Time Management for the Overwhelmed

DISCLAIMER: Purchasers, readers, or users of this course agree to be bound by the following terms: Information contained in this course has been obtained by Pryor Learning Solutions from sources believed to be reliable. The subject is constantly evolving, and the information provided is not exhaustive. The advice and strategies contained should not be used as a substitute for consulting with a qualified professional where professional assistance is required or appropriate, or where there may be any risk to health or property. In no event will Pryor Learning Solutions or any of its respective affiliates, distributors, employees, agents, content contributors, or licensors be liable or responsible for damages including direct, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, punitive, exemplary losses, or damages and expenses including business interruption, loss of profits, lost business, or lost savings. For purposes of illustrating the concepts and techniques described in this course, the author has created fictitious names; mailing, e-mail, and internet addresses; phone numbers and fax numbers; and similar information. Any resemblance of this fictitious data that is similar to an actual person or organization is unintentional and purely coincidental.

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SEMINAR WORKBOOK

Time Management for the Overwhelmed

©Pryor Learning Solutions • WGD2002ES-DL i

Module 1: Self-Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Module 2: Day-to-Day Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Module 3: Goal-Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Module 4: Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Module 5: Getting Things Done in Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Module 6: Establishing and Keeping Good Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Table of Contents

©Pryor Learning Solutions • WGD2002ES-DL 1

What Sort of Tasker Are You?

Your time is influenced by how you approach decisions, organization, and stress . Consider the tasker types below and their common approach to tasks .

Do you recognize or identify with any/all of these taskers? Maybe you’ve been one once or twice or been sidetracked by one .

Social Butterfly • Always prefer meetings over email conversations .• I work better in a team; my mind wanders when it is me on my own .• Speaking with my coworkers is a part of my daily agenda and impacts my task completion .

Laissez faire • Why do today what I can do tomorrow?• Everything that is important will get done eventually .• There’s no need to stress myself out if something isn’t finished on time .

Perfectionist • I must document all meeting notes and business conversations .• This project is not complete until it meets my approval .• I do not leave my desk in the evening until it is clean and ordered .• I create a to-do list and like to cross off each item as it is completed .

Fire Fighter • I lose focus of long term goals because I’m concerned with the here and right now .• My crisis management is always in play and the most important .• I’ll wait until something is hot even when I could do it sooner .• I thrive under pressure .

Go-to Go-getter • Daily interruptions influence the amount of work I have to accomplish .• I have no control over what I am assigned so I might as well just agree to it .• I can get more done if I agree first rather than wait for something to be assigned to me .• I want to help and I don’t like to disappoint my boss or my colleagues .

Self Assessment

©Pryor Learning Solutions • WGD2002ES-DL2

1Debunk Your Time Myths

Self-Assessment: True or False

1. Unless their company is understaffed, people who use time wisely are normally able to find time for reallyimportant work activities .

2. I n most jobs, people use their time in repetitive patterns that can be effectively analyzed .

3. You can achieve greater improvements in your use of time by analyzing how you handle crises rather than howyou go about your daily routine activities .

4. That amount of time spent trying to achieve perfection is always time well spent .

5. Good time management and being busy during the entire day are synonymous .

6. Most people already know exactly how they use their time .

7. The greatest time savings will normally come from preventing interruptions .

8. Frequent interruptions make setting priorities a rather unproductive drill .

9. Hard work is an effective substitute for good time management .

10. Time management techniques will turn you into a machine with no freedom to do

11. In the short run, delegation to subordinates will invariably result in time savings for you .

12. How you manage your time will directly influence your effectiveness in supervising, communicating with andmotivating your subordinates .

13. Most of the important results you achieve stem from only a handful of activities .

14. Anyone can be an effective multitasker with enough practice and application .

Self Assessment

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

True False

the things you want to do .


1Obstacles

Top 10 Time Eaters

1. Lack of clear objectives, priorities or planning

2. Poor crisis management, shifting priorities

3. Attempting too much

4. Personal disorganization

5. Interruptions (email, drop-in visitors, phone)

6. Inability to say no

7. Lack of self-discipline

8. Ineffective delegation

9. Meetings

10. Procrastination

List your top time concerns (from this list or an additional concern)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Which of the items above do you consider non-issues or strengths?

Self Assessment


1Obstacles

The Mighty Time Log

It is very difficult to pin down where your time goes . One of the main obstacles to better time management is a misconception of your available time or how you spend that time each day . We tend to remember the important things but forget the nonproductive activities . THOSE items are the key to “plug the leaks .”

