Time Management Skills & Academe

Patricia S. Moyer-PackenhamUtah State University

USU Curriculum and Instruction Research ColloquiumSaturday, May 15, 2010

Salt Lake City, UT

Acknowledgement Christine Hult

Professor of English and Associate Dean of HASSADVANCE P.I.

The Expectations of Academe

RESEARCH TEACHING SERVICE

The Six Problems1. Handling the paper load (including email)2. Prioritizing your workload3. Time management4. Project management5. Your personality6. Your psychology (Crouch, Getting Organized, 2005)

1. Handling the Paper Load

Being constantly bombarded with sensory input

Multitasking makes you stupid Have a place and put everything in its

place Categorize the incoming items & decide

right away: Discard or recycle Delegate Take immediate action File for follow-up Put in a reference file or on a task list

How the Clutter Accumulates

“If 10 new pieces of paper [or emails] come into your life every day and you only discard one you will have an additional 3,285 pieces of paper [or emails] after one year.”

“If 100 new pieces of paper come into your life every day . . . You will have an additional 36,500 pieces of paper lying around at the end of the year.” (Crouch)

An example of a system to handle the paper load.

Handle the Paper Load! 4 System Components

Scheduling Calendar

Desktop TO DO List (prepare at the end of each day)

File folders / filing cabinet

Desktop in box with dated paperwork

Organize

Prioritize – all items on your to do list are not equal!

How do you handle the paper load?

2. Prioritizing Your Workload

Do the right things in the right order Gathering the materials you need Filtering out those things that don’t matter Prioritizing the order of importance for actions Acting in the order outlined

Establish habits of triage FOCUS on each task until it’s done Then tackle the next item of importance

How would you prioritize this list of

daily tasks? Buy laundry detergent. Write a eight page essay

for English. Prepare for a Biology quiz. Dust the videos on the

bookcase. Review for midterm test

that counts for 50% of grade.

Schedule an appointment with a Professor.

Complete a journal entry. Facebook a high school

friend on another campus. Shop for a new pair of

athletic shoes. “Armor-all” the dashboard

of the car.

Do you have C Fever?A - LISTMidterm test that counts for 50% of grade.Write a eight page essay for English.

B - LISTPrepare for a quiz in Biology.Schedule an appointment with a Professor.Complete a journal entry.

C - LISTBuy laundry detergent.Dust the videos on the bookcase.Facebook a high school friend on another campus.Shop for a new pair of athletic shoes.“Armor-all” the dashboard of the car.

Prioritizing in Academia A personal example….

8:30-11:00 am – work on the most important thing I want to get done that day FIRST!

11:00-11:55 am – check email 12:00-12:30 pm – Lunch (or lunch

meeting) 12:30-3:00 pm – accomplish another

important task 3:00-5:00 pm – schedule meetings;

take care of mindless tasks

What strategies help you to prioritize?

3. Time Management Live in the present; do it now Minimize distractions and

interruptions The 80/20 rule (80% of your

results come from 20% of your efforts)

Let go of the busywork One thing at a time

The Myth of “Free Time”

There’s no such thing as “free time.” All time has value. We understand that cars and houses

have value. But, Time is invisible and intangible, so

it does not get enough respect. Time has value!!

If you see that your time has value, you will be more selective about the projects and requests that come to you.

How are you spending your time?

Write down 5-10 things you did yesterday.

The Time Management Matrix

(Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990)

URGENT NOT URGENTIMPORTANT I. ACTIVITIES:

CrisesPressing problemsDeadline-driven projects

II. ACTIVITIES:Preparation, Prevention, Planning activitiesRelationship buildingNew opportunitiesRecreation, relaxation

NOT IMPORTANT III. ACTIVITIES:Interruptions, some callsSome mail, some reportsSome meetingsPressing matters

IV. ACTIVITIES:Trivia, busy workSome mail, Some callsTime wasters

Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990

Time is Valuable to Me! A personal example….

Someone wants to meet with you on a matter that is not urgent.

Someone calls while you are in a meetings with someone else.

Someone shows up at the last minute and wants you to help with their emergency.

Immediate response: BUT, schedule a time to meet or schedule a time to complete the task.

When you value your time, others will too!

New gadgets aren’t the solution and are often part

of the problem

4. Project Management Use both a short-range and long-range

calendar Use your task manager in Outlook Archive your tasks for future reference For longer projects, develop a separate

project calendar or bulletin board For immediate tasks that come up

during the day, use a notepad by your phone

A short quiz to see what you have learned so far……

The point is this: Put the Big Rocks in First

5. Your Personality The Beast of Disorganization feeds on

your bad habits Seriously address your bad habits Let go of the old ways of doing things

that are causing your problems Simplify, simplify, simplify Set boundaries and stick to them

Procrastination & Perfectionism

Procrastination comes from: overload, fear of failure, task seems hard or boring, not sure of what to do, distractions

Perfectionism comes from: an irrational desire to please

Neither one is productive Chill out, lighten up, take a

chance, make a few mistakes, don’t sweat the small stuff (and it’s all small stuff)

Procrastination Set a goal to

complete a task/project

Reward yourself after completing the task

Estimate the time needed to complete a task

Divide lengthy tasks/assignments into smaller, shorter parts

Plan ahead to avoid 11th hour efforts

Every hour in class requires two hours of study/review

Nobody’s perfect!

6. Your Psychology Is your office cluttered? Are you always in a rush? Do you complain about never

being caught up? What image is this projecting to

others? Stop and think; slow down;

don’t do anything until you have decided how to be more productive.

Work-a-holism is dysfunctional.

Creating Balance Synthesize & process email and never leave email in

your inbox. Focus on the task at hand vs. multitasking. Do the most important thing first. Check your email on a schedule. Keep your research organized. Determine when YOU work best. Develop boundaries Maximize your start time Organize your TO DO LIST Think deeply and devote the time to drill-down

Overloaded & Confused?Slow down & think; Simplify; Eliminate;Shut down everything else and make

organizing a priority

Why is this important to me?

Less stress Calmness / Serenity Better health More time for a social life Academic success Land a better job Personal satisfaction Balance

Three Books I Recommend

Crouch, Chris. Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize (Memphis: Dawson, 2005)

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Fireside, 1990)

Griessman, B. Eugene. Time Tactics of Very Successful People (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994)