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The Benefits of Time Management
After all, as you'll discover, much of your journey to better time management involves recommitting to what you already know. As you will discover, this book also covers countless other topics that are intertwined with time management, such as organization, efficiency, and goal setting for your personal life.
Special Features
And you will realize that they can also apply to many areas of your own life and the lives of others around you. In our first two chapters, you will learn about the theories that underlie time management and that can fundamentally transform how you live your life.
Acknowledgments
About the Author
He has appeared on CNN, ABC's Good Morning America and Showtime. He lives in Brentwood, California.
Other titles in the Briefcase Books series include
Taming Time
The Institute for the Future, Pitney Bowes Inc., and San Jose State University conducted a study in late 1996 that elicited responses from 972 employees of Fortune1,000 companies. Like the little razor-toothed monsters in Stephen King's The Langoliers, routine responsibilities began to eat up time.
Knowing Your Time Management Style
Before you can decide what kinds of changes you want to make—both in your professional career and in your personal life—you need to understand what kinds of choices (many of them subconscious) you're already making. If the bulb in the main light fixture in your living room were to burn out tonight, would you have another bulb at home in storage to replace it.
How You Relate to Time
On the one hand, this can be positive: you probably aren't under a lot of time pressure. This may mean that you are currently overwhelmed with your environment and responsibilities, or that you feel that time is controlling you.
Your Environment
If so, you're the kind of person who takes charge of time, reshaping it to fit your goals and lifestyle. And once a month, for the next six months, update your list and ratings, reassessing the level of control you're able to exercise over each item.
Where Do the Hours Go?
The conclusions you draw from this exercise, and from an honest assessment of your time management style, should help you identify those areas of your professional and personal life that could benefit most from change. You may need a renewed or reduced emphasis on various factors that influence your time management approach.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 1
Time Management Is Just Another Label for Obsessive Behavior
A Few Myths
About Managing Your Time
- Time Management Extinguishes Spontaneity and Joy
- Maybe I Can Organize Myself, but My Company Can Never Organize Itself
- One Style Fits All
- Linear One task/person at a time
- Overlapped Many tasks/persons at a time
Many people believe that it is impossible to control their work environment or are afraid to exercise control. Also remember that it is always possible to be an island of calm in a sea of confusion, if only you take control – at the right time.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 2
Like other time management myths, believing that only one style fits all is self-defeating. What you learn about time management can help you make real and effective changes within your company.
Lining Up Your Ducks: Prioritize!
If the ducklings start straying too far, the mother duck will invariably "herd" them back into line - thus, "taking her ducklings in a row". When your "ducks" start straying too far, danger is lurking - for them and for you.
The ABC System
You can do them tomorrow if you have nothing better to do and feel ambitious or motivated. Has produced a list of importance A, B, C tasks in the order that you are most likely to complete them.
The Index Card/Post-it® System
The Inventory System
The Payoff System
Writing it down is the best way to make sure you've identified the benefits you'll get from making the change. And just because you'll enjoy reading a magazine article on Hawaii, doesn't mean you should do it first.
The Pareto Principle
Those who read your reports are likely to get 80% of the value you put into them from 20% of the information. They should focus on the 20% of information that delivers 80% of the value and discard the rest.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 3
Procrastination—the cat burglar of time management—sneaks into your life and takes away one of the most precious assets you have. Indeed, some people—having decided that it's so ingrained in human nature that there's no point in fighting it—are proud of their status as procrastinators.
Procrastination
It has around 10,000 members - however, no one is really sure, as the full list has never been compiled or completed.
The Thief of Time
What’s Behind Procrastination?
Once you overcome this fear, you will be able to tackle most tasks with renewed energy. So, if you're procrastinating doing something for an external cause, you can deal with that cause and stop procrastinating—.
Why Do You Procrastinate?
If you procrastinate for fear of change, that fear will color many different types of tasks. While a single internal cause can cause you to procrastinate on many tasks, external causes for procrastination are often task specific.
What Are You Procrastinating About?
The Eight Factors
Or, if you want to spend some time thinking, why not think about how relieved you'll feel at the end of the day when the task is done. You'll be surprised how such a change can trigger action on tasks you've been avoiding.
