It s About Time: Maximizing the Use of Your Time

Transcription

1 It s About Time: Maximizing the Use of Your Time Presented By Jayne Black 2010 Jayne Black for Boise State Center for Professional Development,

2 Time Management We all get 168 hours per week. How do you spend your time? EXERCISE: Place a checkmark in the column that best describes how you feel or act. Then review your responses and focus on each item to see if it represents an opportunity to improve your management of time. 1. Do you normally spend time the way you really want to? 2. Do you often feel harried, or obligated to do things you really don't want to do? 3. Do you feel a sense of accomplishment from your work? 4. Do you work longer hours than your colleagues? 5. Do you regularly take work home evenings or weekends? 6. Do you feel stress because of too much work? 7. Do you feel guilty about your performance at work? 8. Do you consider your job to be fun? 9. Can you find blocks of uninterrupted time when you need to? 10. Do you feel in control about the way you use your time? 11. Do you maintain a regular exercise program? 12. Do you take vacations or long weekends as often as you would like? 13. Do you put off doing the difficult, boring or unpleasant parts of your job? 14. Do you feel you must always be busy doing something productive? 15. Do you feel guilty when you occasionally goof off? Usually Sometimes Rarely 2

3 Analyzing Your Use of Time Analyzing how you spend your time presently is the first step to achieving better control of it. How do you spend your day now? You can't rely on memory when it comes to assessing how you spend your time. It is too easy to overlook the time spent talking to co-workers, making coffee, eating lunch, answering the phone, etc. You may also be unaware of how your energy level varies throughout the day. Most people function at different levels of energy and effectiveness at different times. This may be caused by the amount of sugar in their blood, the length of time since they took a break, routine distractions, stress, discomfort, etc. Using an Activity Time Log (See Appendix) Without modifying your behavior, for several days note down the things you do as you do them, from the moment you start working. Every time you change activities, no matter how small or if it is work related or not, note down the time of the change. No activity should be done without being recorded. These include opening mail, working, making coffee, dealing with co-workers, chatting, getting paper from a printer, etc. People tend to want to skip this step. They say, "I already have a good idea of where my time is spent." The fact is, no one has a realistic view of how they spend their time. The only way to really find out is to complete an Activity Time Log. People are always surprised by what they find. When you add up all the time spent doing non-productive activities, it is startling. If you think you don't have the time to complete an Activity Time Log, you are exactly the sort of person who needs to keep one. Contrary to what you may think, it doesn't take that long. If you keep your log close at hand, you can write things down as they are happening. This will also ensure you don't forget things. 3

4 Analyzing Your Use of Time Using an Activity Time Log (continued) As well as noting activities, it is worth noting how you feel, whether alert, tired, energetic, uninterested, etc. How you feel should be noted at least once each hour throughout the day. You may be tempted to look at your log and say, "I know it looks bad, but today wasn t a normal day. I can explain this. Lots went wrong today." There are no normal days. An Activity Time Log will help you see the great portions of time wasted and how you are wasting them. Only when you recognize the causes, can you begin to make better use of the time you have. 4

5 Analyzing Your Use of Time Chart your energy cycle Chart your energy cycle by drawing a line that shows which part or parts of the day you felt the most energetic. Your Energy Cycle 100% 0% a.m. Noon p.m. Ask yourself the following questions: 1. Do I arrange my workday to take advantage of my energy cycle? Yes No. 2. What could I do differently to make better use of my peak energy time? 5

6 Analyzing Your Use of Time 1. The test of necessity: Scrutinize each activity to determine if it is absolutely necessary - not just nice, but really necessary. It is easy to fall into the habit of doing things long after their usefulness is gone (e.g., monthly reports when the information is available on the computer system or is no longer used). By applying the test of necessity, we can ensure we are only doing the essential tasks. 2. The test of appropriateness: Once the essential tasks are identified, the next step is to determine who should do the task. Are you really the right one to do it? Which department should be responsible? Who/what skills are needed? You will probably identify tasks that could be done by others. You may find you are doing work beneath your skill level that needs to be reassigned or delegated. 3. The test of efficiency: Once you are doing the tasks necessary for you to do, determine if there is a better way to do them. Use process improvement and technology to streamline procedures. There are only three ways to make better use of your time: 1. Discontinue low-priority tasks or activities. 2. Find someone else to take some of your work. 3. Become more efficient at what you do. 6

