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Time Management

Module by: Dr. Sujata Krishna. E-mail the author

Summary: A brief overview of time management. Also included is a link to Randy Pausch's talk on time management.

Time Management

Sujata Krishna

In this module you will learn to:

  1. Clarify your goals and steps to attainment of the goal
  2. Delegate
  3. Deal with issues that take up your time
  4. Manage procrastination & Stress

Clarify your goals and steps to attainment of the goal

Ask yourself:

  • Why am I doing this?
  • What is my goal – over the next 10 years? Over 1 year? Is this your goal or someone elses?
  • What do you need to do to succeed? Write this down and make a timeline for attainment. Break it down into small steps that are attainable.
  • Make your goal something you can assess - how will you know you attained it?
  • Define the resources you need - people, equipment, time etc.
  • Identify the potential obstacles in attaining your goal

Failure to plan leads to failure. Plan out your day (in detail), week, semester, year and long term (somewhat more vaguely). You can change these, but you must have a plan.

Splitting Your Work Time

You Should aim to spend:

  • 80% of your time doing your work towards your goal
  • 10% of your time on Professional Development
  • 10% of your time on publicizing your work - i.e. writing papers, giving talks, professional networking etc.

Place each task in a Covey’s 4 quadrant to-do list:

Table 1
  Urgent Non-urgent
Important 1 2
Unimportant 3 4

Tackle #1 first, then 2, 3, and 4 in that order.

Delegate

Delegate everything you can to someone else who can do it well. Give them the resources to do it & trust them.

Deal with issues that take up your time

Several issues often take up your valuable time, such as:

  • Disordered paperwork – can’t find what you are looking for
  • Emails, paper requests
  • Missed appointments or unpreparedness for meetings
  • Tired, unable to concentrate
  • People requesting help, volunteering etc.
  • Telephone calls where you are on hold

What can you do about it?

  • File paperwork away. Focus on one issue at a time.
  • Emails: Deal With it Once: if it is a short task, do it now and be done with it
  • Learn to say ‘No’ firmly, but politely. Use ‘I’ll do it if no one else steps forward.’
  • Communicate clearly and follow a conversation up by an email stating the outcomes.
  • Never commit immediately. Always ask for time to consider.
  • Calls – use the speaker phone so your hands are free.

Manage Procrastination & Stress

  • Stress often results from poor time management.
  • Good time management leads to success.
  • If a task has no deadline, make one up.
  • Don’t aim for perfection, aim to be good.
  • Last minute, rushed jobs cost you. Best to not leave it to the end.

Tools for Time Management

  • 1. Time Management Quiz - Use this to discover how good your time management skills are and where you can benefit form improvement.
  • 2. Rescue Time is a program that runs in the background on your computer and tracks how much time you spending doing different things. There is a free lite version that lets you see, for example, how much time you spend emailing, or on Facebook etc. A paod subscription enables you to set up time limits on different types of activities.
  • 3. LeechBlock will block various sites after time allotments you've given it have been used up. This can help you manage your time.

References & Further Reading

  1. Randy Pausch’s Talk on Time Management, University of Virginia, Nov. 2007.
  2. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, Free Press, 1990 ISBN 0671663984

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