Transcript Document

Time Management
Building Connections:
Community Leadership
Program
Improving Lives. Improving Texas.
Where does your time go?
 Using the handout provided, allocate
where your time goes each week
and then answer the following
questions:
What activities do you spend the least
amount of time?
What activities do you spend the most
amount of time?
Does the amount of time you spend on
activities reflect what you value?
What if…
What would you do if you had 2
extra hours each day? How would
you spend those 2 extra hours?
Why haven’t you made time for
this before?
“Theory” behind time
management
You only have so many hours
available in a day, so many weeks
in a year, and so many years in
your lifetime…what happens if you
don’t spend your time wisely?
Time
Life is really about how you spend
your time and where you place
your priorities.
The key to time management is
NOT to work harder than everyone
else. The key is to work smarter.
Work smarter…how do I do
that?
• To work smarter than everyone
else, you must determine what’s
important in your life through
visioning, writing goals, and taking
action toward achieving those
goals.
Approaches to Time
Management
There are three approaches to
time management.
First approach – increase amount of
available time each day.
Second approach – do more work in
available time – pack more work in
your day
Third approach – do only the
important work in the time you have
available
What’s wrong with the
approaches?
First approach – you will stretch
yourself thin – will likely result in
fatigue, lack of efficiency, and
even depression in the work cases
Second approach – doing more
work will result in high amounts of
stress (feeling as if you can never
get everything done) and burnout
Approaches cont…
Third approach – this approach is
the most effective way of
managing time
Forces you to prioritize tasks to be
completed during your work day
So, where do I start?
The first step of effective time
management is to decide where your
priorities are.
This is often the most difficult task of
all and takes the most time!
Stephen Covey’s time
management matrix
Covey designed a time
management matrix to help people
manage themselves through
prioritizing tasks
YOU have to decide what is
important for you to do
YOU have to decide which things
are urgent and what can wait
Matrix
URGENT
I
IMPORTANT
Crises
Pressing problems
Deadline driven projects
III
NOT
IMPORTANT
Interruptions
Many pressing matters
Some phone calls
Some mail
Some email
Some reports
Some meetings
Many popular activities
NOT URGENT
II
Prevention
Preparation
Relationship building
Recognizing new
opportunities
Planning
Values clarification
True recreation
IV
Trivia
Busywork
Some phone calls
Junk mail
Time wasters
Escape activities
Quadrant I – Urgent &
Important
These activities should take first
priority
The activities in this quadrant
need to be dealt with immediately
and they are important
In the long term, time spent here
should be reduced with prevention
and preparation (Quadrant II)
Quadrant II – Not Urgent but
Important
The activities in this quadrant
need to be the FOCUS!!!
You should begin to prioritize the
activities that fall into this category
If you are currently spending very
little time here, begin slowly and
build upon it
Quadrant III –Urgent and Not
Important
The activities in this quadrant are
often the result of someone else’s
sense of urgency
If you allow your priorities to fall
here, you will feel rushed to get
things done, followed by a lack of
satisfaction
These tasks are distractions!
Quadrant IV – Not Urgent and
Not Important
Activities in this quadrant are
simply a waste of time
Should strive to minimize the
amount of time you spend on
activities falling into quadrant IV
Now it’s your turn
• Use the blank matrix and write in
your own specific activities
10 Guidelines for Effective
Time Management
1. Plan ahead – must be able to plan
and follow through with the plan
2. Schedule leisure activities – schedule
in blocks of time for your family,
friends, exercise, etc. If you don’t,
you likely will spend little time doing
these activities
3. Under-promise and over deliver – set
due dates that are not just meetable
but beatable. Get your work done
early!
10 Guidelines for Effective
Time Management
4. Break big jobs into manageable
chunks – break big projects into small
tasks and set deadlines for
completing the tasks.
5. Keep track of your progress – If your
timeline is no longer realistic, make
sure your schedule allows for “work in
progress”
6. Delegate whatever you can – if the
job can be completed by someone
else or with their help –
DELEGATE!!!!
10 Guidelines for Effective
Time Management
7. Establish parameters for saying
“NO” – learn what projects you
should say yes to and which
ones someone else should have
the opportunity to do
8. Make and follow a list of priorities
– maintain a list or lists of your
priorities. Check your progress
each day
10 Guidelines for Effective
Time Management
9. Group tasks according to the
skills required – try doing the
tasks that are most difficult when
you are at your best
10. Keep your eyes open for
shortcuts – learn and incorporate
new and better ways of doing
things
•
From the book “Beat Stress with Strength,” by Stephanie
Spera and Sandra Lanto
Final Thoughts…
Great time management is one of
the most important skills a person
can develop – it takes practice to
effectively manage your time
Remember…what’s important to
you may not be important to
someone else – they are your
priorities – and only you need to
follow them