7 Setting Priorities When opportunities exceed resources, decisions must be made. Setting priorities is a two-step process: 1. Listing things that need to be done; and 2. Prioritizing these items. How should you use your time? An important part of focusing on results is working out what to focus on. Many people work very hard all day doing little jobs that do not actually affect the quality of the work they do. Be sure you are doing the right things. First, list everything you do in a typical week - this can be a review of your Activity Time Log. For each task, ask yourself these questions: 1. Does the task support the company's mission? 2. Does it help me or my co-workers serve our customers (internal and external) better? 3. Does it bring me closer to reaching my work goals? Whenever you identify a task that produces three negative responses to these questions, eliminate it or at least find a way to reduce the time spent doing it. Even if it is only a minor time savings, it will add up over time. If an activity seems 'kind of' important, stop and analyze it more to see if it is truly critical. Or are you just used to doing it? If you can't find a reason that ties it to the company's mission, try to eliminate the activity. 7

8 Setting Priorities How would you like to spend your time? It is important for your own quality of life that you enjoy your job. If you have a broad understanding of what you like and dislike, you will be more able to move your job towards doing things that you enjoy. This is important because you are much more likely to do a job efficiently and effectively if you enjoy it. What do you do well? It is important to know what your talents are. You can use the Workplace Profiles to better understand yourself or read What Color is Your Parachute. By clarifying what you enjoy and what you are good at, clarifying what your job is, and what your manager/supervisor defines as excellent performance, you will ensure that you are working on the right priorities. 8

9 Setting Priorities Use the following to determine your priorities: Priority 1 - Important and Urgent (Must Do): Critical items. Some work will fall into this category because it is your specialty, because of management directives, important customer requirements, deadlines or opportunities for success or advancement. Priority 2 - Important (Should Do): Items of medium value. These items may contribute to improved performance, but are not essential and do not have critical deadlines. Priority 3 - Routine (Could Do or Delegate): Items of lowest value. While enjoyable or interesting, they could be eliminated, postponed or scheduled for slack time. Priority 4 - Wasted (Why Do I Do That?): Items of no value - visiting, useless reading, waiting unnecessarily, re-doing work because of poor planning, etc. 9

10 Setting Priorities 1's, 2's and 3's may change, depending on the day. Priorities change over time. Today's 2's may become tomorrow's 1's as a deadline approaches. In the same way, today's 1's may become tomorrow 3's if circumstances or directives change. 1. List your overall goals for the month, prioritizing them using the system. 2. List and prioritize weekly goals, based on things needed to be done to accomplish your monthly goals. Add any shorter-range goals. 3. Make a weekly and daily 'to do' lists and prioritize, using the approach. 4. Spend your peak energy time doing '1' tasks. 5. Keep yourself on track by asking, "What is the best use of my time right now?" and do it. 6. Handle a piece of paper or mail only one time. Keep these points in mind when you prioritize your work: Most people start with the quick, easy, enjoyable things first. Instead, begin with the important things. Don't allow trivial things to crowd out important things. Constantly switching priorities often results from the failure to properly establish priorities. The best way to set priorities is on the basis of importance. 10

11 Creating More Time Identifying activities: Non-value-added activities: Those that require more than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, space and employee time. Those that are not adding value to the customer. Value-added activities: Those which add value to the customer - one the customer is willing to pay for. 11

12 Creating More Time Making the Most of Your Travel Time: Ask yourself - Is this trip necessary? Can it be handled by mail, or telephone? Can the person come to see you rather than you going to see them? Can someone else take your place? Would this be a growing opportunity for one of your employees? (Remember: delegate, delegate, delegate!) If you must travel, plan your trip carefully. Make sure you have an agenda with objectives for your meeting. If you are traveling 200 miles or less, it may be quicker to drive when you consider the time spent in airports and driving to your final destination. Take along work that you can do while waiting or sitting. This is a good time to get caught up on your reading file or review paperwork. If you are traveling by car, you can make business calls, listen to business or industry books on tape or other materials to sharpen your skills and increase your knowledge. You can enjoy uninterrupted work time on an airline - no phone, no casual visitors, no meetings - or quiet time to do some problem solving or planning. 12

