TIME MANAGEMENT

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

~Mark Twain

Learning Objectives• Assess your current time management

motivation and skills and discover what gets in your way

• Learn how to make time tangible and appropriately estimate how long tasks take

• Utilize the “REP Plan” to turn “stuff” into actions and master your workflow

• Learn processing best practices for Paper and Email

• Create your own planning and tracking systems to ensure continued success

Delivery CyclePROJECT MANAGEMENT• Be an SME in two areas• Create at least 3 solutions

per quarter• Participate in Support

projects• Make an effective use of

HR related training• See a problem, create a

solution!

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT• Keep the Premier calendar

up to date• Complete Healthchecks for

all customers• Keep your

Red/Yellow/Green status up to date with a goal of 95% green

• Renewals at 95% (follow GSOP)

• At least 3 customer references

• Regular customer check in calls

CASE MANAGEMENT• Log in to phones at least 5

hours per day• CSAT 8.5 or better• Quality cases resolved in

timely manner• Outsource 50% or more

cases to Stream• Stay current with technical

training

“It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.”

~Sally Kempton

WHAT GETS IN OUR WAY

What gets in your way and keeps you from managing your time?

Do you think your issue is technical, external or psychological?

“Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.”

~Vaclav Havel

MAKING TIME TANGIBLE

Everyone has tedious days that go on and on

We also have days when time flies because we’re having so much fun

Managing time is difficult because the concept of time itself is abstract

In order to manage our time, we need to change the way we think about it

Time is a container that you can organize like any space

We can analyze our to-do list items in terms of size to make sure they fit

Most people aren’t great at estimating how long tasks really take

We need a tool to strengthen and practice our estimating abilities

“Time is the quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately, it doesn’t seem to be working.”

~Anonymous

MULTITASKING BEST PRACTICES

Multitasking makes it tricky to get on track and finish what we start

Studies show that multitasking actually decreases efficiency by 60%

Efficient and productive people develop a tolerance for concentration

We can practice our concentration tolerance each hour, in “chunks”

END OF PART 1

“The ancestor of every action is thought.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

TURNING “STUFF” INTO ACTIONS-MASTERING WORKFLOW

With so little time, so much on your plate, how do you choose what to do?

We can turn “stuff” into actions using the REP Plan

Record(Tasks vs. Projects)

• Write down everything you have to do

Estimate

• Connect what you have to do with how long it takes

Pick

(The Top 3)

• What are you going to actually DO?

Set up a simple folder system and treat email like postal mail

STEP 1: Set up a Simple Folder Structure

Current Projects (Act)Require

s Action

Possible

Action

Retained Mail (File)

Read and Review

Processing email is more than checking and less than responding

Junk Mail Scan•Delete

Reference Scan•Retained mail folder

Subject Line Scan•Obvious task oriented, messages•Requires action folder

Content Scan•All other messages•Possible action folder

“What actions do I need to take in response to this email?”

Do 2-5 min. or less

Delegate Forward it, create a new task to track its completion

Delay Create a calendar item or task for a later time

To manage my Daily Task List I can use the SPACE formula

Prioritizing is a challenge.

The Urgent/Important Matrix is one way to figure out what to do first

URGENT/IMPORTANT MATRIX

Quadrant AURGENT & IMPORTANT

“firefighting”

Quadrant BIMPORTANT BUT NOT

URGENT“quality time”

Quadrant CURGENT BUT NOT

IMPORTANT“distractions”

Quadrant DNEITHER URGENT OR

IMPORTANT“time wasting”

Delegation works if you put the right person in the right job at the right time

“It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do .”

~Elbert Hubbard

PROCESSING BEST PRACTICES: EVALUATE, REDUCE & PREEMPT

Clutter is a symptom of poor time management not poor organization

Sort through your clutter to evaluate and quantify what you have

Reduce your backlog by at least two thirds

Process paper once a day

“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.”

~Michael McGriffy, M.D.

SCHEDULING BALANCE

“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.”

~Lily Tomlin

People often confuse activities with goals

A goal is a destination.

An activity is how you get there

Building balance is connecting values with goals and activities

Achieving balance is scheduling time for all of the valuable areas of life

ACTION PLAN

Thank You