A time log is not intended as a permanent routine — it is merely a diagnostic tool to be filled out daily for three to five days . And it doesn’t take as much time as one would think; the cumulative time spent on one time log may be only four or five minutes a day, yet it can help to save hours . Note that ours is a double-entry system: The first category deals with what you are doing, and the second deals with its priority .

For three to five days, begin each day by posting your blank time log at your desk, and every half hour or so bring it up to date . There are electronic tools that you can use as well . If you can’t remember what you did at a particular time, put a question mark — don’t put down what you think you were doing . Above all, don’t fill in the log at the end of the day, or you are dealing with impressions, not realities .

With several days’ forms in front of you, examine each activity with its priority code and ask yourself:

1. Did I work on any tasks that should have been delegated, postponed or left undone?

2. Did I work on tile right categories of activities during my prime and down-times? What adjustments in my workday do I need to make?

3. What did I do that wasted the time of others?

4. Am I doing someone else’s work?

5. Am I doing work that is not in my job description and for which I am not receiving credit or compensation?

You can find an example of a completed time log in the appendix and a blank version for you to try out .

Self Assessment

2


Controllable Time vs. Uncontrollable Time

Our behavior at work often suggests that we believe there actually is time to do it all . That’s the case when we do “the quick, the easy, the interesting, the fun and the enjoyable” regardless of their urgency and importance .

Time is limited and your day isn’t entirely yours . Part of your day/week/month is uncontrollable time or time that is not available to work on actions from our to-do list .

Sources of uncontrollable time

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources of a to-do list

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Day-to-Day Tasks

2


Planning Your Day

To-do list format

Day-by-Day Tasks

The Daily Plan

Controllable Time

The initial assumption in planning your day

Description Urgent Priority Pure-time Estimate

Items from to-do list Pure-time Estimate Schedule

1


2An Alternative Daily Plan

Day-to-Day Tasks

A Practice that Can Revolutionize Your Life

1. Make a to-do list .

2. Delegate as appropriate .

3. Consider prime times .

4. Consider controllable times .

5. Make daily plans .

6. Check off completed actions .

7. Reprioritize actions not completed .

July

1

2

31

August

Dec.

A

Z

1


2Protecting Your Goals and Priorities

Interruptions by Visitors

Layout

Language

Signals

Initiation

Interruptions by Phone

Give preferred times

Group outgoing calls

Control the length of calls

Schedule return times

Interruptions by Tech

Give preferred times (email, messages)

Turn off notifications and alerts

Update your status when unavailable

Streamline your desktop and folders for easy accessibility

Day-to-Day Tasks

Notes:

1


3What Are Your Goals?

Goal-Setting

Write down as many goals as you can think of in each area shown on the wheel (add/change labels as necessary):

• Personal Development/Education

• Career/Business

• Family/Relationships

• Health/Physical/Self-Care

• Fun/Recreation

• Spiritual/Religious

• Financial/Money

CoreValues/Purpose

Fina

nces

8 6 4 28 6 4 2Career/Business

Personal Development/

EducationFinancial/Money

Spiri

tual

/Rel

igio

us

Fun/Recreation

Health/Self-Care Romance/Intimacy

1


3 Goal-Setting

Priority Matrix

Blurting

Prime times

Down times

3

4

1

2

High Importance Low Importance

Low

Urg

ency

Hig

h U

rgen

cy


13Power of Goal-Setting

1. What _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. When ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Specific

Measurable

Action Oriented

Realistic

Time Bound

Evaluated/Adjusted

Reward

Example: I will run three miles every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:00 am in preparation for a 10K race in May.

Goal-Setting

1


4

Objective/Goal Now/Have Future/Need Action/Commitment Priority Level Deadline

Next Steps

Gap Analysis

Objective/Goal: What, Why, When, and How?

Now/Have: What am I trying to change?

Future/Need: What is the consequence of the change?

Action/Commitment: What will I do differently? How do I know I’m finished?

Priority Level: Where does this fit among my tasks/goals?

Deadline: When must this be completed? What date is my target?

Plan for contingencies.

What possible roadblocks will I face?

How will I navigate around those roadblocks?

PRO TIP

1


4LB/NT Feedback Process

When completing a project or a task, ask yourself the following two questions:

1. What did you like best (LB) about what you did?

2. If you would do anything differently next time (NT), what would it be?

Next Steps

LB

NT

Focus on performance, rather than personality.

