Managing the Time of Your Life



AGENDA

I. Welcome and Introductions

II. Assumptions About Time… A Quiz

III. Time Wasters

A. Ranking Time Wasters

B. Managing the FOUR Greatest Time Wasters

IV. Prioritizing

A. Urgency Exercise

B. Putting First Things First

C. Tips for Prioritizing

V. Procrastination

A. Why People Procrastinate

B. Overcoming Procrastination

VI. Delegating

A. How Do You Score as a Delegator?

B. Guidelines for Successful Delegation

VII. Tips for Saying “No” to Unfair Requests

VIII. 5 Time Management Tips

Assumptions About Time

|1. |If you really try, you can probably find many ways to save time. |T F |

|2. |Being busy and active is the best way to get the most done. |T F |

|3. |People who concentrate on doing things efficiently are also the people who are the most effective. |T F |

|4. |Most of the ordinary day-to-day activities do not need to be planned and you probably can’t plan them anyway. |T F |

|5. |Without exception, the more hours you spend on your job the more you will accomplish. |T F |

|6. |Time management is an opportunity that can be developed into a talent, translated into a commodity, and sold for a price on the |T F |

| |open market. | |

|7. |Taking an audit of how your time is spent induces you to use your time wisely. |T F |

|8. |Effective supervisors help their subordinates organize their time, thereby enabling the supervisors to delegate some of their |T F |

| |work to the subordinates. | |

|9. |Often a sense of inadequacy is the root of an administrator’s time problem. |T F |

|10. |No one ever has enough time. |T F |

Time is money – Spend it wisely!

Common Time Wasters

Please rank your personal time wasters from 1 to 10 with 1 being the most common.

1. Telephone interruptions _______

2. Drop-In Visitors _______

3. Meetings _______

4. Crisis Management _______

5. Lack of Objectives, Priorities, Daily Plan _______

6. Cluttered Office/Paperwork _______

7. Ineffective Delegation _______

8. Inability To Say "No" _______

9. Lack of or Unclear Communication _______

10. Lack Of Self-Discipline _______

Managing the FOUR Greatest

Time Wasters

PAPERWORK

❑ Delegate for efficiency

❑ Handle each piece only once

❑ Have a "signing time"

❑ Use form letters

❑ Be selective in what you keep

❑ Make use of voice mail or e-mail

INTERRUPTIONS

❑ Don't make the office too comfortable

❑ Face the desk away from the door

❑ Have a "return call time"

❑ Be honest about your schedule

MEETINGS

❑ Call one ONLY when necessary

❑ Be realistic about the time frames

❑ Get to the point and stay on task

❑ Plan a lunch meeting

❑ Stick to the schedule and end on time

"WORRY TIME"

❑ Conquer procrastination

❑ Be more decisive

Urgency Exercise

Please circle the number along the matrix that most closely represents your normal behavior or attitude regarding each of the statements below (0=Never, 2=Sometimes, 4=Always).

N S A

1. I seem to do my best work under pressure. 0 1 2 3 4

2. I often blame the rush and press of external things for my

failure to spend deep introspective time with myself. 0 1 2 3 4

3. I'm often frustrated by the people and things around me.

I hate to stand or wait in line. 0 1 2 3 4

4. I feel guilty when I take time off from work. 0 1 2 3 4

5. I always seem to be rushing between places and events. 0 1 2 3 4

6. I frequently find myself pushing people away so that

I can finish a project. 0 1 2 3 4

7. I feel anxious when I am out of touch with the office for

more than a few minutes. 0 1 2 3 4

8. I'm often preoccupied with one thing when I'm doing

something else. 0 1 2 3 4

9. I'm at my best when I'm handling a crisis situation. 0 1 2 3 4

10. The adrenaline rush from a new crisis seems more

Satisfying. 0 1 2 3 4

11. I often give up quality time with important people in

my life to handle a crisis. 0 1 2 3 4

12. I assume people will naturally understand if I have to

disappear or let things go in order to handle a crisis. 0 1 2 3 4

13. I rely on solving some crisis to give my day a sense of

meaning and purpose. 0 1 2 3 4

14. I often eat lunch or other meals while I work. 0 1 2 3 4

15. I keep thinking that someday I'll be able to do what I

really want to do. 0 1 2 3 4

16. A huge stack in my "out" basket at the end of the day

makes me feel like I've been productive. 0 1 2 3 4

ADD THE TOTAL POINTS ______

Put First Things First

From the 7 habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

□ DO what is important and urgent.

□ SCHEDULE and Do what is important but not urgent.

□ DELEGATE what is NOT important but urgent.

