Planning, prioritising and efficiency
Facilitated by Ian J Seath
V2
Today’s workshop…
Learning objectives: • To enable participants to become more proactive and use a
range of techniques to prioritise, plan and control workloads more effectively
• To commit to a personal improvement action plan
Explore:• The difference between “important” and “urgent”, and how to deal
with each• The “time stealers” – what they are and how to avoid them• What is “quality time” and how you can create it• Dealing with the e-mail mountain – the 4 Ds
Let’s talk about time…
The Earth has been in existence ~4.54 billion years.
The Human Race (as we know it) has existed for about 5 million years
If one hour represents the earth’s existence, we have been around for 6 seconds!
Let’s talk about time…
A year on Pluto lasts 247.7 earth years
An Earth year lasts 365.26 days
An Earth day lasts 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4091 seconds
How long is a working day?
How effectively do we use our working day?
Could we use our working time better by working smarter?
Think small and the results could be big
A 10% improvement in your use of time could free 6 minutes in every hour…= 45 minutes a day= 3.75 hours or
half a day per week
45 MINUTES PER DAY 3.75 HOURS A WEEK
A minute of your time costs…
9 pence per £10k of salary (excluding NI/PAYE) Assuming 37.5 hours/week and 48 weeks per year
Time to be honest?
Do you waste time? Do you waste other
people’s time? Do you spend time
on the things you should?
Do you take time out to reflect on how you should spend your time
Where are you starting from?
Time Management Self-Assessment
Step 1: By yourself, rate the 30 statements and calculate your score
Step 2: By yourself, identify 3 or 4 key issues arising
Step 3: In your group, share and prioritise the key issues
Step 4: Present your findings
Activity vs. Action
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
Perfection vs. Excellence
Urgency vs. Importance
Activity vs. Action
ACTIVITY
Being busy Too many jobs at once
Unplanned approach
Helping everyone with their problems
Not delegating enough
ACTION
Getting things done Completing jobs, even if it
means one job at a time and finishing it
Recognising priorities
Able to say no
Using others to get things done
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
EFFICIENCY
Doing things right
EFFECTIVENESS
Doing the right things
Wrong things - Right things
Wrong things Desire to make an impression Involved in everything Blaming others
Right things Wanting to achieve results Delegating and not interfering Working out how we will collaborate and work
together
Perfection vs. Excellence
PERFECTION Work planning
preventing work Too much detail Too high standards Need to be seen to
suffer for the organisation (arrive early, stay late)
EXCELLENCE Enough planning to make
the best use of time Enough detail to achieve
objectives Time allocated for
priorities Need to work hard and
still have your own life
Urgency vs. Importance
HIGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPORTANCE
URGENCY
List the priority of each quadrantand decide what proportion of your time you should allocate to each
HIGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPORTANCE
URGENCY
The priority of each quadrant…
3Distraction?
2Plan
4Waste!
1Manage
HIGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPORTANCE
URGENCY
Exercise: Urgency vs. Importance
Identify 10-15 “things to do” from your current workWrite each one on the Urgency/ Importance grid…Do them in the sequence you suggested!
4 Steps for Time Management
1. Record your use of time now
2. Analyse how you spend your time
3. Do something about it
4. Repeat your Time Log
For how long should you record your time?
One day? One week? Several weeks? One month? Several months? One year?Log your
activities as they happen, not at the end of each
day
Time Log Example:DAY ____________________________ DATE __________________________________
Describe what happens in detail - the subject of meetings, phone calls, letters, reading, conversations. Note the duration of each activity. Include any other relevant comments which will help your analysis.
Time Activity Duration Comments
Time Log Example:Categorised by Results that have to be achieved
Project XProject
YTask A Task B Task C
Staff Comm
Staff Devp.
etc. etc.
9.009.30
10.0010.3011.0011.3012.0012.3013.0013.3014.0014.3015.0015.3016.0016.3017.0017.30
Time Log Example:Categorised by types of work/activity done
Time Activity MTG 1-1s TRG TEL PS RDG WRT PC TRV OTH
KEY:MTG = Meeting 1-1s = 1-1 Discussions TRG = TrainingTEL = Telephone PS = Problem Solving RDG = ReadingWRT = Writing PC = Computer TRV = TravelOth = Other
Pareto Principle: The 80:20 Rule
20% of the time leads to 80% of the results
20% 80%
TIME RESULTS
How to analyse your Time Log
How much of your time was spent:
Activity Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Total %
Planning
In Meetings
Beinginterrupted
Telephoning
Writing
Travelling
Time Log AnalysisTime Time
Invested est. act.
Activity % EffectivenessHow can I handle it
more effectivelynext time ?
