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FIX YOUR FOCUS: PRODUCTIVE TIME
MANAGEMENT
Kari Pastrano, Human Resources DirectorCommunity Council of South Central Texas, Inc.
AGENDA
Introduction to Time Management
Completing a Time Study
How Good Is Your Time Management?
Common Time Management Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
Time Management Strategies & Tools
WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT & WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
DOES YOUR DAY LOOK LIKE THIS?
WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT & WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
What is it? Time Management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools and
systems that help you use your time to accomplish what you want or need.
Why is it important? There are lots of different ways to tackle the issue of time
management but if you don’t fully understand WHY it’s important for you to better manage your time, the tools we discuss today aren’t going to help you. If you don’t have the motivation to use them, you won’t.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Time is limited
You can accomplish more with less effort
Improved decision-making ability
Free-time is necessary
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Become more successful in your career
Learning opportunities are everywhere
Reduce stress
Self-discipline is valuable
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Good time management allows you to accomplish more in a shorter period of time, which leads to more free time, which lets you take advantage of learning opportunities, lowers your stress, and helps you focus, which leads to more career success. Each benefit of time management improves another aspect of your life.
TIME MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES
Each individual has unique time management challenges including: Determining priorities Eliminating distractions during the work day Not finishing your entire daily task list Taking on too many projects or being unable to say no Not knowing where their time is being spent Not planning ahead or scheduling your day Adapting to unexpected tasks The art of delegation
COMPLETING A TIME STUDY
WHAT IS A TIME STUDY AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
What is a time study?
A study of the operational steps or production procedures and the time consumed by them, for the purpose of devising methods of increasing efficiency or productivity of workers
What is its purpose?
Establishes the time required for a qualified worker to perform a work under stated conditions so that an output standard of production for a worker can be established
Measures how long it takes to complete a task, not how fast you can do it
KEY PLAYERS IN A TIME STUDY
An observer is someone who observes the tasks being completed by each worker and documents the time it takes to complete them. This person should also be someone who is fully trained and experienced in the work.
A representative worker is one whose skill and performance is the average of the group under consideration, and who is not necessarily a qualified worker.
A qualified worker is one who has acquired the skill, knowledge and other attributes to carry out the work in hand to satisfactory standards of quantity, quality and safety.
STEPS FOR COMPLETING A TIME STUDY
Step 1: Know Why the Study is Being Conducted
Step 2: Understand and Articulate the Different Types of Work to Measure
Do you want to track everything the employee does, including breaks and meetings or do you only want to measure work tasks?
STEPS FOR COMPLETING A TIME STUDY
Step 3: Measure Work Elements Down to a Level of Desired Complexity
Do you want to measure each individual task or group the tasks together? (i.e. processing an invoice or each individual step of processing an invoice)
Step 4: Ensure the Study Takes Place During a Representative Time Period
STEPS FOR COMPLETING A TIME STUDY
Step 5: Allow the Process to ‘Settle Down’ Before Recording Results
Step 6: Use Good Sampling Procedures for Reliable Results A good sampling has a mix of both representative and qualified
workers. In addition, there is a healthy ratio of each. For example, if you have a staff of 10, a good sampling might be 3 representative worker and 3 qualified workers. A poor sample would be 2 qualified workers and 1 representative worker.
STEPS FOR COMPLETING A TIME STUDY
Step 7: Observe and Record Results The observer, preferably a manager, will observe the employee’s
work, record what is done and track the actual time taken to complete the work using a stopwatch.
The observer will then document this on a tracking form (see handout).
The work should be clearly defined and the method of doing the work must be effective.
STEPS FOR COMPLETING A TIME STUDY
Step 8: Evaluate Results and Make Changes, If Needed Times between the representative and qualified workers are
evaluated. Changes are made, if necessary.
IS THERE AN EASIER WAY?
Employees can track their daily tasks and document how much time they spend on each task. To do this, an employee can take one week and track their time in 15-minute increments, recording as accurately as possible what they really do in a regular week.
These forms can be reviewed by management, as well as the employee, at the end of each week to determine whether or not the employee is managing their time efficiently. If an employee has a precise record of where their time is going, they will be able to make better decisions based on that information.
IS THERE AN EASIER WAY?
The employee is able to lump tasks together to identify how much time was spent throughout the week or day doing work related tasks and attending meeting, breaks, as well as track time spent doing non-work related things such taking breaks and visiting with co-workers.
TIME LOG SAMPLE
HOW GOOD IS YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT?
QUIZ
SCORE INTERPRETATION
15-30 Ouch! The good news is that you've got a great opportunity to improve your effectiveness at work, and your long term success! However, to realize this, you've got to fundamentally improve your time management skills.