□ DROP from your life what is NOT important or urgent.

|Importa|Urgent | |Not Urgent |

|nt | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| |I | |II |

| |Important and Urgent | |Important, but Not Urgent |

| |DO | |SCHEDULE & DO |

| |Crises | |Relationship Building |

| |Pressing problems | |Prospecting |

| |Deadline-driven projects | |Speech Preparation |

| | | |Planning |

| | | |Exercise & recreation |

| | | | |

|Not |III | |IV |

|Importa| | | |

|nt | | | |

| | Urgent but Not Important | |Not Important & Not Urgent |

| |DELEGATE | |DROP |

| |Interuptions | |Trivia, busy work |

| |Some calls & mail | |Gossip & chit chat |

| |Some meetings | |Some mail & calls |

| |Dirty wash & dishes | |Social Media |

| |Some "popular" activities | |TV Watching |

| | | | |

The Time Management Matrix

"Things that matter most must

never be at the mercy of things which matter least."

Tips for Prioritizing

✓ Clarify Goals

✓ Understand the Cause and Effect Relationship of What Is To Be Accomplished

✓ Have a Due Date and Time Estimate

✓ Review Long Range Goals Daily

✓ Write A Plan for Each Week

✓ Set Up A Coding System to Identify the Items of Urgency

✓ Record and Analyze

NOTES:

Why People Procrastinate

← LOW SELF-ESTEEM - Fears about meeting others' expectations.

← OVERWHELMING WORK - Task may be difficult and intimidating.

← POOR PRIORITIZATION - Smaller, easier or more enjoyable tasks are handled first.

← INDECISION - Fear of making the wrong decision.

NOTES:

Overcoming Procrastination

❖ Identify the concern behind low self-esteem procrastination. Prepare an action plan to deal with it.

❖ Schedule unpleasant work for very early in the day and don't get side tracked.

❖ Set a deadline and share your commitment with others.

❖ Reward yourself when it gets done on time.

❖ Break difficult tasks into subsets.

❖ Find a task to get you started that is fairly easy. Even turning on the computer may be a step.

NOTES:

How Do You Score as a Delegator?

| | |YES |NO |

|1. |Do you make sure your employees are trained and able to handle an assignment before giving it to them? | | |

| | |_____ |_____ |

|2. |Do you carefully define the limits of your staff's authority and responsibility and make sure they are | | |

| |fully understood? |_____ |_____ |

|3. |Do you give your staff the responsibility for making certain decisions, and then overrule those decisions when | | |

| |you think you can do it better? |_____ |_____ |

|4. |Do you trust your employees and work to instill in them the confidence they need to handle emergency situations| | |

| |on their own? |_____ |_____ |

|5. |Do you make sure your staff gets all the information you have on a project when making job assignments? | | |

| | |_____ |_____ |

|6. |When staff members' decisions turn out wrong, do you let them take the blame, even though final accountability | | |

| |rests with you? |_____ |_____ |

|7. |Do you have a system of follow-up that lets you know how smoothly things are going without constantly peering | | |

| |over shoulders? |_____ |_____ |

|8. |When a member of your staff make a poor decision, do you criticize them rather than help them figure out what | | |

| |went wrong, then help them correct it? |_____ |_____ |

|9. |When members of your staff find it difficult to make a decision, do you help them work it out for | | |

| |themselves rather than just giving them the "right answer"? |_____ |_____ |

|10. |If staff members make a mistake, do you show your trust by giving them a second chance? | | |

| | |_____ |_____ |

Guidelines for Successful Delegation

1. Explain why the job is important.

2. Specify desired results.

3. Identify guidelines/limits of authority.

4. Identify available resources.

5. Define accountability and consequences.

6. Ask for feedback/schedule "check-in".

Tips On Saying "No" To Unfair Requests

□ Be sure where you stand, i.e., whether you want to say yes or no. If not sure, say you need time to think it over and let the person know when you will have an answer.

□ Ask for clarification if you don't fully understand what is requested of you.

□ Be as brief as possible, i.e., give a legitimate reason for your refusal, but avoid long explanations and justifications. Such excuses may be used by the other person to argue you out of your "no".

□ Actually use the word "no" when declining. "No" has more power and is less ambiguous than, "Well, I just don't think so…"

□ Make sure your nonverbal gestures mirror your verbal messages. Shake your head when saying "no". Often people unknowingly nod their heads and smile when they are attempting to decline or refuse.

□ You may have to decline several times before the person hears you. It is not necessary to come up with a new explanation each time, just repeat your "no" and your original reason for declining.

□ Avoid feeling guilty - it is not up to you to solve others' problems or make them happy.

□ If you do not want to agree to the person's original request, but still desire to help her/him out, offer a compromise: "I will not be able to work on the project this morning, but I will be able to first thing this afternoon".

□ You can change your mind and say "no" to a request you originally said "yes" to. All of the above applies to your change of mind, but provide a sufficient explanation.

Bob Harris, Trainer/Speaker

6504 Surfside Blvd., Suite 100

Apollo Beach, FL 33572

Phone : (813) 368-8710

E-mail: rlhtrainer@

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