Conclusion
And you should try all of the strategies mentioned earlier—flow charting, the measles approach, divide and conquer, and so on—to help you in your efforts.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 4
Then he asked, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He asked the group once more, "Is the jar full now?" At this point the class was over to him.
Rocks, Blocks, Goals, and
He then made about a dozen fist-sized stones and carefully placed them one by one in the jar. When the glass was filled to the top and there were no stones left inside, he asked, "Is the glass full?" Everyone in the class answered "Yes".
Clusters
Good,” he called back, grabbing a jug of water and pouring it into the jar until it was full to the brim. There is only one way to get all the rocks, gravel, sand and water of our lives into the jar, and that is time - intelligent planning.
Establishing Goals
Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What's the point of what I just did?". One student raised her hand and replied, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule seems to be, if you try really hard, you can always fit more things in."
Leave Me Alone!
The same thing, if you can pull it off (and you should), can also be practical at home. Make an appointment When you have an important project and it's hard to find time to work on it, make an appointment with yourself.
Doing Nothing
Clustering
More importantly, you don't let the semi-chaotic flow of incoming bills dictate your behavior. Personal productivity coach David Allen warns that lists only work when they're "leak-proof." For example, if.
Discovering Patterns
Of course, if you work at a company that communicates across the country or around the world, the pattern will be much more complex. The better you can predict with some certainty normal events in your day, the easier it will be to adjust your schedule accordingly.
What’s Your Clock?
An activity that requires physical movement where concentration is not critical (eg walking to another floor or to a store).
A Few Hints
Yet all the blocks of time in the world cannot enable you to do everything you need to do.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 5
There may be many tasks you are doing right now that are not your job, such as things you should delegate or things that should never have been delegated to you. Delegation is not just limited to leaders, managers and others with "power". Even if you think you are unable to delegate, this chapter still has insight for you.
To Whom Can You Delegate?
How to Delegate
That is the situation where you and the person you are delegating to are more or less equal in rank or authority level. Sometimes it's a matter of finding a way to pass it on to someone better equipped to do it.
What Can You Delegate?
Why Is It Hard to Delegate?
Once you've identified the emotional barriers to delegation, you should feel freer to consider delegating tasks to others. Only in very rare cases are the above reasons for not delegating actually valid - and that's usually when you're the right person for the job.
The Key Steps of Delegation
Specify your standards
Just like setting goals, you need to convince the person you're delegating to that you have high expectations. If you empower the person in the process, by sharing responsibility from the start, you strengthen his or her motivation.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 6
As a graduate of East Overshoe University, I am sure you have continued our recent successes. And you have certainly supported our efforts to continue this tradition of quality.
Learning to Say
And you're even willing to forgive this interruption of your personal life and the manipulative way that caller "wrapped" you in. Sometimes we just have to say no to those who make requests or demands of us.
What to Say No to
How to Say No
Suggest a trade-off. Explaining that you are willing to find another way to contribute will underline your goodwill. For example, if your boss suggests that you do something and you are convinced that you are the wrong person to do it, explain your perceptions and suggest that you take on another task that you know needs to be done.
Dealing with Meetings and Committees
And if the meeting was scheduled by someone else, ask him or her to set an end time. Through a written summary of the meeting, list all the steps that need to be taken to meet the consensus of the meeting.
If You’re Not the Chairperson
All tangents should be listed on it, and if time permits, they can be taken up towards the end of the meeting. The meeting summary form (Figure 7-2, page 90) provides you with a document to determine agreed efforts, tasks and deadlines.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 7
The speaker relayed a quote he had read in the Aviation Mechanics Bulletin: "If an aircraft part can be installed incorrectly, it will be." Not that the twentieth century was the first to note that "the best laid schemes of mice and men often go astray," as the eighteenth-century poet Robert Burns put it.
The Art of Anticipating
In the midst of all this crazy optimism, a TRW engineer gave a memorable and rather cynical presentation. But there is another very old saying that epitomizes the tactics for defeating chaos: "A stab of time saves nine." Foresight is indeed one of the most precious talents you can possess.
How Well Do You Anticipate?
They have lamps in the house to replace bulbs as soon as they burn out. You are currently at the mercy of the unexpected and are likely to get quite stressed when things don't go the way they should.
The Parking Meter Syndrome
Since the response to time cues is often automatic, you will act as if these false times are real. Does this mean that you will start showing up early to most appointments or finish things prematurely.