13 Creating More Time Improve Your Reading Techniques With all the information we deal with on a daily basis, an increase in reading skills will have a daily pay back in time saved. Speed reading can help increase the amount of material you can cover. However, this is not a good technique if you need to digest the information. It is useful for browsing information to see if it is useful or for key words if only part of the information may be valuable to you. Effective reading strategies: Read actively to help you concentrate and retain information. Highlight or underline the important text as you go. This decreases review time if you need to go back over important points. Review the table of contents in a book to see what topics you need to know about - and ignore the rest. When reading magazines, look for the articles that apply to you and give attention to those, rather than looking through the entire publication for relevant data. If you don't have time to read the article immediately, you can tear it out or copy it and put it in your reading file and read it while traveling or waiting. Or you can file it in a file folder by subject and read it when you need to know the information (just-in-time). Create extra hours work your peak time! If you get up one hour earlier or stay an hour later for a year, you have created almost 10 additional working weeks. Also, arriving to work before everyone else or staying after others have left will give you an hour of uninterrupted time to work. 13

14 Dealing With Common Time Wasters 14

15 Dealing with Common Time Wasters The average person gets one interruption every eight minutes, or approximately seven an hour, or per day. The average interruption takes five minutes, totaling about four hours or 50% of the average workday. 80% of those interruptions are typically rated as "little value" or "no value", creating approximately three hours of wasted time per day. Surveys have shown that the average manager is only 30% effective. Have you ever noticed that on your last work day before a vacation, you get three days' work done? Of course, it is impossible to perform at peak levels 100% of the time. But if you worked at two-thirds capacity, you would immediately increase your output to twice what it currently is. 15

16 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Identify Your Common Time Wasters: Caused by me Disorganization Procrastination Inability to say "No" Gossiping/Chatting Perfectionism Breaks Other: Caused by the environment Casual Visitors Telephone Calls Mail Waiting time Meetings Crises Unused Info/Reports Other 16

17 Disorganization Dealing with Common Time Wasters If you spend time searching for important papers and information or find yourself looking at the same piece of paper several times you are disorganized. Do you start and stop several times before completing a task? You may need to reevaluate your work area. Is your work area laid out in a way that helps you rather than hinders the flow of work? "A place for everything and everything in its place" is a good rule to follow. If it takes you more than 30 seconds to find information, you need to consider thinking through where information should be kept and how it can be made easy to retrieve. Keep daily work information close at hand and store other files and information that is referenced less frequently in an appropriate place. A good book to read for getting your office and files organized is Taming the Paper Tiger at Work by Barbara Hemphill. Practice completing your tasks. If you are interrupted, do not jump to a new task. Rather, return to the task at hand and stay with it until it is completed. Assess the priority of new requests and avoid beginning a new activity until it becomes your top priority. Watch for the common trap of keeping work on top of your desk "so you won't forget about it." While you are working an a priority '1' item, every time your glance falls on the folder of a priority '2' or '3', your attention will go to it. You will be interrupting yourself. Rely on your daily plan to tell you which project you should be working on. Keep other priorities out of sight. 17

18 Procrastination Dealing with Common Time Wasters Procrastination can appear in a number of ways. Paralysis by planning - The planning process is drawn out to avoid confronting the issue or doing the task. Plans are polished and perfected, but actual work is delayed. Perfectionism - Tasks are re-done and minor changes are made long after they have reached a sufficient level. This often serves to delay tackling other problems. Most of the time perfection is not required and it is not time-effective. Boredom - Boring jobs are postponed for invalid reasons. Self-discipline is needed. Hostility to the task - If you are hostile to the task or the person assigning the task, there is a real temptation to delay getting started. The Deadline High - Coming up against a tight deadline and meeting it can be very satisfying. It can be associated with strong rushes of adrenaline. Ask yourself if you are delaying jobs to get a rush of adrenaline and the sense of satisfaction it brings. If things go wrong at the last minute, you may find your project is not completed on time or accuracy may suffer when time is short. Some folks say they work best under pressure. But no one does their best work at the last minute. 18

