void in your Time Management
life, someone, or many for that matter, will jump in to fill that spot. The problem is that
they do not have the full understanding of where you are taking your life and if you keep
saying "yes", they will continue to take up your time, possibly keeping you from
accomplishing what you really want to do.
"No" is sometimes difficult to say because you have been taught differently. You have
been taught to say, "yes", to please, to serve, and to accommodate. There is nothing
wrong with saying "yes" most of the time, but occasionally there is a line you choose not
to cross, when saying "yes" is really not the best use of your time to get you to where you
need and want to be.
If you had unlimited amounts of time, you could "yes" all the time to everyone. But you
don't. You have 24 hours each day, 7 days a week for a total of 168 hours. And you get to
spend that time only once, so you have to spend it wisely.
I have listed seventeen ways here to say "no". Don't let me put the words in your mouth.
Take the ones you like, change them around and you use the words that are comfortable
for you. The point is, if you are ever in a position when you can never say "no", then you
are always saying "yes", and like the song says, "If you don't stand for something, you
will fall for everything".
Try these:
"I'm sorry. That's not a priority for me right now."
"I can't help you on this now, but I can get to it next week. Would that be okay?"
"I have so much on my plate now I don't know when I can get to it. But I do know
someone over here who can help you now."
"Before I take this on for you, let me show you a few things so that you might be able to
do it yourself."
"I have made so many commitments to others, it would be unfair to them and you if I
took on anything more at this point."
"If I can't give you a ride to the school dance on Friday, how else would you get there
safely?"
"I don't know how soon I can help you on this, but I will get back to you as soon as I am
free to help you."
"I'm sure we're close enough that when I say "no" you'll understand it's for a good
reason."
"Sure I can help you with your request as long as we both agree and understand that the
item I agreed to do for you yesterday is going to have to wait."
"Before I take this over from you, what do you think we ought to do about it?"
"I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, I sure can do that for you. The bad
news is, I'm so overloaded with everything else, I've become delirious and have been
lying about my commitments."
"When I get overwhelmed like I am now, I remove every third person who asks me for
something, from my "Good Friends List" and the second person just left."
"No."
"Thanks for thinking to ask me, but, no thanks."
"I would like to help you out on this but you understand I don't have the resources
available to do the right job for you."
"Now that's the type of thing I would love to help you on if only I had the time."
"Just like you, I get overloaded sometimes and have to tell some very special people,
"no". This is one of those times."
And as you speak, smile.
Successful Time Management
Many people complain about needing more time in a day. While you know it is
impossible to turn minutes into hours, you can learn to manage the time you have more
efficiently.
Maybe your work never seems to get any closer to being completed. The stress level you
are experiencing is rising and every-day you become more frustrated.
Although you can't control time itself, you can take charge of what you do with the time
you have. It's really not as difficult as you may think. It takes willingness and
determination on your part to change your old ways of doing things.
Keep Track
Spend one or two days recording what you do throughout the day. You may be surprised
to find out how much time is wasted through interruptions and looking for items.
Before you begin to make any drastic changes, be aware of how your extra time is spent.
Use A Daily Planner
Write down everything you need to accomplish during the day. This will enable you to
set aside time for those projects that keep getting shoved aside for less important tasks.
It will also allow you to keep track of everything you need to do. It is easy to forget the
little things and then kick yourself later when you remember. When you do check
everything off your list, you will feel satisfied with your efforts.
Take Breaks
It is impossible to keep working productively without ever taking a break. You can't
concentrate nonstop for extremely long periods of time.
Every once in a while, stretch your legs or get a drink at the water fountain. You will
come back refreshed and ready to work again. If you are frustrated, this will help you to
clear your mind and get back your focus.
Find Your Productive Time
You probably have one time of the day when you feel most productive. Maybe it's when
you first arrive at work or right after lunch. Schedule your hardest assignments for that
time. If you are at your best, they will seem easier and you can get them done faster.
Stay Organized
It's stressful to work in a messy environment. It can be difficult to find things because
they are hidden under all the clutter.
Spend some time keeping your area neat. You will save a lot of energy that would
otherwise be spent looking for that important chart or memo.
Double Day Work: How Women Cope with Time Demands
HYG-5163-96
Joyce Shriner
The participation of women in the paid labor force has increased steadily in recent years.
While women take on additional responsibilities away from home, their household duties
often remain the same. According to a research report by Walker and Woods in "Time
use: A measure of household production of family goods and services," women in the
labor force average 76 hours in total weekly work, which includes 33 hours dedicated to
household tasks. The time requirements of household and paid work are complicated and
often conflicting. The term "double day" has been used to describe the dual work
responsibilities that many women have.
Although the amount of domestic work performed by men has increased, women still
carry the primary burden of household chores. In The Gender Factory: The
Apportionment of Work in American Households, author Sarah Berk indicated that
husbands' contributions to domestic work are typically small, and the total time estimates
of husbands' household work hours range from 10 to 15 hours a week.
Coping Strategies
Melody Hessing in "More than Clockwork: Women's Time Management in their
Combined Workloads," Sociological Perspectives 37(4) examines how women organize
their lives to accomplish their many tasks. Hessing notes that, "Women with both paid
and household responsibilities must appear to be successful in accomplishing both, or
they risk censure or criticism as mothers and/or as employees." She found that, in
general, the women in her research do not describe themselves as passive captives of
societal inequities, but instead recognize and purposely manage the demands and
constraints in their lives.
