Time Management

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Time Management

• simple techniques
• to take control of your life

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Why Are You Here?

• the common challenges
• we all face in time management

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About Time Management

• what it is
• and how it works

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What is Time Management?

• Having all the information you need readily
  available
  
• Having a trusted system that allows incoming
  information to be collected, organized and acted
  upon
  
• Keeping your head clear of distractions
• Knowing what needs to be done at a given time, in
  a given situation
  
• Feeling like youve actually accomplished
  something
  

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The 3 Phases in Time Management

• Collect Organize
• Process Prioritize
• Do Review

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The 5 Keys to Success

• core concepts
• to taking control of your life

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Key 1 Discrete Phases

• Each phase of time management is a discrete
  activity.
  
• Dont skip phases.
• Dont mix phases.

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Key 2 Reduce Collection Points

• Reduce your Collection Points.
• No more stuff in the glove box, stuff in the
  briefcase, stuff on the desk

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Key 3 Be Organized

• When stuff comes in, it gets put into the right
  Collection Point.
  
• No piles!
• No random stuff in random places.

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Key 4 Review Often, Review Well

• Regular reviews are essential!
• You cant know where youre going if you dont
  know where youve been.
  
• Feeling like youve succeeded requires that you
  know what youve accomplished.

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Key 5 Next Actions Are Key

• Next Actions and ONLY Next Actions go onto your
  to-do lists.
  
• Projects get broken down into Next Actions, with
  the full list hidden away.
  
• Dont overwhelm yourself.

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Collect Organize

• the first step
• to successful time management

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Key to Success Each Phase is Discrete
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What Are Collection Points?

• A Collection Point is where you capture and
  store incoming information.
  
• Examples Notepad, physical inbox, PDA,
  cellphone, computer, etc.

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About Collection Points

• Too many Collection Points arent healthy.
• Collection Points must be reduced to their bare
  minimum, otherwise you lose information.
  
• In an ideal world, we would have one place where
  all information comes in, gets sorted and gets
  prioritized.
  
• In the real world, information comes from a
  million directions all at once.
  

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Key to Success Reduce Your Collection Points
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Suggested Collection Points

• A single place to put paper (physical in-box,
  basket or a visible space just for you)
  
• A single place to jot down Next Actions or
  thoughts on the go (pad of paper, PDA, personal
  recording device or even leaving yourself
  voicemails with your cellphone)
• A single place on your PC where you capture Next
  Actions (Outlooks Task List, a todo.txt file on
  your desktop, etc)
  

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Suggested Collection Points

• A single place to collect Email (your Outlook
  inbox, your hotmail account, etc)
  
• Your voicemail boxes (work, home, cell)

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Unhealthy Collection Points

• Car glove box
• A pile on your desk
• A pile on somebody elses desk
• On a chair
• In a Miscellaneous file in your filing cabinet
• In the bathroom

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Mini Key to Success

• NO PILES ALLOWED!!!

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Effectively Organizing Your Stuff

• the ideal filing system
• for all your entertainment needs

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Critical Elements to a Filing System

• Whether your filing system is real (filing
  cabinet) or virtual (on your PC), it requires
  certain common elements.
  
• Recommended structure Business Critical,
  Business Reference, Personal and Generic
  Reference
  
• Underneath each top-level structure, include a
  folder for each project
  
• Mirror the filing system wherever you file items.

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Example Filing System

• Business Critical
• Microsoft Courses
• Blogging Book
• Taxes
• Business Reference
• Newsletters
• Seminar Notes
• Personal
• Worship
• Band
• Generic Reference
• Paid Bills
• Filed Taxes
• Correspondence

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Break Time!
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Process Prioritize

• going where no man has gone before
• Next Actions

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Why This Process is So Important

• First you get everything where you can find it
  (Collect Organizing)
  
• Then you figure out what needs doing
  (Processing)
  
• Then you figure out whats most important
  (Prioritizing)
  
• Finally you do (Do)
• Then you make sure youre succeeding (Review)

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What Happens When You Dont

• Stuff shows up, gets put somewhere
• You make a mental note (these often use crummy
  glue and fall off before you get home) to do
  something about it
  
• Other things crowd into your day as people ask
  you to do things
  
• When you finally have free time, you cant
  remember what you have to do
  
• At the end of each day and week, you feel like
  you must have done something important, but cant
  remember what it might have been.

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Sound Familiar?

• the process may sound overly complicated,
• but its really designed to make your life simpler

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What is Processing

• Working your way through the material in your
  Collection Points
  
• Resisting the urge to Do
• Touch each item once, so that you can move onto
  the next item quickly. Make decisions as you
  touch items, not later (otherwise youre just
  creating piles)
• Transfer items into other Collection Points as
  needed (from a voicemail onto paper, or from
  paper into your computer)

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How to Process

• Processing is a 4-step process, characterized by
  4 Ds Delete, Do, Delegate and Defer.