19 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Procrastination (continued) To tackle procrastination, set deadlines by which goals/tasks must be accomplished. Include intermediary goals to help you stay on track and alert you if you are falling behind schedule. Tips: If a project feels too overwhelming, break it into small, easy tasks and work on one of them. Balance your day with tasks you enjoy and those that area less enjoyable, but still important. Trade tasks with a co-worker. If you enjoy certain tasks that he or she does not, make a deal. Commit to work on an unpleasant task for just a half-hour. Reward yourself after finishing a difficult task a coffee break or short walk outside. Devote specific time on your calendar to the task. Positive Delay - Some delays may be positive and useful. It may be a good idea to delay working on a project if: You are tired, upset, or angry. These conditions may reduce clarity of thought. When you do not have the information or skills to do the job properly. It may be best to wait until you have them. When there is something more important to do than the job being delayed. 19

20 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Inability to Say 'No' The most powerful word in our Time Management vocabulary is 'no.' Why don't we just say 'No'? It may be: we don't know how; don't have the emotional fortitude to refuse; timidity; need to please; fear of offending; need to feel needed, important or valuable. Or we say 'no' apologetically or hesitantly. You don't need an excuse to say 'no.' Simply say, "I'm sorry, but I'll have to say 'no' this time." Steps to saying 'No.' 1. Listen to be sure you fully understand what is being asked of you. 2. Say 'no' politely but firmly. 3. If appropriate, explain your reasons. This enforces your credibility. 4. Offer alternatives or suggestions of other ways to meet the person's need. Saying 'no' to the boss is different than your approach to a co-worker. In this instance, remind him/her of your other projects and ask for help in deciding where the new assignment should fall on the list of priorities. 20

21 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Gossiping/Chatting We can waste time gossiping or chatting about the latest changes in the organization or our fellow workers. See if this is a problem for you as you review your Activity Time Log. If it is, make a conscious effort to avoid the topics or the people you get into these types of conversations with. If you are a sociable person, it may begin as a friendly conversation and then get out of control. It is unprofessional and will chip away at your productive time. Perfectionism Some of the problem with perfectionism may come with your psychological type. If you find yourself re-doing your work several times and making changes/corrections that no one really cares about or will notice except you, practice stopping with the second draft. Rarely does rework past the second draft add value to the final product. Instead, spend the time you usually spend reworking minor details by beginning on your next priority item. Your productivity will increase and you will have added time to your day. 21

22 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Casual or Drop-In Visitors The average drop-in visit lasts ten minutes - and the time to recover your concentration and momentum is even longer than the time consumed by the visit. Visitors can waste a lot of time. You may find you are wasting time dealing with co-workers who stop to chat or assistants needing help on small matters. Protect yourself by not being too welcoming. Move your desk so it's facing away from the main traffic flow. Do not greet every passerby - train yourself not to make eye contact. Don't have seating for more folks that you need to in your office. If possible, close your door when you don't want to be interrupted. You can also avoid eye contact, stand up, or move toward the door. These can send the unspoken signal that you are working on something important. Set a time limit at the beginning. Say something like, "Sure, I can help. However, I have a meeting in 10 minutes. Can we finish in that time?" Go to the other person's office. Then you can leave whenever you're ready. Deal with their question if it's truly brief or a genuine emergency. Set up another time to meet with them. Suggest they confer with the appropriate person. We want to be friendly and everyone needs a break for a few minutes every now and then. Just be on alert that these don't turn into time wasters - keep encounters friendly and short. Take care not to be an interrupter yourself. Keep a running list of items to discuss with key people and bundle them into one meeting. 22

23 Telephone Calls Dealing with Common Time Wasters Telephone calls can be very distracting. They can stop your train of thought and disrupt your work. While we may not have the luxury of not answering the phone, we can decrease the time spent on the phone to keep this distraction to a minimum. Cutting down the length of time on the phone: Have a goal for the call. Always know what you want to discuss. Make sure you have all the documentation you will need. This saves time for you and the person you are calling. T's and J' prefer a clean cut, direct approach. F's and P's may prefer a sociable approach. Adjust your approach to the person you are calling. A few minutes to be sociable (if this important to the person you are calling) will help them focus on the business at hand more quickly. Keep social chat to a minimum. Meet the needs of the other party, then get down to business. Instead of saying, "Hello, Don. How's the weather out in California?" Say, "Hello, Don. I know you're busy too; I just have one quick question, okay?" Don t say, "Hi there, Linda. How was the vacation?" Say, "Hi there, Linda. What can I do for you?" Give concise answers to questions. Don't ramble or provide unnecessary details. 23

