Introduction

• General
  • Resources
  • Workaholic
  • What is time management? - Problem time solving
  • What is time management? - General

Topics

• Goals
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
• Objectives
  • General
  • Prioritising objectives Part 1
  • Prioritising objectives Part 2
  • Prioritising objectives Part 3
• Urgent v Important
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
• Human nature
• Blame culture
• Productivity
• Time log
• Strategies
  • Typical process
  • Strategies for getting on with it
  • Positive thinking
  • Commitment
• Delegation
  • People
  • Poor delegation and the team
  • Delegation process
  • Delegation towards independence
• Information
  • Information collection Part 1
  • Information collection Part 2
  • Information flow sheet
  • Processing the information
• Filing
  • Filing notes
  • Day files`
• Where are we going?
• Decision making
  • Decision PATH
  • Capturing ideas
  • Brain storm
  • Mind mapping
• Task management
  • Checklists
  • Reminders
  • E mails
  • What not to do
  • Projects
  • Irritating_tasks
  • Combining_tasks
• Time
  • Time
  • Monochronic time
  • Polychronic time
• Styles
  • High and low context culture
  • Divergent thinking
  • Convergent thinking
  • Blending styles
• Planning
  • Assessment and planning
  • Implementing
  • Prioritising
  • Scheduling
  • Review
• Personal issues
  • Personality drivers
  • Assertiveness
  • Stress
  • Stress sources
  • Stress problems
  • Coping with stress
  • Playtime
  • General aspects
• Tips

Key time destroyers

• General
• Action chasing
• Being disorganised
• Can't say 'No'
• Crisis management
• Desktop management
• Friends
• Large reports
• Low energy levels
• Meetings Part 1
• Meetings Part 2
• Multiple tasks
• Others errors
• Others jobs
• Paperwork
• Perfection
• Poor communication
• Poor control and reporting
• Poor delegation
• Poor information
• Poor leadership
• Poor planning
• Poor preparation
• Poor self discipline
• Putting things off
• Resource issues
• Responsibility / accountability / authority
• Socialising
• Staff issues
• The boss
• The telephone Part 1
• The telephone Part 2
• Travel time
• Unfinished tasks
• Unwanted callers
• Work overload
• Your own errors

Tips

Travel

Try to plan your route so that you can include as many tasks in sequence as possible when you travel.

Organisation

When you have finished with an item don’t put it down, put it away.
Learn to speed read.
Schedule your priority task at the most efficient time. This could be at your peak performance or contacting someone when they are most likely to be around.

Team work

Your greatest resource is the team. Increase their awareness of Time Management for maximum effect.
Make sure all goals are owned by those who will be affected by them.

Delegation

The person may do the task differently to your self but they may do it better with new ideas.
Don’t limit delegation to the work environment, practice it at home as well.

Decision making

One you have made a decision don’t waste time worrying about ‘what ifs’ focus on the current path.
Try to develop these skills as early as possible.

Planning

Forecast the future better by using your experience with well planned systems.
If you have a lot of trouble with interruptions that are unavoidable break up a task into smaller pieces.

Electronic systems

Back up all your systems regularly.
Back up externally and retain a local and remote copy of critical systems, software for re-installation and files.

Self discipline

Keep focussed and don’t give up. Regularly review progress.

Priorities

If you have two top priorities try to resolve or delegate one.

Reminders

We may have a great system but it will be no good if you can’t remember to implement it. Not everything will end up in a diary, or electronic reminder.
Some tasks just don’t fall into this category. If it is important to do something, don’t trust to memory design your own reminder. An easy technique is to put a reminder where you will constantly see it or even trip over it.

Available time

If you find you have spare time, think what tasks you can get out of the way. By putting common outstanding non urgent tasks into common folders you can attack similar tasks all at one time.

Appointments

If you have 2 meetings, one after the other, with ‘monochronic’ (see 'monochronic time') people you probably won’t have too many problems keeping to time. However, if you consider those persons as having ‘polychronic’ personalities (see 'polychronic time') you may need to give them a little extra time otherwise overlap may occur.

Time constraint

If you are pushed for time, the task appears to be 70 to 90% complete and you are running out of ideas what can you do? Try calling it a day and asking another for their opinion and input of ideas.
This may be just what the task needs to get it finished. It will free up some time for other work and perhaps remove the necessity for gaining input after the ‘finished article’ has been circulated.