31-45 You're good at some things, but there's room for improvement elsewhere. Focus on the serious issues and you'll most likely find that work becomes much less stressful.
46-75 You're managing your time very effectively!
COMMON TIME MANAGEMENT MISTAKES
#1: FAILING TO KEEP A TO-DO OR TASK LIST
Review your ratings for
questions 6 and10
Do you ever have that nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do an important piece of work?
Have you failed to identify the tasks or items you need to get done for the day?
If so, you probably don't use a To-Do List or Task List to keep on top of things.
#2 NOT PRIORITIZING
Review your ratings for questions 1, 4, 8, 13, 14, 15
If you don’t have a to-do or task list, you likely don’t prioritize your tasks.
Sometimes, its hard to know how to prioritize especially when you are facing a flood of seemingly-urgent tasks.
#3: FAILING TO MANAGE INTERRUPTIONS & DISTRACTIONS
Do you know that some of us can lose as much as two hours a day to distractions?
What are some examples?
Review your ratings for questions 5, 9, 11, 12
#4: PROCRASTINATING
Review your rating for question 2
Procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you should be focusing on right now.
When you procrastinate, you feel guilty that you haven't started; you come to dread doing the task; and, eventually, everything catches up with you when you fail to complete the work on time.
#5: INEFFECTIVE SCHEDULING OF TASKS
Are you a morning person? Or do you find your energy picking up once the sun begins to set in the evening? All of us have different rhythms, that is, different times of day when we feel most productive and energetic.
You want to ensure you schedule important activities for the right time of day.
Review your ratings for questions 3 and 7
#6: TAKING ON TOO MUCH
Are you a person who has a hard time saying “no” to people? If so, you probably have far too many projects and commitments on your plate.
This can lead to poor job performance, stress and low morale.
Taking on too much is a poor use of your time and it can get you a reputation for producing rush, sloppy work.
TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES & TOOLS
STRATEGY #1: TRACK YOUR TIME
Take one week and track your time in 15 minute increments. Just record as accurately as possible what you really do in a regular week. You will have a precise record of where your time is going and you will be able to make better decisions based on that information.
Most people are appalled to discover how much of their time is spent in seemingly unimportant tasks or tasks that could be easily delegated.
Start automating, delegating, and deleting the time wasters.
STRATEGY #2: PLAN YOUR DAY AND SCHEDULE YOUR TASKS
If you go into work every day having no idea what you want to accomplish, then guess what? You’ll probably accomplish nothing.
Set aside 10-15 minutes before work and either write down or mentally plan what you want to accomplish. After you decide what you want to accomplish, then execute the plan.
Schedule appointments with yourself and create time blocks to complete your tasks. Schedule when they will begin and end. Have the discipline to keep these appointments.
STRATEGY #2: PLAN YOUR DAY AND SCHEDULE YOUR TASKS
Any activity or conversation that's important to your success should have a time assigned to it.
Schedule time for interruptions or unexpected tasks.
Schedule important activities for the right time of day. You can make best use of your time by scheduling high-value work during your peak time, and low-energy work (like returning phone calls and checking email), during your "down" time.
TO DO LISTS & POST IT NOTES
OUTLOOK CALENDAR
OUTLOOK CALENDAR
Color Code Your Calendar
Meetings-Yellow
Work Tasks-Green
Emails/Admin Work-Red
Planning-Blue
STRATEGY #3: DON’T PROCRASTINATE
Don’t wait until the last minute to start a project.
Often, procrastinators feel that they have to complete a task from start to finish, and this high expectation makes them feel overwhelmed and anxious. As a result, they end up putting off the project or task altogether and waiting until the week before or day of to complete.
Break large projects down into manageable steps, so that it's easy to see everything that you need to get done. Also, identify how much time you anticipate the project and each task will take you to complete. Focus on devoting a small amount of time to each individual task as opposed to completing the entire project at once and schedule it out over a period of time(days, weeks or months depending on the project).
STRATEGY #4: BATCH YOUR TASKS
You’ll be much more efficient if you batch like tasks with like tasks instead of spreading them throughout the day.
Examples:
Checking emails once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
Let calls go to voicemail and then return them all in a batch.
Complete all of your client case notes at one particular time of day or on a particular day of the week. For example, case managers could see clients Monday through Thursday and reserve Fridays for completing notes for client files and scheduling the next week’s appointments.
STRATEGY #5: ELIMINATE THE UNNECESSARY
Usually this will be anything that prevents you from reaching a particular goal or completing your assigned job tasks throughout the day.
Example: If your goal is to clean out your email inbox, then don’t spend 45 minutes on Facebook that day. If you have a deadline to make, don’t spend 25 minutes on an unnecessary phone call.
