General Background to Time Management
Introduction
. Time management is "self-management of time"
. Definitions
- time has been described as the occurrence of events one after another
- management is the art of juggling competing imperatives
- time management involves controlling events
. There are 5 types of events
i. there are events we cannot control, such as weather patterns
ii. there are events we think we cannot control, but we can, such as traffic jam, ie find another way or travel at another time
iii. there are events we can control, but don't, often due to procrastination
iv. there are events we think we can control, but we can't, such as a train arriving on time
v. there are events we can control, such as our own behaviour patterns
"...the common factor that all successful people share......is that they know what is important and that they know where to spend their time..."
Peter Drucker as quoted by Brian Greedy, 2003
Exercise
1 What are your 3 most critical time-management problems?
a)
b)
c)
2 How many minutes per day do you spend on planning? (circle the most appropriate one)
Minutes
0
1 - 10
11- 20
21 - 30
30 +
3 How much time do you use to prioritise activities? (circle the most appropriate one)
Minutes
0
1 - 10
11- 20
21 - 30
30 +
4 Successful people have the ability to focus on their vital priorities. For example, list your activities under the following headings
A (vital to you, your position and organisation)
B (important but not as important as As)
C (some value)
D (complete waste of time!!)
List some
As
Bs
Cs
Ds
Compare your results with others in your group as a reality check
Another way to do this is to complete this table
|
Vital/Important |
Not vital/Not Important |
|
|
Urgent |
1 (Quadrant of Personal Leadership) |
3 (Quadrant of Deception) |
|
Not urgent |
2 (Quadrant of Quality) |
4 (Quadrant of Waste) |
Comments on the matrix
The tasks in Box 1 are the highest priority and generally should be completed first
The tasks in Box 2 will generally take time and be complex. On the other hand, the tasks in this box provide the best pay-offs
The tasks in Box 3 often have higher priority than those in Box 2. If they are relatively small, you may wish to do these sooner rather than later
The tasks in Box 4 may not require any action at all
The hardest tasks to do are those that are vital but not urgent
An example
|
Vital/Important |
Not vital/Not Important |
|
|
Urgent |
Crisis Pressing problem Deadline-driven project, meeting, etc |
Interruptions, some phone calls Some mail, some reports Some meetings Many popular activities, etc |
|
Not urgent |
Preparation Prevention Values clarification Planning Relationship building Empowerment, etc |
Trivia Junk mail Some phone calls Time wasters Escape activities, etc |
Remember
People who have worked out the most suitable work-life balance for themselves are able prioritise their life and focus on the high priority areas, especially in work. As result they do not waste time on low priority areas.