Time Management

Building Connections:

Community Leadership Program

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?

TimeLife 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 ManagementThere 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 tasksYOU have to decide what is important

for you to do YOU have to decide which things are

urgent and what can wait

MatrixURGENT NOT URGENT

IMPORTANT

NOT IMPORTANT

I II

III IV

CrisesPressing problemsDeadline driven projects

PreventionPreparationRelationship buildingRecognizing new opportunitiesPlanningValues clarificationTrue recreation

InterruptionsMany pressing mattersSome phone callsSome mailSome emailSome reportsSome meetingsMany popular activities

TriviaBusyworkSome phone callsJunk mailTime wastersEscape activities

Quadrant I – Urgent & Important

These activities should take first priorityThe 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