Draw a firm, distinct line between the “necessary” and “unnecessary”. The stricter you define these terms, the more you’ll find that a lot of things are truly unnecessary in your life.
STRATEGY #6: PRIORITIZE & “EAT THE FROG”
When compiling a task list, prioritize according to importance and urgency.
You can choose to “eat the frog” on the list and accomplish the task you least enjoy first, but has the utmost importance, or you can complete the tasks you enjoy the most first to gain the momentum you need to motivate you early in the day.
STRATEGY #6: PRIORITIZE & “EAT THE FROG”
‘Urgent’ tasks demand your immediate attention, but whether you actually give them that attention may or may not matter.
'Important' tasks matter, and not doing them may have serious consequences for you or others.
The distinction between urgent and important is the key to prioritizing your time and your workload.
Use the ABC or ABCDE method or priority matrix to determine the priority of a specific task.
ABC METHOD
An “A” item is defined as something that is very important. This is something that you must do. This is a task for which there can be serious consequences if you do it or fail to do it, like visiting a key customer or finishing a report for your boss that she needs for an upcoming board meeting. These are the frogs of your life.
If you have more than one “A” task, you prioritize these tasks by writing A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on in front of each item. Your A-1 task is your biggest, ugliest frog of all.
ABC METHOD
A “B” item is defined as a task that you should do and is considered somewhat important but it only has mild consequences. These are the tadpoles of your work life. This means that someone may be unhappy or inconvenienced if you don’t do it, but it is nowhere as important as an “A” task.
Returning an unimportant telephone message or reviewing your email would be a “B” task. The rule is that you should never do a “B” task when there is an “A” task left undone. You should never be distracted by a tadpole when there is a big frog sitting there waiting to be eaten.
ABC METHOD
A “C” task is defined as something that would be nice to do, but for which there are no consequences at all, whether you do it or not.
“C” tasks include phoning a friend, having coffee or lunch with a coworker or completing some personal business during work hours. This sort of activity has no affect at all on your work life.
ABCDE METHOD
A-Very Important
B-Somewhat Important
C-Nice to Do
D-Delegate
E-Eliminate
PRIORITY MATRIX
DO FIRST: Do it now
DO NEXT: Schedule a time to do it
DELEGATE: Who can do it for you?
DELETE: Eliminate it.
DO FIRST DO NEXT
DELEGATE DELETE
EISENHAUER MATRIX
http://lifehacker.com/5942972/eisenhower-helps-you-prioritize-your-tasks-with-the-urgency-importance-matrix
The Web App and Mobile app help you identify which tasks to do now, schedule for later, delegate, or not at all.
iOS app is $1.99
STRATEGY #7: REDUCE INTERRUPTIONS
Realistically, you can’t reduce the number of things that are going to interrupt you, but you can alter the fashion in which you deal with them.
Communicate your schedule and let folks know the time periods when you’re actually available versus when you’re at your desk with paperwork to do. That is to say, you might physically be around from 9-5, but your first couple of hours might be dedicated to specific daily tasks, so consider stating availability accordingly.
STRATEGY #7: REDUCE INTERRUPTIONS
Respectfully put others off to complete what you are doing in the moment and communicate this. Example: An employee comes to me with something that I know can be dealt with at a later time so I respond “ I can get to that, but let me finish what I am doing right now and then I’ll take care of it.”
If your boss calls you when your in the middle of something, that’s an interruption that is worth making a priority.
Put up a "Do not Disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get work done.
STRATEGY #8: KNOW WHEN TO MULTITASK
Realizing whether you are the type of person that can multitask or not is important.
Many people make themselves less effective by trying to multitask when they simply can’t do it. This leads to multiple projects being started and none of them being finished, sloppy work, and discouragement.
You also have to know when not to multitask. For example, every day at work there may be four to five mundane little checklist-type things that have to be completed. Try to accomplish as many of them as you can at once and as fast as you can.
STRATEGY #9: DELEGATE TASKS
Don’t fall victim to the “warm body syndrome” where you hire a person who merely exists as a space-filler without being able to take on any of your responsibilities when you’re strapped for time.
If you staff correctly, hiring those with diverse skills and initiative, it’ll really pay off when you need others to step up.
These are typically items that are unimportant but urgent.
STRATEGY #10: LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’
You can’t be everything to everybody, and while you may feel guilty about turning down your coworkers because you have your own work priorities, you need to stand by what’s best for you and your goals.
Depending on where work stands on your priority list, you’ll have to say no to those making demands on your work time.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Kari Pastrano, Human Resources Director
Community Council of South Central Texas, Inc.
Phone: 830-303-4376 x 205
QUESTIONS??
