Optimizing Your Time

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AUXILIARY BUSINESS SERVICES 2008 Spring
Conference Optimizing and Prioritizing Your Time
Presented byBennett Hoffman, TeamWorks
Inc. Website teamworks2002.com
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Optimizing and Prioritizing Your Time

• This program will help you to
• Assess your time management
• Establish goals and set priorities
• Identify and eliminate time wasters
• Follow proactive strategies to deal with
  interruptions
• Manage work processes to improve effectiveness
• Create more quality time

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Establishing Goals

• Why are goals important?
• Word the goals so that they are concrete
• Develop an action plan to reach your goals
• Specifics
• Consistent steps are better than great leaps
• Measure your goals How will you know when you
  have reached your goal? How can you determine
  your progress on your goals?
• Reset your goals revise, update, eliminate
• Your Goals

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The Urgency Index

• What ONE thing could you do (that you arent
  doing now) that if you did on a regular basis,
  would make a tremendous positive difference in
  your life?
• Urgent requires immediate attention, usually
  visible, pressing, someone elses stuff,
  sometimes what is popular REACT
• Important results contributes to your
  mission, your values, and your high priority
  goals ACT

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Quadrant Results (from CoveySeven Habits of
Highly Effective People)

• Stress, burnout, crisis management, putting out
  fires, deadlines, meetings
• Planning, long term, strategies, prevention,
  empowerment, relationships
• Short term focus, crisis management, out of
  control, victimized, excessive detail
• Dependent on others, irresponsible, excessive TV
  relaxation, irrelevant mail, e-mail, phone
  calls

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Setting Priorities

• One of the greatest time wasters is trying to
  figure out your priorities AND sticking with
  them. Have you made any of these comments?
• It seems like everything is a priority
  nowadays.
• I figure out my priorities and then my
  supervisor gives me something thats got to be
  done now!
• I know a certain task is important but I only
  have 15 minutes, so I do something else on my
  list.
• I know a certain task is a priority but I just
  dont want to do it.
• I can put off doing the task I dont want to do
  because when the deadline gets closer, that will
  motivate me.

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Using the ABC Method

• Use this method to prioritize items
• Make your To Do list.
• Beside your most important items, place the
  letter A. These are critical items.
• Beside the items of moderate consequences, place
  the letter B.
• Beside the items of little or no consequences,
  place the letter C.
• Regardless of the time you have to spend, work on
  your A tasks!
• When you have completed your highest priority
  tasks, move onto the B priorities.
• Only when you have completed the As and Bs
  should you move on to the Cs.
• Review list each day. Re-prioritize or eliminate.

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Identifying Your Time Wasters

• O

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Identifying Your Time Wasters (continued)

• Types of Time Wasters
• What one action will you take to eliminate a time
  waster in the next week?

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Your Personal Time Clock
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Your Personal Time Clock (Continued)

• Time is really an artificial measure. Time
  schedules did not come into extensive use until
  the development of the railway systemthen being
  on time became important. Nature has its own
  time clock and so do you. Ever wonder why some
  people are larks and others are owls? Highs
  and lows in your mental sharpness are tied to
  your body clock, which is affected by the rise
  and fall of body temperature.

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Here are some coping strategies (adapted from
University of Pittsburgh Medical School
researcher Timothy Monk)

• Maximize the highs by doing complex tasks. Save
  mundane tasks for your low times.
• Watch out for the post-lunch slump.
• Avoid big helpings of pasta at lunch.
  Carbohydrates induce sleepiness.
• Do activities that are more physically active.
• Schedule meetings for late in the morning. Both
  morning and night people are alert at this time.
• Vigorous exercise can influence body temperature
  cycle, affecting your ups and downs.
• Exercise early in the day if youre a night
  person.
• Exercise between 4 and 6 p.m. to fall asleep
  faster and sleep better.
• Avoid strenuous exercise after dinner. Evening
  activities raise the body temperature and make it
  harder to get to sleep.
• A high carbohydrate dinner or bedtime snack helps
  slow down the body in the evening.

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The Many Forms of Procrastination

• Styles 1
• Perfectionists
• Change in thinking
• Dreamers
• Change in thinking
• Worriers
• Change in thinking
• Crisis Makers
• Change in thinking
• Your Procrastinating Habits?
• _______________ 1 From Linda Sapadin, Its All
  About Time

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Managing InterruptionsInterruptions Because of
Your Place
Strategies
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Managing Interruptions (continued)

• Interruptions because of YOU
• I cant concentrate.
• Strategies
• I cant make a decision.
• Strategies
• I dont want to do this.
• Strategies
• Im bored.
• Strategies
• I Cant Say, NO.
• Strategies

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Managing Interruptions (continued)

• Interruptions because of others

Patterns Revealed
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Managing Interruptions (continued)

• In Person Strategies
• Invitation
• Time
• Chair-less
• Schedule
• Stand
• Honesty

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Managing Interruptions (continued)

• Phone Call Strategies
• Screening
• Blocks of Time
• Limit Social Conversation
• E-mail
• Stand
• Paraphrase and Close

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Action Planning
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Works Cited

• TeamWorks, Incorporated. Curriculum developed for
  Organzational Leadership Development Programs,
  Seminars, Workshops, and Coaching Services.
• The Human Resource Development Center of the
  Pennsylvania State University. Curriculum
  developed for Organizational Development
  Programs, Seminars, Workshops, and requested
  instructional services.
• Covey, Stephen (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly
  Effective People. New York Simon Schuster.

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TeamWorks, Inc.104 Teresa Circle, Port Matilda,
PA 16870Phone [phone]Website
teamworks2002.come-mail sales_at_teamworks2002.com

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