Laura C. Flynn, Ph.D. James D.

Martin Employee Work/Life Center

Time Management
Get the Most Out of the Time You Have
March 21, 2006 @ 11:00 AM

All big things in this world are done by people who are naive and have an idea that is obviously impossible. - Charles Hamilton (1876-1961)

Big Impossible Ideas! What makes the difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person? The Wright Brothers Research by Brian Tracy has shown that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is in how they think.

Abundance thinking Identify what they want and they think about how to get it

What do unsuccessful people do? Where do you place your attention during your day?
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What does all of this have to do with Time Management? What are the basic elements of success?
1. 2. 3. 4.

Contemplate abundance Develop a vision for what you want to achieve Develop a series of goals for achieving that vision Develop an action plan for meeting those goals When we say time management, we are actually referring to this action plan for meeting our goals Time management is your plan for making success happen Without a plan that works, you cant get to success
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Abundance Thinking

A belief in unlimited resources, such as, creativity and productivity Basic Laws of Psychological Concepts Like attracts Like
Thought

monitoring-Negativity and Positivity

Mistakes are opportunities for learning Givers Get

Understanding Your Personal Relationship To Time

Empowerment Making Time Tangible

Cluttered Easier to organize space Closet

than time

Cluttered Schedule
Limited Amount of Hours Crammed with more tasks than time Tasks jammed into any pocket of time, in no order Disorderly arrangement: difficult to see what you have to do 5

Time has space and boundaries

We need to change our conception of time from intangible to tangible Each day is a container with a particular capacity You can calculate the size of a task and see whether you can fit it into the space

Space you can see, manipulate Time is something you feel passing, amorphous

Limited Amount Of Space Crammed with more stuff than storage Items jammed in with no particular order Disorderly arrangement: difficult to see what you have

Self-Assessment:

How well do you manage your time? Do you have enough time for the things you need to do? What do you want to spend more time on? Do you find yourself running out of time for important projects?

Are there things that you really want to do that you never get around to? Can you make a schedule? When you do, are you able to follow it?

Authoring Your Lifestyle

Subordinating Clock to Compass Life Space/Life Roles

Getting Control Over Your Day: Prioritizing and Planning

"Life, we learn too late, is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour." ~ Stephen Leacock Urgency and Importance

Efficient Time Scheduling

Urgent Important Urgent Not Important

Not Urgent Important Not Urgent Not Important

By Steven Covey
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Your Values at Work! Urgent/Important

Health issues Projects at work Holiday Shopping

Not Urgent/Important
A walk in the grass Spending time with family Spiritual life

Urgent/Not Important Not Urgent/ Taxes Not Important

Bills Speedinggetting there fast Holiday Shopping Watching TV Nonessentials: meetings, internet surfing

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Your Values at Work! Urgent/Important

Your to do list

Not Urgent/Important
Goals of Your Life- long-term and strategic Activities and priorities

Urgent/Not Important Not Urgent/ Throw Out Not Important

Throw Out

Questions for Prioritizing:

What would happen if this were not done? What one thing could you do in your personal and professional life that, if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your life?
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Self-Care: Not Urgent and Important

Striking the Balance

Set boundaries (is it OK to say No, do less, and protect family time) Take time off for yourself at least once a week/month Set a budget/work less/spend less Think about time in terms of your own values, purpose, and life journey. Does your current behavior reflect all your values, or just some of them?

Have a support system, be a good role model, and pass on the learning and support that was offered you to others Stop competing and comparing yourself to others. It's easy to see what others are doing and feel inadequate or feel pressure that we should be doing more. An old saying: You cant take it with you.
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Goal Setting

The Work Domain

Contemplate Abundance

Rules for Writing Goals

Specificity

Clearly state, with detail, what you want Goals should fit your values Identify markers for progress, time limits What you want to achieve
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Important

Measurable

Positive

Why Time Might Not Work For You

Technical Errors

Not assigning time to a task Chosen the wrong time for a task Miscalculation of time required Task is overly complex: break it down

External Realities

An unrealistic workload: purge, delegate Health limits your energy Interruption-rich environment You have a disorganized partner
By Julie Morgenstern
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Why Time Might Not Work For You

Psychological Obstacles

Unclear goals and priorities What do you really want? You have a fear of downtime Confronting deep issues Permission to be busy use meaningful activity You have a fear of failure What if I dont achieve my dreams? You have a fear of success What if I do achieve my dreams? What will I loose? Friends, free time You are afraid of structure/losing creativity Some structure can enhance creativity 15
By Julie Morgenstern

Time Map
"A badly planned project will take three times longer than expected - a well planned project only twice as long as expected."

Tips for filling in a schedule

The Biggest Problem: Underestimating the amount of time something will take

Leave some open spots for slush time

Your energy cycles and sources Schedule activities according to your values Multi-tasking: schedule activities simultaneously

Cleaning the house and phone calls

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Tips for Creating a To Do List

"A little risk management saves a lot of fan cleaning.
- Remember, time spent in planning will be time saved in execution later

- Write it down! - Move the Important/Urgent items to the top

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OR use a ranking system of ABCs

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A: you start right after you finish the list B: middle priority items C: things that it would be nice to do If an unplanned item comes up, assess and rank it!

Realize that some things will never be a priority and stop putting them on your list.
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Identify and eliminate the things that need not be done at all. (Peter Drucker)
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Evaluating a Weekly Schedule

Do I follow my weekly schedule?

If yes, what helped me keep to it? If not, what were some of the problems?

Did I finish all of my work projects? Did I feel prepared? Did I schedule enough time for relaxation and free time? Did my schedule feel flexible or rigid? What revisions can I make?

Are there Urgent/Not Important things to throw out? Are there Not Urgent/Not Important things to throw out?

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Procrastination and How to Stop Doing It

The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time. Leo Kennedy The Main Cause of Procrastination Other Causes

Tasks feel too big Feeling as if tasks are imposed on you from the outside Fear of Failure/Fear of Success Mythical Self-Talk

It will get easier if I wait. I should wait until the right idea hits me. Find something you like about it Find a motivator

Other Strategies

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Conclusions and Looking Forward

Employee Work/Life Center 301.713.9456 [email protected]

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