Getting more out of your time
An introduction to practical
time management
The purpose of this
slide show
This slide show is an information resource. It is
intended as a helpful, good practice guide for
those who have leadership / management roles
in the University. It can be viewed from start to
finish as a mini-tutorial or it can be printed in
hand-out form and used as handy reference
material or reminder notes.
Time
n
n
n
We all get only 24 hours of it each day
We cannot save it
Once it has been used, it has gone forever
‘Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time,
for that is the stuff life is made of.’
Benjamin Franklin
Effective time management
Effective time management is about
prioritisation – identifying what needs to
be done first (you can’t do everything)
and then making sure you get the most
out of the time you have available to you
Demands on your time
n
n
DEMAND TIME – this is controlled by other
people. This is when you have appointments,
meetings, telephone calls. You cannot avoid
it, but be mindful to keep it to a minimum.
DISCRETIONARY TIME – this is controlled
by you. This is when you can do what is
IMPORTANT to you. Use it wisely /
productively. Guard it jealously.
n
n
n
Not everything you have
to do is important
Not every matter that
requires your attention is
urgent
How do you decide
what to do first?
How do you decide
what to spend most of
your time on?
URGENT
NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT
n
I
* Crises
* Deadlines
II
* Capacitybuilding
* Planning
NOT
IMPORTANT
Put First things First
III
* Interruption
* Others'
priorities
IV
* Trivia
* Timewasting
Prioritisation matrix by Stephen R. Covey: ‘The 7 Habits of Highly effective People ’ - 1990
Strategies for
prioritising activities
n
I = URGENT + IMPORTANT – Typically emergencies, crises, deadlines. These cannot
be avoided, but their demands on your time can be reduced with t houghtful planning and
careful preparation.
n
II = NOT URGENT BUT IMPORTANT – These are the activities that help you build the
future you want. This is where your time is ‘invested’ wisely since you will benefit in the
future. This could include everything from doing the research or the planning required for
work, to maintaining important networks and relationships, to doing regular exercise,
eating healthy meals. If you spend you time solely on quadrant I , III and IV activities you
won’t have time for the important stuff. Quadrant II activities are where you should
spend as much time as you can.
n
III = URGENT BUT NOT IMPORTANT – These are those things that are important to
other people, but perhaps less so to you. The challenge here is to maintain polite,
professional working relations, but guard your time carefully. D o you need to do
everything others ask of you? Learn how, when and where to say no.
n
IV = NEITHER URGENT NOR IMPORTANT – These are the activities that you can and
should avoid. Time wasting activities that don’t help you, other people, or the University
Life
‘Life is what happens … just when you made
other plans’ – Anonymous
n No matter how well you plan your time,
something unexpected will happen to disrupt
your plans
n Accordingly, it is necessary to be able to
prioritise and re-prioritise quickly, simply and
effectively
Prioritising daily tasks
n
n
n
A = MUST be done today (e.g: an appointment, a
deadline for a submission)
B = SHOULD be done today. A task it would be
useful to complete today, but if you did not manage
to do so, it is not a problem. Note: today’s B’s often
become tomorrow’s A’s
C = NICE to do today. Tasks that are not critical to
complete, either because the deadline is way
ahead of because they are optional. Only a few C’s
ever become A’s
Prioritisation system by Alan Lakein “How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life ” - 1973
Using Lakein’s priorities
n
n
n
n
n
Write out ALL your tasks in a ‘to do’ list. Write them in any
order. Don’t waste time ordering the items, making the list
pretty or fancy in any way – bullet points are fine.
At the beginning of each day read through the list and
mark / highlight ONLY the A’s.
Do all your A’s. Never do a B if an A remains
uncompleted.
Ignore C’s. If they never become B’s or A’s they will
disappear quite naturally.
Add new items as they occur to the bottom of your list.
Keep and use the same list for as long as possible. Don’t
waste time or paper rewriting ‘to do lists’.
The 4 folder system
This can work with email folders as well as folders of papers
n
n
n
n
ACTION – Any item that requires YOU to act or do something.
READ – Items that are of interest and you would like to read,
when you have time.
INFO – Items of information (often ephemeral) like schedules,
timetables, staff lists, etc.
WPB – Items which are junk or spam. These are easy to spot
and might as well go straight into the waste paper basket.
Using the 4 folder system
n
n
n
As soon as something arrives in the in-box, start by
assigning it to one of the four folders, then:
ACTION – Go through this daily, identify the A’s and do
them first. After that you have time for quadrant II activities
READ – Sort through this when you have to make a
journey and have time on your hands.
INFO – Check once per month and transfer anything that is
no longer relevant or important to WPB.
A clean in-box lifts your morale, saves you time and allows
you to respond to incoming tasks in a more relaxed way