Time Management Training Ppt

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Time Management

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Learning Objectives

• When you have completed this module you will be able to define the key concepts associated with Time Management and you will be able to:

• Identify the main obstacles to effective Time Management in your daily role

• Understand the nature of Time Management

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Learning Objectives

• Understand a range of tools, techniques and concepts for Time Management

• Use these techniques to build an effective Time Management process that will enhance your productivity and lower your stress

• Explain the benefits of having an effective Time Management process

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Introduction

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Time Management & The Organization

• Looking at time management from the perspective of the organization what are the benefits:

– Improved productivity through improved use of time by the personnel

– Better performance in terms of on time delivery to customers

– Increased profitability through better use of the human and non-human resources

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– Improved planning and control of business systems through time based management

– Better alignment of activities by incorporating a time bound system for co-ordination of tasks and projects in the business

– Reduction of stress that arises due to crisis management by reducing the incidence of crises by better planning

Time Management & The Organization

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Introduction

What is TimeManagement?

What is TimeManagement?

Time as a Commodity

Time as a Commodity

Essential HabitsEssential Habits

Types of TimeTypes of Time

Over & UnderEstimation of Time

Over & UnderEstimation of Time

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What is Time Management?

• Time management has five main aspects:

– Planning & Goal Setting– Managing Yourself– Dealing with Other People– Your Time– Getting Results

– The first 4 all interconnect and interact to generate the fifth - results

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Time as a Commodity

• Time is the most precious thing we have

• Time is ultimately the most valuable resource

• Time and how we spend it within the organization must be managed effectively

• Time is totally perishable

• Time cannot be stored up for use later

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Essential Habits

• Essential habits for good time management are:– Know where the hours are going – Keep focused on the end result – Work to defined priorities – Schedule time for important issues – Delegate routine tasks and responsibility for them – Confront your own indecision and delay – Take the stress out of work – Keep applying the essential habits!

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Types of Time

• Time can be categorized into two types:

– Fast time• when absorbed in, or enjoying an activity

– Slow time• when bored with an activity or having a bad time • when scared

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Over- & Under-estimating Time

• Time for tasks or activities can be over- or under-estimated due to

– Intensity of activity – Level of brain function – Length of gaps between enjoyments – Fear or ecstasy

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Effects of Estimating Time Incorrectly

• Under-estimation of time • Stress due to committing to too many tasks • Poor quality output• Deadlines may be missed

• Over-estimation of time• Stress due to people pressing to have activities

completed • Poor quality output• Deadlines set may not match requirements

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Time Management Principles

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Time Management Principles

Time Management PrinciplesTime Management Principles

Spent Time MatrixSpent Time Matrix

Quadrant 2Quadrant 2

Time-Based Management

Time-Based Management

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Time Management

• Covey identified 4 waves in time management

– 1 Notes and Checklists– Recognition of the demands on energy & time

– 2 Calendars and appointment books– Scheduling with some focus on the future

– 3 Prioritization – Comparison of the relative worth of activities

– 4 Self management– Realization that time cannot be managed - it is ourselves

that we have to manage!

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Covey,1989

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Spent Time Matrix

Q1

Q3

Q2

Q4

CrisesDeadlines

PreventionRelationship BuildingPlanningRecreation

InterruptionsSome MeetingsPopular Activities

Pleasant ActivitiesBusy WorkTime WastersTrivia

Urgent Not Urgent

Important

NotImportant

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Quadrant 1

• Being in Quadrant 1 brings

– Stress

– Burnout

– Crises management

– Firefighting

– Focus on the immediate

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Quadrant 3

• Being in Quadrant 3 brings

– Short term focus

– Crises management

– Low value on goals

– Feeling of victimization / lack of control

– Shallow relationships

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Quadrants 3 & 4

• Cycling between Quadrants 3 & 4 brings:

– Total irresponsibility

– High dependency on others for basics

– Short career path in the organization

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Quadrant 2

• Being in Quadrant 2 brings:– Vision

– Perspective

– Balance

– Discipline

– Control

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Covey,1989

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Characteristics of a Quadrant 2 Person

• There are six basic criteria to allow a person to function in Quadrant 2:

– Coherence– Balance– Focus– An ability to get on with people – Flexibility – Portability

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Quadrant 2 Requirements

The basic requirements to reach Quadrant 2 are:

• Clear definition of organizational roles and specifically your own role

• Selection of and focus on SMART goals

• Development and utilization of schedules

• The practice of daily adapting in work role

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Saying No and Quadrant 2

• To stay within Quadrant 2, there is a requirement that you must say no:

– In a professional manner

– When items are associated with Quadrant 3 or Quadrant 4 activities

• Not important not urgent• Not important but urgent • Will not deliver competitive advantage

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Time-Based Management

• Fundamentals:– Focus is on time and resources

– Pre-analysis of performance

– Analysis of goals and objectives

– Systemization of processes

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Focus on Time & Resources

• For effective management of time there needs to be a reasonable attempt made to look at the time and resources required to complete a task:

• The quality of the outcome is directly influenced by the resources and time constraints involved

Quality

TimeResources

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Pre-Analysis Of Performance

• The ability to learn from past experience allows time management to improve performance

• The discipline of reviewing past performance allows the organization to:– Debug projects before initiation and subsequent waste of

resources – Define critical points in processes which need to have

particular attention paid to them – Improve the overall utilization of resources by capturing and

implementing best practice

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Analysis of Goals & Objectives

• By setting goals that relate to business performance and conform to SMART criteria the organization will improve productivity:

– S -- specific and well defined objectives– M -- measurable outputs and inputs – A -- achievable in terms of resources available

and expectations– R -- relevant to the overall business strategy– T -- time bound with an operational schedule

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Systemization of Processes

• The ability to design and implement processes that allow consistency of

– Input

– Output

– Training and skill transfer

– Consistency allows for time to be gauged accurately for activities which assists in the scheduling aspect of capacity planning in the organization

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Time-based Management

• Need to look at

– Is the allotted time for completion of plans realistic for the person / team?

– In the effort to achieve results, is efficient use made of the available time?

– For teams - how can the time available be used to generate the optimal results?

– Is task-related time management appropriate and realistic in the situation?

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Productive Work

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Productive Work

Busy V’s ProductiveBusy V’s Productive

Indecision & DelayIndecision & Delay

OverworkOverwork

Urgency V ImportanceUrgency V Importance

PrioritizationPrioritization

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Busy Work

• Just because you are busy does not mean that you are productive

• Differentiate between

– Effectiveness -- doing the right things

– Efficiency -- doing the right things correctly

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Busy v Productive Work

• Problem No 1: Procrastination• Putting off doing the things that you should be

doing at this point!

• Solution• List all tasks that you are currently putting off • Remove two from the list by doing them now!• Plan and set a schedule for dealing with the rest • Reward when tasks are completed • Punish when tasks are not completed on schedule

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Dealing with Indecision or Delay

• When faced with a task - decide to deal with it according to one of the following actions:

– Do it

– Delegate it

– Dump it

– Deadline it

– Dissect it

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Busy v Productive Work

• Problem No 2: Paralyzing perfectionism – This is a failure to recognize the difference between

excellence and perfection

• Excellence• Achievable

• Healthy

• Satisfying

• Realistic

• Perfection• Unattainable

• Frustrating

• Unrealistic

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Busy v Productive Work

• Problem No 3: Setting unchallenging objectives – Objectives need to be set that challenge you in a realistic

manner and take heed of resource availability Otherwise you are busy without any possibility of success

• Use SMARTS criteria where the objectives are:– Specific– Measurable– Attainable– Realistic– Time-bound– Supported by the organization

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Overwork

• Overwork can have effects that may be classified as– Psychological– Physiological

• People are overloaded for two main reasons

– The person or team does too much

– The person or team have too much to do

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Overwork

• To deal with over-work, try the following – Understand your pressures – Don’t get worked up or panicked – Don’t blame everything on yourself – Walk away – Estimate time as well as possible – Agree priorities and keep them – Remind yourself that there is a limited

amount of time available to you

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Urgency V Importance

• Differentiating between – Urgent tasks

• assume importance as they demand immediate attention

– Important tasks• May become urgent if left undone • Usually have a long term effect

– To judge importance v urgency, gauge tasks in terms of

• Impact of doing them• Effect of not doing them

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Prioritization Grid

Importance

Urgency

Priority 1Priority 2

Priority 3Priority 4

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Prioritization

• The main aim of prioritization is to avoid a crisis

• To do this then you must

Schedule your Priorities

as opposed to

Prioritizing your Schedule

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Crisis Management

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Crisis Management

Proactive V ReactiveProactive V Reactive

Why Crises OccurWhy Crises Occur

Anticipating & PreventingCrises

Anticipating & PreventingCrises

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Proactive v Reactive Work

• Reactive work - concentrates on getting things done

– Handling daily routines

– Dealing with urgency

– Resolving crises

– Handling interruptions

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Proactive v Reactive Work

• Proactive work - concentrates on making things happen

– Developing plans and schedules

– Focusing on key tasks

– Achieving deadlines & targets

– Managing projects

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Why Crises Occur

• Checklist of reasons:

– Failure to recognize the crisis

– Underestimation of time required

– No contingency plan is ready

– No follow-up on delegated tasks

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Anticipating & Preventing Crises

• The most effective way to anticipate and prevent crises is to:

– Set deadlines and stick with them

– Use interim targets and milestones to break the task or project into manageable chunks

– Build the schedule so that it is realistic

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Planning

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Planning

What is a Plan?What is a Plan?

Information & PlanningInformation & Planning

Time Management SystemsTime Management Systems

Goals & Time SpansGoals & Time Spans

CascadingCascading

The Daily PlanThe Daily Plan

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Planning in Time Management

Rule No 1

Failing to Plan

is Planning to Fail

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What is a Plan?

