Time Management

1
Time Management

• Dont be fooled by the calendar. There are only
  as many days in the year as you make use of. One
  man gets only a weeks value out of a year while
  another gets a full years value out of a week.
  (Charles Richards)

2
Why We Fail to Plan

• We would rather do than think
• We dont have time
• We cant control our time
• Why bother, because plans always change?

3
Plan Your Time

• Work and leisure
• How much time will each activity require?
• When will I do each activity?
• How much flexibility must I allow for the
  unexpected things I cant control?

4
90th Birthday Exercise

• Imagine you are surrounded by family and friends
  at your 90th birthday party. People from many
  aspects of your life are there to honor you.
  Think about what people would say. Think about
  your roles in life and what their tribute
  statement would be
• Role
• Tribute

5
If Money Were No Object

• Think of what you would do with your life if you
  could do whatever you wanted to do. If it didnt
  matter how much money you made, how would you
  spend your time? What do you really enjoy doing?
• The minute you begin to do what you want to do,
  its really a different kind of life.
  (Buckminster Fuller)

6
Seven Goal Areas of Life

• Career
• Financial
• Social
• Mental
• Spiritual
• Family
• Physical

7
How to Establish SMART Goals

• Specific Write down exactly what you want to
  accomplish.
• Measurable Come up with a way to know that you
  have succeeded.
• Achievable Make sure its within reach.
• Realistic What steps are necessary to be
  successful?
• Timed What is your deadline? Pick a date.

8
Weekly Planning

• Invest 15 to 30 minutes in planning for the next
  week
• Think of each role as you plan
• Recover at least one hour a day per week
• Do your planning when your mind is its sharpest

9
Setting Priorities
URGENT
NO
YES

YES
QII PLANNING
QI CRISIS
IMPORTANT

QIII TRIVIA WORK
QIV TIME WASTING WORK
NO
Source Stephen Covey
10
QI Important Urgent

• Crisis mode
• Putting out fires
• These are things that most of us have little
  trouble getting done
• Urgency often forces us into action
• Causes stress and burnout

11
Setting Priorities
URGENT
NO
YES

YES
QII PLANNING
QI CRISIS
IMPORTANT

QIII TRIVIA WORK
QIV TIME WASTING WORK
NO
Source Stephen Covey
12
QIII Not Important Urgent

• Trivia work
• Interruptions by others
• Feeling of accomplishment
• Short term focus
• Does not accomplish worthwhile goals

13
Setting Priorities
URGENT
NO
YES

YES
QII PLANNING
QI CRISIS
IMPORTANT

QIII TRIVIA WORK
QIV TIME WASTING WORK
NO
Source Stephen Covey
14
QIV Not Important Not Urgent

• Time wasting work
• Busy work
• Feeling of accomplishment
• Does not accomplish worthwhile goals
• Give these activities a waiting period
• After waiting period throw them out

15
Setting Priorities
URGENT
NO
YES

YES
QII PLANNING
QI CRISIS
IMPORTANT

QIII TRIVIA WORK
QIV TIME WASTING WORK
NO
Source Stephen Covey
16
QII Important But Not Urgent

• Planning
• Prevention of future crises
• Relationship building
• Long term focus
• Often objects of procrastination
• Spending more time in QII results in less time in
  QI and QIII

17
Setting Priorities
URGENT
NO
YES

YES
QII PLANNING
QI CRISIS
IMPORTANT

QIII TRIVIA WORK
QIV TIME WASTING WORK
NO
Source Stephen Covey
18
Focus on the Big Rocks

• QII activities are Big Rocks do first
• QI, QIII, and QIV activities are Little Rocks

QII
QII
QII
QII
QII
QII
QII
19
Types of Planning Guides

• Calendars
• To Do lists
• Weekly planning guides
• Palm Pilots
• Experiment and do what works for you

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Running To Do Lists

• Whenever you think of something you need to do,
  add it to your Running To Do list
• Assign a due date to the task
• Periodically review this list and prioritize
• Free yourself from worry that you will forget
  about a task
• Eliminate little slips of paper
• Be sure to remember to check your Running To Do
  list

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Prioritize Activities Using ABC

• A High value
• B Medium value
• C Low value

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Prioritize Within ABC Categories

• A1 Go to the bank
• A2 Work on annual sales forecast
• A3 Work on Michelin presentation for next week
• B1 Write thank you note to Jenny
• B2 Do expense report
• B3 Filing

• C1 Do daily crossword puzzle
• C2 Return shoes to Belks (have receipt)
• C3 Get oil changed
• C4 Sort through junk mail

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ABC Categories (continued)

• Cs can become Bs Bs can become As
• Example neglecting an oil change can become
  urgent
• Think of Important/Urgent matrix when doing
  planning
• As and Bs could be QII