Put first things first
Schedule your priorities,not prioritise your schedule
If something is reallyimportant, make the time for it
Scenario – where are the time stealers? Ian gets into his office, starts his computer and logs on to
check his e-mails. After 10 minutes he has a quick look through his Twitter stream and checks his Facebook page. He then spends 30 minutes preparing the first part of a report which is due tomorrow. After attending a 45 minute meeting he grabs a cup of coffee and chats with some colleagues. Back at his desk he notices he has 5 new e-mails which he decides to read and he replies to 2 of them. Returning to his report he spends 10 minutes collecting his thoughts and another 30 minutes writing before deciding it’s nearly time to break for lunch. He makes a couple of quick ‘phone calls, then goes off for lunch.
Time stealers
1. Procrastination/indecision
2. Ineffective meetings
3. Interruptions - visitors, telephone, e-mail
4. “Never say no”
5. Lack of delegation
6. Lack of planning before starting tasks
7. Waiting time - between meetings
8. Starting too many things and not finishing them
9. Changing priorities
10. Communication failures
11. Unclear responsibilities
12. Unnecessary Travelling
etc.
Dealing with your time stealers
• Step 1 - Individually, select the top 3 time stealers that affect you, day-in and day-out
• Step 2 - Share your thoughts with the group
• Step 3 - As a group, identify and share some possible solutions
What is “quality time”?
• A person’s average uninterrupted time at work is usually less than 10 minutes!
• Respect your colleagues’ quality time by not interrupting them unnecessarily!
Creating quality time
How often do you… Frequently
Occasionally
Seldom
Never
Have trouble finding things on your desk?
Procrastinate & delay tasks? Get side-tracked with conversations with other people about non-work topics?
Get side-tracked by reading ‘interesting’ rather than ‘important’ information?
Catch yourself day-dreaming? Jump from task to task without finishing anything?
If you have answered “YES” to any of the questions, you are guilty of interrupting
“YOURSELF”
Dealing with the e-mail (or paperwork) mountain
Is dependent on….
1.The number of items received
2.The number of times you pick up/shuffle the same item without positive action
The four Ds…
Do it
Delegate it
Delay it
Dump it
Does it require action?
No action?
The 2 minute rule
Less than 2 minutes? Do it
More than 2 minutes? Delegate it Delay it
Delegate it…
“Tell me what you want me to do and why,
then let me get
on with it.
If I make a mess of it, coach me so I know
where I went wrong.
But, don’t fuss !!!”
A Subordinate’s Prayer
Delegation - Brief those involved• What is to be done?• What has already been done?• Why is it being done?• When is it to be done by?• What the output should be?• What standards are expected?
…..and check back for understanding
If it doesn’t require you to DO something…
Dump it File it“I might need this later”
Exercise: Managing your time - ideas
Individually, identify which of the following practical guidelines you would want to subscribe to?
Place a tick against all of those you want to do something about (hold these and any other ideas for your personal action planning)
Practical guidelines (1)
1. Think first, then act. It is always more effective to plan your time than to react to events.
2. Make a “Flying Start” to the day - get going with a task you can accomplish.
3. Have a daily routine where you plan specific times for routine activities such as meetings.
4. Have a daily “To Do” List. Prioritise items into “musts”, “shoulds” and “coulds”, e.g. A, B, C. Don’t overload your day. Build in some flexibility. Review your achievements each day.
5. Do things which need most effort at times when you know you will be at your best, mentally.
6. Don’t procrastinate. Doing the unpleasant task will make you feel less stressed. Tasks rarely get more pleasant by being postponed.
7. Have deadlines for your tasks and stick to them.
8. Try ignoring things which aren’t important - many “urgent problems” may simply disappear.
9. Analyse, plan and act to reduce your interruptions
Practical guidelines (2)
10. Do one thing at a time - finish jobs that you start, if possible.
11. Arrange “do not disturb” times for yourself.
12. Take regular breaks to ensure that you don’t become stale or over-stressed.
13. Keep all your ideas, plans, appointments, etc. in one place. Don’t become a “Time Fanatic” who is a slave to forms and systems.
14. Say “no” if you can’t do something or aren’t the right person.
15. Don’t take work home unless you definitely will do something with it.
16. Analyse your use of time regularly. Compare it with earlier time analyses.
17. Avoid interrupting colleagues by planning fixed meetings with them.
18. Plan your telephone calls for maximum effectiveness - group several calls together.
19. Go for excellence, not perfection. Perfection takes too long !
PERSONAL ACTION PLANS
Say it, see it, write it…
Identify from all of today’s inputs and colleagues’ ideas, what you plan to do differently
Be specific and ensure the improvements are measurable
Be prepared to share your plan with the group
Do it…
Facilitated by Ian J Seath
07850 728506
@ianjseath
uk.linkedin.com/in/ianjseath