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Step 1 Delete

• if it isnt worth keeping,
• its worth throwing away

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Step 2 Do

• if you can do it in 2 minutes or less,
• do it immediately

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Step 3 Delegate

• entrust someone else
• to do the task or project (like getting your
  husband to take out the trash)

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Defer

• if its something you need to do,
• but cant do in under 2 minutes, youre deferring
  it for later

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Next Actions

• the simple key
• to actually getting things done

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What Are Next Actions?

• The very next physical action you have to do to
  move a project forward
  
• Call travel agent about vacation prices
• Heckle Peter during sermon
• Get gas for lawn mower (or not, if your
  Project is to NEVER do the lawn)
  

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What Arent Next Actions

• Plan trip
• Pay bills
• Do sermon
• A Next Action is the NEXT action you need to do.
  A Next Action is NOT a Project!

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Next Actions vs Projects

• Projects are series of Next Actions. In order to
  plan a trip you need to decide on a budget, then
  call the travel agent, then talk to your wife,
  then get passports, then book the tickets
• Generally Next Actions are small things you can
  do in 10-15 minutes, while projects take serious
  time.

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Why Next Actions Work

• A Project is overwhelming, and is easy to put
  off.
  
• Something that only takes 10-15 minutes of your
  time is not only do-able, its also satisfying
  (check things off your list)

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BRAIN DUMP!
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What to Dump

• What are your responsibilities
• What projects are you involved in
• What are things youd love to do someday
• What things have you forgotten to do in the last
  2-3 months

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Ideas for Brain Dump

• Work
• Projects (started) Projects not yet
  started Commitments
  
• Communications Reports Proposals
• Meetings (new) Read and review Budgets
• Forecasts Pipeline reports Presentations
• Travel Training/seminars Research
• Personal
• Projects (started) Projects not yet
  started Commitments
  
• Civic groups Special occasions Financial
• Home chores Home projects Entertainment
• Health care Hobbies Errands

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Find Next Actions
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What Are the Next Actions

• In groups, help each other figure out what the
  very next action required to move a project
  forward is
  
• Break down project or two per person
• Remember if it takes more than one step to do
  each Next Action, its probably more than one
  Next Action
  
• Remember Next Actions are generally 10-15
  minutes in length. If your Next Action is longer,
  see if it can be split up so that you are more
  likely to actually DO it

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Tips for Creating Next Actions

• Understand the difference between projects and
  Next Actions
  
• Break multi-step activities down into individual
  actions
  
• Use action verbs
• Use a portable Collection Point to capture Next
  Actions in the moment

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Reviewing

• How to know if you are succeeding,
• and how to correct course if you arent

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Two Types of Reviews

• Daily Reviews Done at the beginning or end of
  each day. Last 10-15 minutes. Help you figure out
  what you HAVE to do each day.
  
• Weekly Reviews Done at the beginning or end of
  each week. Help you assess priorities, measure
  your progress in large projects and align your
  plans for the coming week.

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Daily Reviews

• Dont plan too much in Pickle Jaring It
• Plan different types of activities (mix it up, so
  you dont get bored)
  
• If it helps you get things done, plan breaks
• Leave space for you

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Weekly Reviews

• Do a brain dump to make sure stuff thats in your
  head makes it onto paper or into Next Actions
  
• Process any lingering information in your
  Collection Points
  
• Review your progress from last week
• Look forward to the week ahead what does your
  calendar look like, what major events might be
  coming up, how full is your to-do list, is it
  your wifes birthday or your anniversary? -)

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How it All Works Together

• Theory is good,
• application is better, practice is best

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Marcs Example

• At the beginning of each day, Marc reviews his
  email, his voicemails and talks to his wife
  and/or boss to see what needs done that day
  
• Marc schedules in any calls he needs to do at
  specific times, or meetings he needs to be at
  
• He then either schedules in specific tasks OR
  blocks of time to do tasks from his Next Actions
  list

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Marcs Day Continued

• As Marc goes throughout the day, he carries a
  notepad with him to take down notes.
  
• Marc does NOT have email notification on, because
  processing email is part of the Processing phase.
  When he Processes, he checks email.
  
• Marc maintains 2 to-do lists a large Next
  Actions List, and a daily list of things he HAS
  to get done, as well as things hed LIKE to get
  done.

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Marcs Day Part 3

• If Marc finds free time (ie unscheduled time)
  in his day, he looks to his small, daily to-do
  list.
  
• Marc has enough freedom and discipline, that if
  hes on a roll with a project, he can figure
  out what the Next Action is, and do it right away
  while the thoughts are fresh.
• Marc keeps post-it notes in his day-timer one
  side is the name of the project and the next task
  hes set out, the other side is all the tasks he
  has identified to finish the project. As he
  crosses off items on one side (the Next Action
  side), he writes a new one down from the other
  side.

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Marcs Story Part 4

• At the end of every week, Marc reviews his
  objectives for the week, the lists of things hes
  gotten done and his overall progress towards his
  big goals and rewards himself accordingly
• During his reviews, Marc makes sure his
  Collection Points are empty, makes sure each of
  the important people in his life (boss, wife,
  business partners, children and Peter Fitch) are
  being well served
• Marc spends time in prayer or quiet time to see
  if there is anything important for next week
  
• Marc plans out his next weeks important, MUST
  DO, and hope to do Next Actions

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