A plan is a road map set in real time to reach an

objective or set of objectives through the use of defined

resources

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Information & Planning

Essential information:

• You need to know what you have to plan

• Once this is established – Break the task into manageable chunks – Gauge the time required for each chunk – Schedule each chunk into a logical sequence

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Time Management Systems

• There are certain key criteria that need to be applied to a time management system:

– Functional

– Portable

– Intelligible

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Time Management Systems

Pitfalls

• Totally dis-organized ‘system’– Nothing can be located when required

• Perfectly maintained system– Too much time is spent keeping the system

in perfect condition as opposed to actioning the items contained within it

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Time Management Systems

• Key components– Appointments– Dated deadlines– Tasks - to do and work in progress– Ideas and notes– Key task identification– Personal information– Financial planning records– Crises log– Project log– Contact list

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Goals & Time-spans

• A time management system is ineffective if defined goals are not available to work towards

– Strategic Goals - long term goals, perhaps out to five years

– Tactical Goals - medium term goals, from 3 - 12 months ahead

– Operational Goals - short term goals defining the exact action to be taken The schedule may cover hours or days

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Checklist for Goals

• Checklist for Goals– Are they realistic and challenging?

– Have they been agreed with the manager and linked to the performance appraisal system?

– Do you know what it will look like when you have achieved the goal (visualization)?

– Are the goals important to you?

– Is there a time bound aspect to the goals?

– Are the goals SMART?

– What will the reward be once the goals have been achieved?

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Cascading

• Planning levels should cascade as follows:– Yearly overview plan

– Monthly Plan

– Weekly Plan

– Daily Plan• Note that in the cascade, the time span decreases whereas the

level of complexity increases

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The Daily Plan

• The Daily Plan should cover three main areas:

– Scheduled activities for the day showing time allocated to each

– Identification of key tasks for the day to allow them to be prioritized

– Indication of who you need to contact during the day to allow you to complete tasks

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The Daily Plan

• When setting out the daily plan pay attention to the following points:– When do you perform best, suit your bio-

rhythm

– Build in planning time at the start and end of the day

– Prioritize actions into ‘musts, shoulds and coulds and focus on the ‘musts’

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The Daily Plan

• Guidelines continued– Leave room for unexpecteds

– Don’t stack meetings back to back

– Batch telephone calls

– Build in quality time

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Tips & Techniques

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Tips & Techniques

Time LogsTime Logs

Quality TimeQuality Time

Managing DocumentsManaging Documents

Managing InterruptionsManaging Interruptions

Managing WorkspaceManaging Workspace

Managing your PhoneManaging your Phone

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Time-logs

• A time-log is an effective way to see where your time actually goes to during the working day Record the information for about 2 weeks to get a representative picture of time spent

• By logging activities and the time taken to complete them, the time-log provides useful information that can identify

• Accuracy of estimating time for tasks• Time stealing activities• Level of interruption• Loading during the day • Crises points / tasks

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Quality Time

• Quality time is where you can plan to do the most important high priority tasks

• It allows for deep concentration through eliminating interruptions

• It imposes a structure on work

• It allows you to move away from reactive work to proactive work

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Dealing with Documents

• Document handling can steal a vast quantity of time from our working day

• Improve your document handling by:• Handling documents only once by :

– Act on what is required by the document

– File the document for reference later

– Dump the document

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Dealing with Documents

• Have a good system for handling your documents that allows you to:

– Define what you need to keep and for how long

– Allows you to file materials easily and logically

– Facilitates access to materials

– Purge the files on a regular basis

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Managing Interruptions

• Try to reduce the number of interruptions by applying the following techniques:

• Create a visual barrier at your workspace to reduce the incidence of ‘drop-in’ visits

• Don’t have extra chairs in your workspace - people do not hang around as long if they must stand

• For important work - move to another space so the potential interruptors can’t find you!

• Tell people that you are busy, explain why and arrange to contact them at a more suitable time

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Managing Your Workspace

• How our workspace is organized has an impact on how efficient we are - try the following to improve efficiency

– De-clutter your desk by clearing it at the end of each working day

– File documents once they have been used

– Purge files regularly

– Organize a work flow system in your space

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Managing Your Phone

• The telephone can be responsible for eating vast quantities of time - control the phone by using:

– Batch your outward calls

– Delegate calls that you don’t have to make personally to one of your team

– Terminate calls once the business has been done

– Set up a rota in your team for handling incoming calls

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Summary

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Summary

• Have a great planning system and use it

• Take on realistic goals an schedule accurately

• Do not over-commit

• Set and agree priorities to distinguish between urgent and important tasks

• Build in some flexibility to cope with anything unexpected

• Control your documents, workspace and phone

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Summary

• Don’t procrastinate – Manage Your Time Today

• Define and use periods of quality time in your schedule

• Learn to say No in a professional manner

• Stay away from perfectionism and aim for excellence

• Build in time for personal development