tips and tricks for successful time management learn act grow

Tips and Tricks for

Successful Time Management

LearnActGrow

LeasePlan Academy 2009

Agenda

What are your Time Management Issues?

Reasons for Time Management Issues

How are you spending your time?

10 Easy Time Management Tips

When Chaos Ensues


Time Management Quick Quiz

1. Do you spend 5 minutes or more looking for an email or document?

2. Are month old papers on your desk?

3. Do you have trouble finding an item in your desk that you use frequently?

4. Do you feel that you could be more organized if you had more space?

5. Do you have piles of magazines and journals you haven’t been able to read?

6. Did you ever find something at the bottom of a pile that you didn’t know was there?

7. Do you have hundreds of emails accumulating in your inbox?


Time Management Quick Quiz

Did you answer yes to any of these questions?

Great!!! Hopefully these tips will help!

Did you answer no to all of these questions?

Don’t leave yet!!! It’s always good to brush up on your skills!


Reasons For Time Management Issues

If you already know how you should be managing your time, but you still don’t do it, don’t give up

You may be over-looking the psychological side of your time management skills, psychological obstacles hidden in your personality

• Procrastination• Trouble saying no• Difficulties delegating work• Unable to quickly make decisions• Need help prioritizing


How Are You Spending Your Time?

The first step before being able to improve on your time management skills is to see where you’re currently spending your time

Creating a time log is a very effective tool to help eliminate much of your wasted time and help you reach balance

One of the most common problems in personal time management is underestimating the time needed for each specific activity


Creating Your Time Log



You don’t need to do this permanently

Try it for 3-7 days, and repeat the process time after time

When you write the log, make sure you don’t miss ANY even minor activity

Don’t let your time wasters hide!



Take a sheet of paper divided into the following columns

• Time• Activities• Scheduled• Interrupted• Urgent• People (involved)

Then continue with the activities you would normally do that day During the time – continue to update the log



Add entries to either the “Time” or “Activities” column every time you switch to a new activity or at short time intervals (10-20 minutes)

Try to put marks like “Yes” or “No” in the “Scheduled”, “Interrupted”, and “Urgent” columns as you are completing these activities

Where relevant, make short notes on what people you spend time with in the “People (involved with)” column


What Does Your Log Tell You?

Review your records and try to get answers to the following questions

What percentage of your time is spent in each of different areas of your life? How is it divided between Work, Business, Family, Recreational, Spiritual, Health?

What percentage of your activities are important?

Are urgent?

What people you spend more time with?

What percentage of your activities go as planned?

What are main interruptions?


What Does Your Log Tell You?

Then think of possible adjustments and action steps. For example:

Are there any activities you can cut back on?

Is there anything you can delegate or simplify?

Can you save time by grouping related tasks?


Ten Easy Time Management Tips

1. Focus

On a sticky note, write the important things in your life you need to focus on today.

• At home, attach it to your refrigerator. • At work, stick it on your computer monitor.

As projects come and go, you’ll need to modify the list.



2. Write it down.

If your head is full of clutter, or too much data floating around in your head, you won’t be able to get as much done.

• Keep a spiral notebook, and write down everything you need to do

• If you’re working on a task and something else pops into your head, write it down in the notebook



3. Keep a daily to-do list.

Write down the 12 most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow

• Cross them off as you complete the tasks

• As new ones come to mind, add them to the list



4. Make a daily schedule.

Look at tomorrow’s appointments and meetings

• Mark those beginning to end times in your calendar• Then review your to-do list and schedule time on your calendar for your to-do’s

Remember, only schedule 70% of your day

• The other 30% will be filled with interruptions and emergencies



5. Delegate.

This is the most underused time management tool today

Look at your to-do list after you write it and ask yourself what can you delegate?

Enlist help from your team if possible



6. Multi-task the details.

While its important to focus on projects, it’s also efficient to take care of simple tasks simultaneously

• Bunch your work – Rather than checking your email every time one comes in, schedule times to check it like morning, mid-day, and evening

• Keep in mind that there is a difference between multi-tasking and distractions – Stay productive!



7. Group like activities.

Keep a running list of errands and take care of them all at once

Return phone calls during a certain time period

It takes time to switch tasks so you’ll save time by doing like activities together



8. Organize your surroundings.

The Wall Street Journal once reported that the average executive loses up to an hour per day looking for misplaced papers

You’ll save time if you don’t have to step over and look through clutter

Create a filing system for your emails, and documents that you need to keep on hand



9. Analyze everything you do for the next week.

Try to find a quicker, more efficient way to do things.

Briefly work with a friend or co-worker to come up with ideas



10. Don’t be a perfectionist.

Trying to be a perfect person sets you up for defeat.

Difficult tasks usually result in avoidance and procrastination.

You need to set achievable goals, but they should be challenging.

There will always be people both weaker and stronger than you.


What To Do When Chaos Ensues

In 1897, Vilfredo Pareto discovered a key relationship between effort and result

This relationship is known as the Paretos Principle, or more commonly known as the 80/20 rule

This rule states that 80% of what someone achieves is based on 20% of time the individual expends

On the other hand, 20% of your organizing efforts will yield 80% of the desired effect



By taking time to prepare for your day, you will be better equipped to handle chaos when it does arise

The ability to prioritize is key when your plan changes

Prioritization is about making choices

Great prioritization skills allow you to finish the urgent tasks as soon as possible, freeing up time to handle the more important tasks in the long run



3 Tips for Prioritizing Wisely

1. A tired, emotional brain is not best placed to make decisions• Good decisions are made by alert, objective minds• Make an effort to keep your energy levels high and your stress levels down

2. Know what’s important. • Ask yourself what’s important, and what’s urgent• Create a list of questions to ask yourself when deciding what you should be doing

and when

3. Ask for help• Help can come from anywhere – Managers, your peers, friends• Someone with clearer sight and experience to provide insight and objectivity


Time Management Quick Quiz - Replay

1. Do you spend 5 minutes or more looking for an email or document?

It doesn’t take that long to find one simple sheet of paper. If you can’t find it, you can’t find it, and you certainly can’t benefit from it.

2. Are month old papers on your desk?

A desk is not a file cabinet.

3. Do you have trouble finding an item in your desk that you use frequently?

Maybe it’s best left on top of your desk.

4. Do you feel that you could be more organized if you had more space?

More space is seldom the answer; filing, throwing away, or deleting the nonessential is the best solution.


Time Management Quick Quiz - Replay

5. Do you have piles of magazines and journals you haven’t been able to read?

If you’re thinking of reading these issues cover to cover, good luck. How about extracting those that are most intriguing and letting ago of the rest.

6. Did you ever find something at the bottom of a pile that you didn’t know was there?

Condense your piles by eliminating old papers and filing away important ones.

7. Do you have hundreds of emails accumulating in your inbox?

Handle emails as soon as they arrive, then assign them to the appropriate folder or delete them. Never let them build up in your inbox.

LearnActGrowFebruary 2009

tips and tricks for successful time management learn act grow

Documents

time log slide

time wasters

process time

wasted time

time management issues

time management skills

successful time management

personal time management