The False Deadline Strategy
But handing over a project to a. client or early to a boss is an almost sure way to impress. And an early arrival will give you time to prepare, to relax or to work on mini-tasks or readings.
The Pack-Rat Approach
Gobbledygook
If you are speaking to outsiders, jargon will almost certainly cloud communication and cause problems. For example: “Not prioritizing will not help us and will unfortunately lead to failure.”
The Wallenda Effect
People then make the mistake of being right twice—and produce perfectly spelled, completely wrong sentences like the one you just read. Remember, too, that the Wallend effect describes less tangible systems—and the people who operate them.
Bell’s Blessing (or Curse)
If he seems stuck on social opening, wait for a pause and say, "What can I do for you?" If the business part of the call is going nowhere or taking too long, insert something like “I'm sorry, but I have to be in a meeting in five minutes. The average person manages to get the person they want only 17% of the time.
The Ultimate Setbacks
If an assistant or receptionist says the person you want is on another call, ask if you can stay on hold. There's a good chance the assistant won't be there and the person you're looking for will answer the phone.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 8
Then, in the blank, write an estimate of how much time you think you spend.
Plugging Time
Leaks
How much time each day does the average American spend commuting to and from work. Managers estimate that, on average, they have time per week for unnecessary notes (both writing and reading them).
Time Leak #1: Socializing
If you preferred the first option and not the second in more than 14 of the above, you are a very friendly person. If you preferred the first option in six or fewer of the above cases, you are an introvert.
Time Leak #2: Misplacing Things
If your work area looks cluttered, others may conclude that you are disorganized, overwhelmed, or irresponsible. So bring this book with you the next time you're at your desk and analyze your workspace based on the criteria above.
Time Leak #3: Forgetting Things
The rule that guides you: "Out of sight, out of mind." If you want to remember you have it, or if you check it regularly, keep it on a credenza, a nearby bookshelf or counter, or in a wall-mounted "hot file." If you can afford to ignore it for a while, store it in a filing cabinet or closet. You have a nagging feeling that you should return a certain call, only to remember it too late the next day.
Time Leak #4: Commuting and Air Travel
If you write things by hand, make sure you have a chair that gives you room to move on your writing side. Unless you are very tall and need extra legroom, avoid bulkhead seats (the seats without seats in front).
Time Leak #5: Reading Time
If you want to work on your laptop during a flight or train, do so. Those surveyed must have grumbled at least in part about the abundance of information, not the reading itself.
Time Leak #6: Long-Winded People
There are at least three ways you can reduce the amount of material you have to read. When you're done, simply say you're glad the two of you talked, and then leave the person there.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 9
You type the first letter, making sure the person's name, address, and salutation are just right. Fortunately, you type about 80 words per minute, which means you can finish the first letter in about five minutes.
Power Tools for Time
Just type the same letters on the paper, the error underneath disappears, and then you type the correct spelling on the stationery. You follow the same procedure for the remaining nine letters, as each will be addressed differently.
Management
If you had done that task today, you would have typed the letter using a word processor, corrected errors almost immediately, knocked off all 10 personal copies in a few minutes, and then probably emailed or faxed the letter to ensure prompt receipt. The entire process would have required half an hour or less, not two, and the results would look far more professional.
Five Essential Questions
The complexity of the operation almost always requires a commensurate commitment of the time and effort you will need to invest in learning how to use the product. When you start buying a product, get a list of the activities you will need to perform with it and review each of them with the seller.
The Basic Hardware
But it's up to you to take advantage of the protection provided by backup systems. If it's urgent, pick up the phone first. Most people do not respond to e-mail the moment they receive it.
Soft Tools
As with most time management tools, a PDA needs to fit snugly with your personal organizing style. Before buying any tech time management device, it's always best to do your research, weigh the pros and cons, and determine how user-friendly it's likely to be.
The Ultimate Tool: Your Environment
Paper cut documents get mixed up in a file. Clips fall off or stick to something else. Dependent folders are superior tools. The alternative causes over-compact stacking, sliding to the bottom of the file cabinet, and so on.
Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 10
In fact, with the right techniques and tools, you can join poet Sara Teasdale's words: "Time is a friendly friend."
Index