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How to Schedule

• Planning is an intention scheduling is more like
  a commitment
• Plan for interruptions
• Schedule quiet time
• Schedule family/personal time using one calendar
  to avoid double-booking
• Dont forget the Big Rocks
• Group like activities
• Develop a list of Instant Tasks that can be
  accomplished in five minutes of less
• Make use of waiting time

25
Procrastination - We Do
It To Avoid

• Unpleasant things
• Difficult things
• Tough decisions
• Upsetting others

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Facts About Procrastination

• It is the 1 factor in stress
• We can only blame ourselves
• Perfectionists often procrastinate
• We keep busy doing low priority tasks instead
  of the important ones

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Beat Procrastination With the Salami Technique

• Divide a large project into several smaller
  chunks (or tasks)
• Smaller tasks are less overwhelming
• Establish due dates for each task
• Use of smaller tasks helps you to resist the
  feeling that one large block of time is needed to
  complete the project
• Work on smaller tasks when you have extra time
  available

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More Ways to Beat Procrastination

• Start with a small task and build enthusiasm
• Dont be a perfectionist
• Delegate
• Analyze why you put things off
• Promise yourself a reward
• Just get started and keep going

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Reactivity vs. Proactivity
S
R
S
R
Freedom to Choose how you react
Reactivity
Proactivity
Knee-jerk reaction
Think before you act
Use ability to reason
Can result in poor choices
Source Stephen Covey
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Circle of Influence/Concern
Circle of Influence
Circle of Concern Reactivity
Worry about things you cant control
Source Stephen Covey
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Circle of Influence
Circle of Influence has expanded due to
Proactivity
Focus on what you CAN control
Circle of Concern
Source Stephen Covey
32
How to Handle Interruptions

• Keep records of interruptions to identify
  patterns
• Are there certain people who interrupt your work?
• Are there particular times of day when you are
  interrupted?
• Train yourself to get right back to work after
  the interruption
• Let the phone ring (voice mail will answer)

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How to Handle the Office Visitor

• Arrange furniture so that you dont face the door
  or traffic flow
• Make visitor chairs unavailable
• Stand up to indicate a conversation is finished
• Summarize conversation as you walk toward the
  door
• Politely explain you have a deadline to meet

34
How to Handle
Long-Winded Phone Calls

• Stand up
• Recap the conversation
• Recap with action statement
• Politely explain you have a deadline to meet

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How to Use Communications
Technology

• Save time by leaving a voice mail message when a
  person is likely to be out
• Save time and reach multiple people by sending
  email
• Send email messages ONLY to the people who have a
  need for the information

36
How to Manage Email

• Delete
• Follow-up for action later
• File in a specific reference folder
• If you are not sure what to do with a message,
  file it in a hold folder
• Periodically review items in hold folder and
  delete those that are more than a few weeks old

37
How to Manage Clutter

• Clutter Law Clutter expands to fill the space
  available
• Clutter takes valuable time and energy
• Some estimates indicate we spend as much as 6
  weeks a year looking for things
• Make a habit of putting things away on a daily
  basis
• Set aside time on a regular basis to deal with
  clutter if things are out of control

38
How to Manage Paper

• Think of your time planner as a CPU
• Never operate your life from a stack of paper,
  but from a prioritized task list
• Try to handle a piece of paper only once
• Paper should be Trash, Things to be Filed, Action
  items, or Things to Read

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Time Management Quotes

• Make your life a mission not an intermission.
  (Arnold Glascow)
• Successful people have the habit of doing things
  failures dont like to do. They dont like doing
  them either, necessarily, but their disliking is
  subordinated to the strength of their purpose.
  (Albert Gray)
• Even if youre on the right track, you will get
  run over if you just sit there. (Will Rogers)

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More Time Management Quotes

• Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time,
  for that is the stuff life is made of. (Benjamin
  Franklin)
• Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter
  of choice it is not a thing to be waited for it
  is a thing to be achieved. (William Jennings
  Bryan)
• The reason most major goals are not achieved is
  that we spend our time doing second things first.
  (Robert J. McKain)
• You cant escape the responsibility of tomorrow
  by evading it today. (Abraham Lincoln)
• You cant build a reputation on what you are
  going to do. (Henry Ford)

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More Time Management Quotes

• There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently
  that which should not be done at all. (Peter F.
  Drucker)
• Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission
  in life everyone must carry out a concrete
  assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he
  cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.
  Thus, everyones task is as unique as his
  specific opportunity to implement it. (Viktor
  Frankl)

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Final Thoughts on Time Management

• The (vital) task rarely must be done today, or
  even this week. The urgent task calls for
  instant action. The momentary appeal of these
  tasks seems irresistible and they devour our
  energy. But, in the light of times perspective,
  their deceptive dominance fades. With a sense of
  loss, we recall the vital task we pushed aside.
  We realize weve become slaves to the tyranny of
  the urgent. (Charles E. Hummell)
• The key is not to prioritize whats on your
  schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
  (Stephen Covey)