Time Management

  • Contents

    Definition of time management
    Benefits of good time management
    Time management tools and techniques
    Threats to good time management

    Good time management is one of the personal development skills required for good project execution. Remember, it is not enough to just have good time management skills. Other skills include: independent working and self reliance, personal reflection and review, presentational skills, team working and interpersonal skills. Motivation and enthusiasm are also considered to be very important in terms of employability.

  • Time Management

    Time management is the development of processes and tools that increase a business‘s time-efficiency
    Personal Time Management
    Essential skills for effective people
    People who use these techniques routinely are the highest achievers in all walks of life,
    If you use these skills well, then you will be able to function exceptionally well, even under intense pressure.

    Additional Information

    As you master these skills, you'll find that you take control of your workload, and say goodbye to the often intense stress of work overload

  • Time Management

    Potential benefits of good time management
    Achieve better results
    Improve the quality of your work
    Work faster
    Lower stress
    Make fewer mistakes
    Reduce number of crises faced
    Improve quality of life

  • Time Management

    Concentrate on results, not on being busy
    Pareto Principle, or the '80:20 Rule'.
    This says that typically 80% of unfocused effort generates only 20% of results
    The remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort
    While the Pareto principle is an economics theory, it can be applied to university and help you improve your performance by optimising your time use
    If you apply the Pareto Principle to one of the keys of academic success, studying, you will find that you get 80% of your studying done in 20% of your time actually spent studying

    Additional Information

    20% of 5 hours is 1 hour, so in theory, you only need 1 hour of studying to achieve 5 hours of “studying”. The rest of the time will be spent on your phone, waiting in line for coffee, checking Facebook or another website, or simply zoning out in moments of lost focus. Starting to make sense?

    Let’s attach this to a different example in the not so near future: you are now in the process of starting your own business. The Pareto Principle predicts that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. This is why as a business owner, it is imperative that you work harder initially to retain your regular client base than worry about complaints from one-time customers, as they will not provide as much business as your core 20% will. How large that 20% will become is up to your skills and abilities in sales and marketing, but the fact remains is that you want to treat your best customers the best, as they will essentially keep you afloat based on how much business they provide for you. This is why many companies employ a VIP system or preferred client program; they understand the value of a regular customer.

  • Time Management

    By applying the time management tips and skills
    Optimise your effort to ensure that you concentrate as much of your time and energy as possible on the high payoff tasks
    This ensures that you achieve the greatest benefit possible with the limited amount of time available

  • How good is your Time Management? Questions

    Are the tasks you work on during the day the ones with the highest priority?
    Do you find yourself completing tasks at the last minute, or asking for extensions
    Do you set aside time for planning and scheduling?
    Do you know how much time you are spending on the various jobs you do?
    How often do you find yourself dealing with interruptions?
    Do you use goal setting to decide what tasks and activities you should work on?
    Do you leave contingency time in your schedule to deal with "the unexpected"?
    Do you know whether the tasks you are working on are high, medium, or low value?
    When you are given a new assignment, do you analyse it for importance and prioritise it accordingly?
    Are you stressed about deadlines and commitments?
    Do distractions often keep you from working on critical tasks?
    Do you prioritise your "To Do" list or Action Plan?
    Before you take on a task, do you check that the results will be worth the time put in?

  • Main areas of Time Management

    Goal Setting
    Breaking tasks down into steps
    Prioritisation
    Using lists
    Persevering when things get difficult
    Organise your work to meet deadlines
    Revising for exams
    Procrastination
    “I’ll get to it later”
    Scheduling (try to identify parallel tasks)

  • Self-assessment

    Analyse current use of time
    Identify timewasters
    E.g. Chatting, on the phone, surfing the internet, procrastination, interruptions, distractions, emails …
    Change habits

  • Beating Procrastination

    Procrastination can involve
    the fear of failure
    perfectionism ("I don't want to get anything wrong")
    lack of self control
    not breaking projects into smaller parts, and underestimating how long it will takes to do things.
    Start an activity and just spend a few minutes on it initially and this should help to beat procrastination
    As the Mastermind quizmaster says: "I've started so I'll finish!".