“Great job on the warehouse. What I liked best was the way you jumped right in and got the job done.”

Describe something that could be done differently next time.

“Next time, please take time to inform others of the changes you’re making to avoid confusion.”

PRO TIP

1


5The NT/LB Feedback Process Can:

1. Communicate feedback objectively and help you generate an objective critique in order to improve your work .

2. Reinforce positives and acknowledge negatives . You become more aware of cues and triggers when youexamine your tasks and processes .

3. Tell you when a project is complete . It makes you more productive .

Getting Things Done In Groups

Liked Best (LB) Next Time (NT)

1


5Team Relationships

Delegation is the art of achieving specific, predefined results through the empowerment and motivation of others .

It is not “passing the buck .”

It is not “dumping .”

It is not “puppeteering .”

It is not “dealing with trivia .”

It is not “ego gratification .”

What to delegate:

Recurring matters

Minor decisions

Time-consuming details

What others are qualified to do

What not to delegate:

Feedback — positive or negative

Discipline and terminations

Politically sensitive matters

How to handle people who always hold up your jobs

Here are some options to consider:

1. Involve them in setting joint goals . This should increase their commitment .

2. Send them reminder notes or make courtesy reminder calls .

3. Discuss the consequences to the organization if the deadline is missed .

4. Send a memo to them stating the direction you intend to take unless you receive other advice orsuggestions from them . If it is part of their responsibility to offer the advice or suggestions, they are now likelyto take action .


Horizontal Delegation

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1


5Reverse DelegationRequire Completed Staff Work

1. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

The maximum performance ways you can work with your team

1. Save up and discuss once or twice a day non priority #1 matters .

2. Ask the team which of your routine tasks (or tasks you struggle with) they feel they could help you with .

3. Let them draft memos and letters on your behalf .

Ways to work better with your boss on his or her projects

1. No matter what the boss delegates to you, ask for a description of the results desired . This will help you toknow exactly what is expected of you .

2. Ask your boss for feedback on those areas where he or she feels you could improve .

3. No matter how demanding the requirements are that are placed on you, stay positive .

The perfect match — how to know which project to delegate to which person

Ask for a volunteer . The person who volunteers normally sees a match between the nature of work to be done and the type of work the volunteer would be comfortable with .

Try this four-step approach to clearly communicate your needs:

1. Discuss it• Be clear and concise• Know your need• Have the listener repeat what you said• Let the listener summarize your need• Assign tasks and deadlines

2. Confirm it in writing• Provide a static guide for what was discussed and agreed to

3. Try it• Let the listener go about the tasks• Let them ask questions when needed• Follow up with ‘‘Liked Bests’’ and ‘‘Next Times’’ feedback

4. Repeat it – as necessary• Develop this pattern and your team will replicate it!


1


5Meetings

Meeting Plan format

Purpose:


Participants:

Estimated Cost:

Specific Decisions:

Agenda:

Date:

Before:

During:

After:

1


5The Pareto Principle


The Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule) is sometimes referred to as the concept of the critical few and the trivial many . The concept of the trivial many often goes hand-in-hand with another concept called “the tyranny of the urgent .” We often react to me trivial matters because they appear urgent . To avoid this trap, we must simultaneously consider the importance of the matter — not just its urgency .

How to Handle People Who Insist Their Priorities Are More Important than Yours

Here are some options:

1. Be assertive and say no .

2. Say no, but suggest another time when you will deal with their matters .

3. Ask them why they feel their matters are so important . They may have a good point .

4. Offer a trade-off: “If I deal with your matter right now, what will you offer to do for me?”

How to Resist Manipulation Tactics People Use to Monopolize Your Time

Possible options include:

1. Play dumb: “Wow, I really don’t know . You might try looking that up .”

2. Be assertive . Use your schedule to say no .

3. Offer to see them at normal quitting time .

4. Chat with them while politely strolling them out of your work area .

20

80

20

80

“Doing things right is not

as important as doing the right things.”

Drucker’s dictum

1


6Habits and Habit-forming

Habit (n): A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up

from Oxford English Dictionary

Why do we want to form habits?

Habit Myths

A good habit automatically replaces a bad habit .

It is easier to form bad habits .

It takes 21 days to form a habit .

