Time Management

Definition

Time management refers to planning and using the

hours and minutes of a workday in the most effective
and efficient manner possible to complete specific
assignments, projects and goals
 Get Organized
• Organize your workspace

• Everything you use on a daily basis should be nearby

• Place your telephone, computer components and

reference materials within easy reach

• Put materials and supplies that you use frequently

close by in a drawer, or on a shelf

• Everything at your workstation should have a place

and be in its place
 Analyze How you spend your time
• Keep a written record of what you do and how much
time is used
• Create a time- use log by listing time intervals down
the left side of a sheet of paper
• Record all the activities in the log
 Returning telephone calls
 Reading and responding to emails
 Attending meetings
• Record the lunch time and break time
• Keep the log for a day, a week of longer
• Analyze the results
 3 Questions

• During what time of the day was I most productive

and least productive?

• What caused me to lose or waste time?

• Are certain times during the day peak or slack work

period?
 Prioritize your to do list

• How important is this task? Important or Urgent?

• Is there a deadline? What will happen if this task isnt’t

completed on time?

• Do I need input from others to complete this task?

• Can the task be broken down into manageable chunks?

• How much time will it take to complete the task?

 Develop a Workable Schedule

• Scheduling is the process by which you plan the use of your

time and set deadlines for completing tasks

• Use a printed schedule to plan to plan and monitor your

activities helps you make the best use of your time

• If the project is large, divide the large project into smaller tasks
and begin with a simple task to get the momentum going
 Time Logs

• Time logs are used by employees to fill in a detailed account

of the time spent at the workplace

• They can be designed for daily, weekly or fortnightly use and

can help in identifying how many hours an individual spends
on actual work

• Time logs help managers in identifying activities that waste

time and the amount of potential time wasted
 Internal Time-Wasters
Internal time-waters are internal situations that result in time
wastage. They are as follows:
• Personal disorientation (Organizing workplace and work)

• Procrastination (Postponing or avoid taking important but

difficult or unpleasant decisions or tasks)

• Excessive socialization (Discussing other’s problems,

gossiping, discussing personal issues during coffee breaks or
lunch time, etc)

• Poor Communication (Leads to misunderstandings,

complications, forgetting, interrupting, etc)

• Inefficiency ( Job poorly, carelessly and hastily done)

 Techniques to deal with Procrastinating

• Salami technique: Breaking a big task or decision into several

smaller decisions, to be tackled one by one

• Balancing aspects technique: Depending on the positive and

negative aspects of a decisions, a decision is made

• Incentive technique: Mangers are motivated to take a rational

decision due to the driving force of the reward

• Group technique: Group of people shouldering the

responsibility of taking a decision
 External Time-wasters

Situations that are external to a manger that result in wastage

of time. They are:
• Excessive meetings

• Interruptions: Unexpected visitors or phone calls

 Internal interruptions: Colleagues, subordinates or superiors
 External interruptions: Regular, potential clients, suppliers, etc

• Excessive usage of Internet

 Few Tips to handle Interruptions

• The office environment should be austere

• Prevent long conversations and discourage regular visits

• The manager’s desk may face away from the door

• A manger may have a closed door for his/her cabin

• A manger should set aside specific time for meetings and

visitors
 Some more Time Wasters

• Leaving your workstation

• Daydreaming

• Misplaced items

• False starts

• Lethargic pace of work

 Time Abusers

A time abuser is a person who has an internal condition of a

constant fear of being evaluated or being questioned about
his/her work by a superior and so resorts to procrastination. Its
classification is:
• The Preemptive/Proactive: Obsession with deadlines and
schedules to complete before time

• The People Pleaser/YES Man/Woman: When a person takes

more responsibilities than he/she can handle, he/she is called
as a YES Man/Woman

• The Perfectionist/Analyzer: When a person is obsessed with

the quality of the resultant work, he/she is called as a
perfectionist or analyzer
 Components of planning time

• Time factor (An appropriate time span)

• Rewards (For meeting deadlines and targets)

• Group tasks (Grouping the similar or related activities

together)
 Types of planning

• Long-term plans (Overall goals and objectives of the

managers)

• Short-term plans (Fortnightly, monthly or a quarterly)

• Daily plans ( To-do list that managers prepare each day)

 Controlling Time-Wasters

• Maintain the Biological clock

• Prioritize

• Spiritual Planning

• Accessibility

• Divide time properly

 Stephen Covey’s Time Management
Grid/Matrix
According to Stephen Covey, the following are the phases of time
planning
• Phase 1: Identify the various demands placed on a manager through
notes, to do lists and checklists

• Phase 2: Taking a wide-angle view of future and unforeseen events

and scheduling them

• Phase 3: Monitoring the use of time by planning, prioritizing and

controlling

• Phase 4: Self management by discovering own strengths and

weaknesses
 Description of Quadrants
• Quadrant I: Quadrant of crisis- requires immediate attention –
Crisis handling and stress (Urgent and Important)

• Quadrant II: Quadrant of Value- requires long-term planning,

anticipating and preventing problems and spending time for
personal development (Not Urgent and Important)

• Quadrant III: Quadrant of Misconception- Doing vital

activities and responding to immediate activities (Urgent and
Not Important)

• Quadrant IV: Quadrant of Time Wasters- Potential time

wasters (gossiping, reading magazines and pursuing pleasant
activities) (Not Urgent and Not Important)
Time Management Matrix