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Simplify Your WorkTime Management for Work Success

Defining Time

Management

• Effective• Organized• Productive• Less Stressed• Happier

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Time Management at Work

1. Uninterrupted Downtime

2. Uninterrupted Working

3. Doing Planned Tasks4. Dealing with

Interruptions5. Operating in Crisis

Mode

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Develop Personal Time Awareness

• Categorize your activities

• Count up your total

THEN

• Make the changes you need to in order to:

spend more time in the positive categoriesspend less time in the negative categories

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Time Management Styles

1.Procrastinator2.Pleaser3.Loafer4.Prioritizer

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ProcrastinatorDefinition

• Thrives on pressure

• Focuses on urgent matters – no control over your time.

• Postpones tasks

Causes

• Laziness• Anxiety about

tasks• Fear of failing• Perfectionism• Boredom• Avoid tasks you

dislike/find difficult

• Inability to prioritize

• Unsure of what’s required

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ProcrastinatorEffects

• Not meeting deadlines

• Operate in crisis mode

• Mediocre ouput• Guilt, stress,

panic• Dissatisfied

colleagues, clients and supervisors

Overcome this Habit

• Recognize this habit

• Set standards and goals

• Get organized• Practise the ‘10-

minute rule’• Break down the

tasks• Tackle difficult

tasks first• One thing at a

time• Reward yourself• Ensure you have

the right resources

• When stuck, don’t stop

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PleaserDefinition

• Hard time saying ‘No’.

• Likes to please others.

• Important that others like you.

• Spends too much time on activities that are important to others, but not to you

Causes

• Fear rejection

• Seek acceptance

• Poor self esteem

• Personal values

• Uncertain how to assert yourself

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PleaserEffects

• Others disrespect and take advantage of you

• Struggle to finish own tasks

• Mediocre output

• Feel devalued and drained (‘doormat’)

• Panic, guilt, stress

• Dissatisfied supervisors

Overcome this Habit

• Learn to say NO!

(benefit = self respect)• Avoid

interruptions• Stick to your

work plan• Don’t over

commit

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LoaferDefinition

• Loves everything in excess, especially non-work related activities

• e.g. personal calls at work,social networking, play computer games, and interrupt others

• Work is the last thing on your mind

Causes

• ‘Peter Pan syndrome’

• Lack of gaols/direction

• Lack of interest in work/career

• Avoid taking responsibility

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LoaferEffects

• Not meeting deadlines

• Frequently late• Operates in crisis

mode• Mediocre output• Guilt, stress,

panic• Dissatisfaction &

distrust from supervisors, colleagues and customers

Overcome this Habit

• Set goals• Stick to work

plan• Take

responsibility• Reward

yourself• Avoid

interruptions• Limit personal

calls and emails at work

• Limit social networking

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Prioritizer• Focuses on important things• Plans & organizes well• Remains in control & focused

on work• Prioritizes well - make sure

urgent things are done first• Staying balanced is important

Most desirable time management style with positive and effective outcomes – delivers high standard outcomes and performance levels

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Identify Focus Breaking Habits

Poor planningManage by crisis onlyFailure to prioritizeUnclear objectivesUnorganized (incl. misplacing / losing items)Lack self disciplineAttempting to do too much (over-commitment)Respond to triviaGetting lost in detailsSurf the net & read e-mails frequentlyUnnecessary paperwork & reading

Fail to listen properlyRe-do work due to own errorsIndecisionFail to anticipate changesAllow interruptions /distractionsKeep others out of workOver-socializingMake personal callsWant to be perfectOver control & lack of delegationUnwilling to say “No”Unproductive/ unnecessary meetingsLack competence

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Steps to Form New Habits

1.Dealing with one troublesome habit at a time e.g. “Attempting to do too much”

2.Understand the consequences of the bad habit e.g. “Attempting to do too much destroys my focus, because I spread myself too thin and then I don’t complete anything properly”

3.Re-write this negative habit as a positive habit e.g. “I never attempt too much”

4.Put it on your daily action list and practice it everyday for 21 days

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Steps to Form New Habits

5. Once you’ve mastered one, pick another one of the list6. Practice control each one7. Don’t try control all of your focus breakers at once8. Work on them one by one throughout the year

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How to Save Time

Plan your time and activities Use ‘waiting time’ productivelyCombine activitiesLeverage your mind (take notes)When a person interrupts you …Limit interrupting othersDo not multi-task

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Tools to Help Organize and Prioritize

•Day planner•Week planner•Month planner•Year planner•Plan for tasks and projects•Proper filing system

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Organizing your Daily Planner

1 Urgent and Important

Must be done first

These activities must be done first, because if they’re not, the consequences of not doing them are serious

2 Important, but not urgent

Must be done before end of day

Also important to your work success, but since they’re not urgent, they are often put off

3 Urgent, but not important for work success

Desirable to do sometime during the day

Should have a low priority, but since they have an urgency about time, often get preference.Should not get priority over 1 and 2

4 Can wait Can be post-poned, or even cancelled

Do not contribute to your work success and with getting the work done, but are enjoyable. Not before 1,2,3 items are done

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Establish Routines & Procedures

Create a block time during non-prime hours for paper work

•Schedule this in your planner and stick to itoHandle items in your in-basket only once

•Sort & handle items according to urgency•Highlight important aspects•Attach relevant files / info

oReading & answering e-mails•Set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it

oSort incoming e-mail•by subject, key word, or author•so you can process related mail together

oTake the time you need to do a quality job•Doing work right the first time, may take more time upfront, but errors usually result in more time spent on making corrections

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Example to Plan for Projects

Step What to do(Start date: Mon 15/04)

Time needed(in working days)

Date of completion

1 Get clarity on topic & task 1 16/04 Tue

2 Collect information 3 18/04 Thurs

3 Organize the information 3 23/04 Tues

4 Write outline / headings 1 24/04 Wed

5 Write draft 3 29/04 Mon

6 Make corrections to draft 1 30/05 Tues

7 Write final document 1 01/05 Wed

8 Binding of documentfor handing in on Fri 03/05

1Total =15 work days

02/05 Thurs

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Tips and TricksDevelop Personal Time Awareness:

Time doesn’t change You can manage yourself and what you do

with your time

Hours at work:

8 hours per day 08h30 – 17h30 (excl. 1 hour lunch)40 - 45 hours per week (Mon – Fri / Sat)

Determine where your time goes:

• Listing your work activity categories• How much time you spend on each category

per day• Count up your total for each activity for that

week

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Last Tips

o Learn from co-workers and web sites e.g.

http://www.getmoredone.come/tips11.html

o A healthy, balanced life style improves energy,

focus, concentration and productivity.

Reference:

Smit, E. 2013. Time Management for Work Success. HOD Student Counseling CDC

Compiled By:

• Baschiera, M; Richards, M and Russo, S• November 2013• International Business Students of DHBW• Project: Cleverlize App Development