Establishing and Keeping Good Habits

True False

True False

True False

1


6Intentional Mind vs. Habitual Mind


What you’ve tried in the past:

step 1 recognize the need for a habit change

step 2 research and contemplate that change

step 3 tell the intentional mind

step 4 expect results

Change Tips

• I t is not enough to form a positive habit without disrupting the bad habit . Find the habit's trigger and changeyour response to the cue .

• Change takes time . Your negative habit took time to create and associate . It was easy . It will take an investmentof time and patience to correct a habit .

• Don’t set a timetable or worry when you struggle after 21 days.

intentional habitual

1


6 Establishing and Keeping Good Habits

Goals and Habit Forming

You’ve set your goals and gained tools to prioritize tasks and objectives that feed your goals . What now?

Choose one goal and write it below:

What external obstacles exist right now that get in the way of your goal?

What personal obstacles exist now that keep you from this goal?

What is the likelihood of success for your goal if nothing changes?

What environment would give your goal the best chance of success?

1


6King of Bad Habits: Procrastination

Overcoming Procrastination Tips

1. Salami Technique

2. Five-minute Plan

3. Leading Task

4. Balance Sheet

5. Journal Technique

6. Going Public

7. Worst First

8. Notifications and Reminders

Protect Your Time

How to ruthlessly protect and exploit the most productive part of your day

1. Identify prime times .

2. Close your door, or go “hide .”

3. Work on those matters that are important, difficult or complex, or involve major decision making .


Notes:


GAINS DRAINS

Times of the day I work best and am focused Times of the day I drag and am unfocused

Things/People that give me energy Things/People that drain or zap me of energy

How I “recharge” my batteries (Introvert or Extrovert) Time Wasters I need to avoid

Appendix

Identify Prime Energy Times

Recognizing your Prime Energy Times can help you get in sync with your natural rhythm and schedule things accordingly . When you honor your natural rhythms you can get more stuff done in less time with less effort .

Energy Log


What Skills Do You Need to Work On?

Appendix

Place an X in the column that matches how frequently you experience each situation below. When you are finished, check to see what your selections say about you.

1. Do you feel you don't have time to add any new projects to your schedule?

2. Do you procrastinate because you have no idea where to start?

3. Do you have trouble locating needed items in a timely manner?

4. Do you hesitate to throw something away in the event that you may need it?

5. Do you have problems saying "no" when asked to complete a new task?

6. Do interruptions distract and derail you fro ten minutes or more after the interruption is over?

7. Do you find yourself playing catch up after neglecting a task or project?

8. Do you carefully save multiple copies of your files in several locations and formats?

9. Do you struggle with the urge to immediately respond to emails and instant messages or with getting people off the phone or out of your workspace?

If you answered Always or Often to Questions –

1, 2, and 7:You struggle with scheduling . Whether you’re a chronic procrastinator or your day is scheduled to the millisecond – we can help! Over scheduling is as big of a problem as putting things off . Often, the super-scheduled findthemselves paralyzed when faced with changes to routine or new projects . Our time management tips and trickswill put you on the path to success .

3, 4, and 8:You have organizational issues . Whether you’re awash in piles and electronic files or just keep copies of everything – even if they’re neatly packed away (in three different places), there’s room for improvement . We can help you figure out what to keep and what to toss and get back valuable desk and storage space . The bonus is you will reclaim precious minutes once spent filing or searching for that elusive piece of information .

5, 6, and 9:You have too many interruptions . If you have trouble saying “no” to coworkers, your boss or even your phone, emails and instant messages – you will find yourself behind on projects in no time . If you say “no” too easily, you may find people stop asking you to be part of exciting projects with career-boosting potential . Let us give you some strategies and techniques for when and how to say “no” without guilt or negative consequences .

Alw

ays

Oft

en

Rar

ely

Nev

er


Time Log Form Example

Appendix

Activity Notes

Prio

rity C

ode


Appendix: Time Saving Tips

Here’s a collection of timesaving tips you can apply to many different areas of your life.1. Do your thinking on paper . You will make quicker and better decisions if you write down the pros and cons of a line

of action . This doesn’t take time, it saves time!

2. Use a “slush” file — have a specific place to put all papers that are not important enough to file permanently butthat you feel uncomfortable about throwing away just yet .

3. If long periods of sitting make you lethargic, arrange two working levels so you can do some of your work standingup .

4. If you find it difficult to get any “quiet time,” try to arrive at the office before anyone else to gain uninterrupted timefor planning and other tasks .

