Time Management

Time Management

ABSTRACT

Time management is about taking control of one of the most valuable resources we have, our time.It is an essential tool for stress reduction, success, and perhaps even survival, especially in today's society of increasing demands on a much leaner workforce. This increasing workload is not hypothetical, but, is in fact, a reality. Time management also proves to be beneficial to individuals outside of the workplace, given the fact that most employees have just as many or more demands on their time away from work. Developing and utilizing good time management skills is key to managing personal stress levels. Mastering time management skills results in less stress by allowing individuals to regain a sense of control over their environment. There have been numerous time management techniques developed over the years. It is really up to each individual to determine which one best suits his or her needs and expectations. The key to being successful with any time management technique is that it must be used on a daily basis.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The idea of time management has been in existence since long back. Unfortunately the term "Time management" creates a false impression of what a person is able to do. Time can't be managed, time is uncontrollable we can only manage ourselves and our use of time.

Time management is actually self management. It's interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organise, direct and control.

Time management has been a bigger challenge in today's world where life seems to be a speeding train that stops for no one. Keeping up with that train becomes ever harder each day and is up to us to plan properly to catch and board that train. One author states that "the absence of proper time management skills and the accompanying mental and physical clutter can be, at best, frustrating and, at worst, debilitating, it is as curable as a toothache" (Dlaboha, 2002:28). The importance of time management is a key goal in the success of our life today and gives us the opportunity for improvement .

CHAPTER 2

TIME MANAGEMENT

For some managing their time is a way of life. For others time management is an afterthought.There are many factors that need to be considered when incorporating effective time management into our lives. Some of these factors include evaluating how effectively we use our time. Other factors include being able to recognize obstacles, identifying and managing stress, and employ specific time management tools to help in successful time management.

There are several specific time management tools such as journaling that includes, time tables, action plans, activity logs, time estimates, and prioritised to do lists. To start we want to list all the things we need to get done for the upcoming day or week, keeping in mind that any appointments that we may already have scheduled. Obviously all tasks are not created equal, some tasks are going to be a higher priority than others so we should make sure to prioritize the tasks. A to do list doesn't do any good if we don't refer back to it, so it is necessary to carry it with us and get the satisfaction of marking off completed task. We should review our list at the end of the day and make any adjustments that may be needed.

Setting goals, either short term or long term is essential for time management. Often we can get so caught up in the day-to-day minutia that we forget about the big picture, our goals. Goals can be as simple as getting to work on time or as complex as starting your own business. Short term and long term goals should always be a part of our lives, to imagine individuals' going through life without goals is unimaginable. Goals should be personal and obtainable. We may have daily goals, for instance, I will be on time to morning staff meetings. Then we should establish short-term goals, which are goals that we want to achieve in a year or less. Long-term goals are normally goals that we would want to achieve in five years or less. What does goal setting have to do with time management? Everything if we want to ever meet those goals! If we don't properly schedule the time to accomplish goals or keep our goals in the fore front of our life they can get put on hold or even lost in the day-to-day hassles. We must break our goals down into doable chunks so we can see progress. It is important to keep the big picture of what we want to achieve in sight. As a part of effective time management, reviewing and evaluating both our short and long-term goals needs to be frequently accomplished. (Mind Tools, 2005)

Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto understood the importance of prioritizing: His Pareto Principle, or 80-20 Rule, suggests that individuals should concentrate 80% of their time on the top 20% of their priorities. In doing so, he argued, individuals would complete

at least 80% of what needed to be done. (Gregg, 1991)

. (The Teal Trust, 2002)

While the ability to organize and to prioritize various tasks is simple enough as shown in the figure 2.1 above, yet the capability to initiate and implement such a series proves to be difficult for most. The unconscious menace of procrastination is a constant variable eventually leading to the demise of a triumphant time management system. To counteract this often troublesome barrier, one must make a, "To do" list with prioritise variables, as shown in figure, illustrating the importance of each task listed in the series, using "Quadrant 1"--for Urgent and Important, "Quadrant 2"--for Important but Not Urgent, "Quadrant 3"--for Urgent but not Important. ,"Quadrant 4"-- for neither Urgent nor Important. (The Teal Trust, 2002). Following this system of prioritising tasks can help overcome time wasters and make our tasks go on smoothly.

Most importantly, the realisation must be that, procrastination may be deeper than the lack of ability