  • Perseverance

    Richard Branson – 14 failed businesses in over 100
    Thomas Edison –
    I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
    Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.
    Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
    learn how to take a positive attitude towards frustration and failure
    Mistakes are a crucial part of any creative process and each is a lesson leading you towards the right solution
    Fear of making or admitting mistakes is a major handicap to taking effective action
    people who have achieved the most have made the most mistakes! Try to be aware that satisfaction comes as much from pursuing goals as from achieving them.
    Work at effective strategies to deal with pressure –
    E.g. Being assertive can also help here, for example, politely saying no to the demands of others when you are pushed for time
    Sharing tasks and problems with others will spread the burden and will bring a fresh perspective to them.

    Additional Information

    Inevitably, things will not always run smoothly as you progress towards your goals. When things are not working out, you need to persevere.

  • Prioritising

    Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same.
    To be effective, you need to decide what tasks are urgent and important and to focus on these.
    Prioritising
    It's important to list the tasks you have and to sort these in order of priority, and then to devote most time to the most important tasks.
    Avoids the natural tendency to concentrate on the simple, easy tasks and to allow too many interruptions to your work.

    Additional Information

    Someone who works hard and is well organised but spends all their time on unimportant tasks may be efficient but not effective.

  • Urgent v Important tasks

    Differentiate also between urgent and important tasks: an urgent task may not necessarily be important!
    When job hunting, you won't be able to apply to every employer.
    You will need to carefully prioritise those you wish to apply to, based upon factors such as closing date, location, degree class required, and chances of getting in.

  • Time Management Grid

    (based on 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, Stephen Covey)

    Time Management Grid Diagram

    Additional Information

    Prioritise
    Urgent v Important tasks
    Important – outcome leads to achievement of goals (professional/personal)
    Urgent – demands immediate attention – often associated with achievement of someone else’s goals
    Need to focus on important things before they become URGENT (do things earlier)
    The real skills is to commit time to processes that enable you to do things more quickly/easily

  • Suggestions to manage your time effectively(Schwalbe, 2009)

    At the end of each week identify several (2-5) goals that you want to accomplish the following week
    At the end of each day, make a to-do list for the next day
    Read the list each morning and start working on the first item
    Control interruptions
    Learn to say no
    Make effective use of waiting time
    Try to handle paperwork and email only once
    Reward yourself at the end of the week if you have accomplished all your goals

    Additional Information

    (1) List in the order of priority - Start with the most important (not the most urgent). Take into consideration the time you have available. Keep list in sight and look at it frequently
    (2) At the end of the day make a to – do list. List items in priority order, with the most important first (not necessarily the most urgent or the easiest). Before you do this look at your schedule. Allow some leeway for any unexpected things that may come up. Keep the list realistic – don’t list everything you would like to do. Its important to write the list.
    (3) Read the list first thing in the morning and keep it in sight during the day. Start working on the first item. Focus and self discipline are important. Don’t divert to less important challenging items such as reading emails etc. Cross completed items off the list. Start on next item – don’t get sidetracked into working on less important items in between

  • Scheduling - Task Dependencies

    Break goals down into their components so that you can accomplish them one step at a time. Write these steps down
    People always think (wrongly) of tasks being in a strict linear sequence
    Often true e.g. gather information for content shouldn’t start until you have decided on your content - Why?
    If tasks are dependent, resist the temptation to jump ahead!

    But, if tasks can be done independently, then do them “in parallel” e.g. Tasks in designing a computer game level include:
    Understand the existing game content/format
    Understand the Development Tools
    Develop an additional game level

  • Example with parallel tasks

    Example with parallel tasks diagram