5. Get at least 10 minutes of programmed exercise every day, and throughout the day use every opportunity to walk,stand, climb stairs, bend over, etc . This not only promotes health but also increases “prime time” by reducing fatigue .

6. Avoid clutter . Keep everything you are not working on out of your immediate working area and out of sight, ifpossible . Always tidy up your desk/desktop and work area before leaving the office .

7. Set up a desk date file (sometimes called a future file, a suspense file or tickler file) to provide an automatic methodof bringing papers to your attention on specific dates in the future .

8. Never do errands on impulse . Plan your route carefully, handling as many errands as possible each time .

9. “Let your fingers do the walking .” Before running errands, compare prices, determine availability, etc .

10. Plan each night what you are going to wear the next day, and lay it out ahead of time .

11. Hire someone else to do yard work, housework and other routine home chores where possible .

12. Don’t get hung up on the “do it yourself” syndrome .

13. Plan your televiewing a week ahead, so that you will be more selective in what you watch . Never turn on a TV setjust “to see what’s on .”

14. Hire specialists to handle things you could do yourself but probably not as quickly or as well .

15. Learn to read routine material more rapidly . Don’t “backtrack” compulsively rereading phrases before going on .

16. Write a memo to yourself for future reference whenever you have completed a difficult task that is going to recur . You will benefit more from an experience if you have made a written record of your mistakes and of the lessonslearned .

17. If you are always “putting out fires,” ask yourself after each crisis: (a) Why did it occur? (b) What can be done toprevent its recurrence? and (c) If it does recur, how can I handle it better next time?

18. Ask yourself Townsend’s question a hundred times a day: “Is what I am doing, or about to do, moving me toward myobjectives?”

19. Invest in programs/courses/books on time management, self-motivation and similar subjects, as well as any that areavailable in your professional field, and listen to them whenever you are traveling in your car .

20. Don’t be afraid to give yourself time frequently to relax, to meditate or even to “goof off .” But do so as a result ofa conscious decision so that you can relax completely . Don’t drift into periods of dawdling, when you are half-working, half-resting .

Appendix


21. Consider moving closer to your place of work . This is a big step, but if you saved only 15 minutes on commutingtime each way, you would gain an additional three weeks of working (or playing) time per year!

22. Rewrite and reprioritize your goals and activities at least every three months . The world changes, we change and somust our goals .

23. Work on only one item at a time .

24. Buy paperback books, remove a chapter at a time and read it during your waiting times .

25. Expect others to succeed; it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy .

26. Don’t overcontrol others . It is frustrating for them and time-consuming for you .

27. Purge your files annually . You will be able to find needed items more quickly and will save on storage space .

28. Stand up while on the telephone . Your conversations will be shorter .

29. Except for file cabinets and your desk, remove from your office any item on which you accumulate paperwork . Thiswill force you to make the decisions you should make on a timely basis .

30. Establish your lowest productivity hour as “interruptions” hour . Encourage your subordinates to see you then .

31. On the weekend, plan and schedule your personal tasks and errands for the next week .

32. Make a “worry” list . These events seldom materialize, and you won’t spend so much time worrying in the future .

33. Calculate what you and each of your coworkers are worth per minute .

34. When you go to work, pretend you don’t know anything . What you will learn from asking and listening will save youa great deal of time .

35. Always delegate slightly more than what another is capable of handling . You will love the pleasant surprises, andthe failures will be few in number .

36. While driving under light conditions, dictate letters or capture good ideas that come to you .

37. Try to avoid being placed on hold on the telephone . It takes less time to call back .

38. As often as possible, provide written instructions . This may prevent numerous interruptions all around .

39. At least semiannually, record and analyze how you are using your time . This will differ from how you think you areusing your time .

40. Never put uncompleted activities from today at the top of tomorrow’s to-do list . You must reprioritize them .

41. Divide seemingly overwhelming tasks into small increments, and attack them one at a time .

42. Do one task each day that you don’t like to do . It’s a good discipline and it will help you through the tough times .

43. Discuss time management with your boss and with your coworkers, and determine what you can do as individualsand as a team to use time more effectively .

44. Since your own time use is tied to the effectiveness of those with whom you work, arrange a time-managementseminar for your entire organization, so that you can mount a concerted attack on wasted time .

Appendix

Time Management for the Overwhelmed

Documents

Transcript of Time Management for the Overwhelmed