Time Management: Making the Most of Your Time

BY: SOFT SKILLS WORLD

Module Instructions

• You are encouraged to write down the

answers to the questions you see throughout

the workshop.

• Complete the included inventories and

assessments.

• Contact our office to schedule an appointment

if you need to discuss anything further with a

staff member.

Objectives

• To define why time management is important

• To define what time management is and

involves• To identify what makes time management

difficult• To identify useful strategies for managing

your time

Why is Time Management Important?

Why is it important to you to manage or

have control over your time? What do you

hope to accomplish by managing your time?

In what situations or areas of your life is it

important to be able to manage your time?

Importance of Time Management

• Time management is important to different

individuals for different reasons.

– Make sure you have time for all your

important activities

– Give structure to your days and weeks

– Assist in setting goals

– Assist in planning for the semester

– Assist in determining priorities

To Realize the Value of:

• ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.• ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a

premature baby.• ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.• ONE DAY, ask a daily wage laborer with kids to

feed.• ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to

meet.• ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.• ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an

accident.• ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a

silver medal in the Olympics.

What is Time Management?

• Awareness of your time

• Awareness of your time wasters

• Use of priorities

• Self-management or the management

of your personal resources

• Goal setting & achievement

• Planning

Personal Time Management

Time management is different for

everyone

• How do you define time management?

• If you are managing your time well,

what does that look like for you? What

does that mean?

• What skills are required for you to

manage your time well?

What makes time management difficult?

Managing our time is not always easy.

There are a variety of things that make

time management difficult. Below are

some of the things that often make it

challenging for us to manage our time.

Review the following list of common time

wasters and identify which ones are

challenges for you.

Time Wasters

• Stress

• Anxiety

• Burnout

• Procrastination

• Perfectionism

• Lack of planning

• Unexpected events (such as phone calls or

drop-in visitors)

Additional Time Wasters

• Depression

• Being unorganized

• Working against your natural tendencies

• Bad habits

• Email or IM

• Loosing track of time

• Television

• Ineffective studying (have to repeat what you

studied or re-read material)

Let’s get personal…

• Take a few moments to complete the following assessments: – “Self-Evaluation of Time Management”– “My Time Wasters”

• What did you learn about the way you manage your time?

• What did you learn about your time wasters?

Take a 10 minute break

Study Tip

Take a short break each hour to refresh your mind and body.

You’ll do better.

Set an alarm clock or timer and come back!

exit

Knowing is Half the Battle

Understanding what time management is and

what your time management strengths and

challenges are can assist you in determining what

strategies will be most useful as you develop your

time management skills.

The following slides offer some time

management tips and strategies that you may

find useful.

Strategies: Define your values and determine

your priorities.

Knowing what is important to you (whatyou value) and what your priorities areallows you to put those things first asyou schedule your time, thereforeguiding the way you manage your time.

Values

• Complete the attached Values Assessment to identify your values.

• Prioritizing, or determining your priorities, is a

process of deciding which of several options or

tasks is most important.

• Prioritizing involves deciding that Activity A is

more important than Activity B.

• Priorities change over time.

• Priorities are influenced by your values and

your goals.

• Your priorities may not be the same as

important others (family or friends) in your life.

Priorities

Guiding questions for determining priorities:

• What are the costs vs. the benefits of doing this

activity?

• How well does this activity fit into my goals?

• Does this activity have a deadline for completion?

• How much do I enjoy doing this activity?

• Have I promised or agreed to do this activity?

• What needs of mine will be satisfied by doing this

activity?

• How much time does this activity require?

Determining Your Priorities

• Priority activities can include studying,

attending class, worship, meditation,

exercising, spending one day a week with

family, or other activities important to you.

• With this in mind, take a few minutes and write

down your answers to the questions on the

previous slide.

• What are your priorities?

Strategies: Set goals & make action plans

• Use the system SMART when setting your goals– S = Specific– M = Measurable– A = Action-oriented– R = Realistic or Reasonable– T = Time Phased

• It is okay, and often helpful, to re-evaluate your goals periodically and change or update them or re-set them

• Action plans are step by step plans of how you

are going to accomplish your goal – what are

you going to do to reach your goal

• Action plans allow you to break the goal down

into smaller, more manageable portions and

give you the chance to make and record

progress towards your goals

The 80/20 Rule

• The 80/20 rule, also known as Pareto’s

Principle, states that 80% of your results come

from only 20% of your actions.

• For most people, it really comes down to

analyzing what you are spending your time on.

• Are you focusing in on the 20% of activities that

produce 80% of the results in your life?

The Urgent/Important Matrix

• Managing time effectively, and achieving the

things that you want to achieve, means spending

your time on things that are important and not

just urgent.

– IMPORTANT: These are activities that lead to

the achieving your goals and have the greatest

impact on your life.

– URGENT: These activities demand immediate

attention, but are often associated with

someone else’s goals rather than our own.

The Urgent/Important Matrix

Additional Strategies for Time Management

• Use a system that works for you

• Learn to say no

• Plan to do the biggest projects during your

most energized times

• Be proactive not reactive

Learn when to say “NO”

• You can’t do everything

• Don’t undertake things you can’t

complete

• Remain consistent to your goals

More Strategies & Tips

• Tackle the big projects first, even if it is step by

step (don’t get lost in the little things)

• Use an A-B-C system to plan your day

• Handle papers only once

• Make use of “waiting” time

• Make “want to do” lists not “have to do” lists

(“have to do” lists can often cause pressure and

lead to guilt if items are left undone)

Use your waiting time

• On public transportation

• At the doctor’s office

• Waiting for your plane

• On hold

• When you are early

Strategies & Tips continued…

• Focus on one thing at a time

• Assess the BIG PICTURE – what’s most

important overall

• Get & stayed organized

• Set time limits and mini-deadlines

• Practice positive self-talk

• Know your learning style & use study

techniques that fit that style

Why We Procrastinate

• No clear deadline

• Inadequate resources available

• Don’t know where to begin

• Task feels overwhelming

• No passion for doing the work

• Fear of failure or success

Nine Ways to Overcome Procrastination

1. DELETE IT 2. DELEGATE3. DO IT NOW 4. ASK FOR ADVICE 5. CHOP IT UP6. OBEY THE 15 MINUTE RULE 7. HAVE CLEAR DEADLINES 8. GIVE YOURSELF A REWARD 9. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS

Eat That Frog!

• "If the first thing you do each morning is to eat

a live frog, you can go through the day with the

satisfaction of knowing that that is probably

the worst thing that is going to happen to you

all day long!"

• "If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest

one first!"

• "If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay

to sit and look at it for a very long time!"

Avoid Being a Perfectionist

• Yes, some things

need to be closer

to perfect than

others, but

perfectionism,

paying

unnecessary

attention to

detail, can be a

form of

procrastination.

Review

• Set goals

• Prioritize

• Organize

• Learn when to say “NO”

• Use your waiting time

• Concentrate on the task at hand

• Consider your personal prime time

• Celebrate success

Time Management

35

The Big Rocks of Life

Case Studies

• You are doing dual courses simultaneously. You have your exams of course 1 approaching in the first week of the next month; and you also have to submit your assignment for the course 2 at the same time. Which one will you choose?

• Your mother have asked you this evening to get the wheat flour from the market else the dinner will be hampered; on the other hand your best friend has just called you up to accompany her/him for shopping of the clothes that he/she wants to wear on his/her date