Specifically, Hessing found that women use the following time management strategies:
prioritization, accommodation of time use, routinization of activities, synchronization of
events, and preparation for contingencies.
Paid employment takes priority in scheduling time. However, the women negotiate
arrangements with employers to adapt their work hours when domestic necessities or sick
children require their attention.
Routinization of activities helps keep families on schedule. Some families develop
checklists for children to use as reminders of what they need to get done. For example, a
morning chart might include: get up, wash face, brush teeth, comb hair, dress, eat
breakfast, get school lunch money, get backpack, music instruments, library books, etc.,
kiss family good-bye, and catch the bus.
Women synchronize many chores, thereby accomplishing several tasks in a short time
period. Synchronization includes doing two chores at one time, or arranging errands so
that many can be completed simultaneously, thereby eliminating extra trips. Doing the
laundry while fixing dinner is one example of synchronizing chores. Picking up dry
cleaning and doing the grocery shopping while a child takes a music lesson is another.
Contingency arrangements are developed in advance to manage family emergencies and
unusual circumstances, such as sick children, difficulties with babysitters, or special
events (birthdays, overnight trips, etc.). Contingency arrangements replace or change
regular schedules. The women typically negotiate a change of schedule with their
employer or delegate the responsibility to their spouse, an extended family member, or to
neighbors.
Researchers have identified a number of other strategies and aspects of coping with
multiple demands. These include the use of remote-timing methods to assure that family
members meet deadlines. For instance, as a mother leaves for work she might set the
oven timer to ring so that her children will know when it is time to catch the bus.
Other mothers use the telephone and/or television to keep their children on schedule.
Children know that it is time to leave for school when a particular television program is
over. Many mothers have their children phone them at work to check in when they arrive
home in the afternoon.
Often women are responsible for the smooth scheduling of other family members
activities. Many use calendars to record each individual's activities. Notes are used as
reminders of special events.
Weekends are spent catching up on household chores from the previous week and
preparing for the coming week. Many women prepare large quantities of food on
weekends, then freeze meals to be warmed up on busy days.
Many women select outside social activities very carefully. Some continue to volunteer
time to organizations that are important to them. Although the amount of time that they
are able to donate is often less than it was before they had paid employment.
Double day work provides many time management challenges for women. However, by
using various strategies, women successfully meet the demands of their busy lives.
Reference
Hessing, M. (1994) More than clockwork: women's time management in their combined
workloads. Sociological Perspectives 37(4), 611-633.
The Benefits of Scheduling
From Practicing College Study Skills by Carolyn H. Hopper
Scheduling helps you avoid procrastination because it gives you a set time to accomplish
each task.
It helps keep you up to date and helps to avoid last minute cramming.
As strange as it may seem, when your study is scheduled, you may look forward to
studying. The mind is very programmable, so when it gets used to doing something
routinely as scheduled, you subconsciously want to do it.
Scheduling creates time to do things that you actually want to do.
It keeps you in control as you set your priorities and the times to do things.
It saves time, scheduling is a guide that tells you what to do next and assures that
everything will get done as you become quicker and more efficient at studying.
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How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life
From How To Get Control of Your Time and Your Life
by Alan Lakein
Count all of your time as important time and try to get satisfaction (not necessarily
accomplishment) out of every minute.
Try to enjoy whatever you are doing
Be a perennial optimist
Build on Successes
Don't waste time regretting your failures
Don't waste time feeling guilty about what you don't do
Remind yourself: "There is always enough time for the important things." If it's
important, you'll make the time to do it
Try to find a new technique each day that can help to gain time
Get up early during the week
Eat a light lunch so you don't get sleepy during the afternoon
Don't watch televisions except for the very special programs you really want to see.
Examine old habits for possible elimination
If you have to wait for something, use that time to relax or do something that you would
not otherwise do.
Keep your watch set at least 3 minutes fast to get a head start
Carry a small notebook to jot down notes and ideas
Revise your lifetime goals once a month
Review your lifetime goals every day
Put signs on your desk to remind you of your goals
Keep your long-term goals in mind even while doing the smallest task
Plan your day and set your priorities first thing in the morning
Keep a list of specific items to be done each day and do your best to get the important
ones done first
Schedule your time well in advance to leave plenty of time for "hot projects."
Give yourself time off and special rewards when you've done important things
Do first things first
Work smarter rather than harder
Have confidence in your judgment of priorities and stick to them in spite of difficulties
Ask yourself, "Would anything terrible happen if I don't do this?" If the answer is "no"
then don't worry about it
If you seem to procrastinate ask yourself: "What am I avoiding" and then try to confront
the issue head-on
Start with the most profitable parts of large projects
Cut off nonproductive projects as quickly as possible
Give yourself time to concentrate on high priority items
Develop the ability to concentrate well for long stretches of time
Concentrate on one thing at a time
Focus your efforts on items that have the best long-term benefits
Train yourself to go down your "Do List" without skipping over the difficult items
Do a lot of your thinking on paper
Set aside a certain amount of time a day to work alone creatively
Set deadlines for yourself and others
Try to listen actively in every discussion
Make use of specialists to help with special problems
Keep your desktop cleared for action
Have a place for everything so you don't have to spend time looking for it
Try not to think of work on Saturdays
Relax and do nothing frequently
Recognize that inevitably some of your time will be spent on activities outside your
control
Keep small talk to a minimum during work hours
Look for action steps to be taken now to further your goals
Ask yourself: "What is the best use of you time right now?"