24 Telephone Calls Dealing with Common Time Wasters Cutting down the length of time on the phone (continued) At the end of the call, summarize the points to be sure both parties agree on what has been said and what action will be taken by each. To get long winded folks off the phone, try these tips: Cue the ending. "Steve, before we hang up, I want to be sure we're clear on this one point." Mention your time limit. "I just have a minute before I have to leave for a meeting. Was there anything else you need? Be direct. "Terry, I'm gonna have to leave it here; the boss is expecting something from me in a few minutes." Don't talk to anyone else when you are on the phone. If necessary, put the person on hold, then talk. 24

25 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Telephone Calls - Initiating Phone Calls Take the initiative. When you have a call to make, make it. Leaving it waiting builds up stress if it is unpleasant or difficult. If you get voice mail, leave a detailed message so when they return your call they can be prepared for the topic to be discussed. Return calls promptly. By not returning a call, you may be slowing down the other person's ability to meet their goals/deadlines. Jot down items or topics you need to talk to someone about and when you call them, make the best use of your time and theirs by covering all the topics in one phone call. You can use something like the form below to help. 25

26 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Think before you write. Make your message clear, concise, useful, and meet the needs of your reader. Don't send unnecessary or frivolous messages. This wastes your time and your reader's time. Use the subject line to get the reader's attention. It will help them identify the topic and prepare them mentally for your topic. Proofread your document before you send it. If you are receiving unnecessary , get off distribution lists. This would include your inclusion in unwanted "cc" lists. Check every couple of hours, instead of every five minutes. Many people become chained to their server, monitoring incoming on a continuous basis. Let it batch up and respond three or four times per day - less if you can get by with it. Deal with it. Like handling paper, you don't want to get into the "shuffling blues" where you read , postpone action, save it, re-read it later, and allow things to slip through the cracks. As you open each do one of the following: a. If it requires a quick response, (it will only take a minute or two), respond to it and delete it. b. If it requires a response but is not the best use of your time, try to think of a way of delegating it. Forward it on to an assistant. c. If it is going to take any serious amount of time to respond ( beyond a minute or two,) schedule it for action in your Daily Plan and then download the message, save it, or print it out for future action. 26

27 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Mail Learn to handle a piece of mail only once. Read it and decide what action is needed. If you don't need it, throw it away immediately. If you have a reading file, put reading material in it and save it for a travel day, while waiting for an appointment, or at a non-peak energy time. If the mail needs action, determine the priority. It may be a quick phone call or will take care of the need. To make it easy, remember -- F-A-T: File It Act On It (schedule it in your day, if necessary) Toss It If an assistant opens your mail, you can help them identify junk mail and have them throw it away before it even comes to you. If you find yourself re-reading a piece of mail or moving it around on your desk, stop yourself and determine what to do with it. You can keep active files in a file holder on your desk and quickly file things you need to take action on later. Jot the action needed down in the appropriate place on your calendar so you won't forget about it. This keeps mail from becoming a distraction by sitting on your desk and puts your mind at ease because you have scheduled it in your day or week. 27

28 Waiting time Dealing with Common Time Wasters Waiting time should be taken advantage of. We all find ourselves waiting - in the doctor's office, for an appointment with a business contact, for a team member, traveling, etc. We can make good use of this time. Use waiting time to catch up on your reading file or fine-tune your plan for tomorrow or next week. Don't spend an unreasonable time waiting for someone to become available. If you go to someone's office and they are not available, return to your work area until they are. If you think you may be left waiting, take along your "reading file" and catch up on journals, magazines, business books, or other information you need to do your job. 28

29 Meetings Dealing with Common Time Wasters At any given time in America, there are 11 million meetings going on! You can find yourself wasting time by attending meetings you don't need to (delegate!) When you call a meeting, make sure you have an agenda and a reasonable time frame and stick to it. If you are done early, great. But don't run over. Begin and end on time. If you have regular staff meetings and determine there is really nothing to discuss, don't hesitate to cancel the meeting. Go for just the portion of the meeting that relates to you. If someone suggests a meeting, ask, "Can't we just do it now on the phone?" or "Well, we're together now; why don't we just decide?" Consider a conference call as a alternative to a face-to-face meeting or as an alternative to traveling to a meeting. Consider the timing for the meeting. Is it convenient for you or will it interrupt your time to work on your priority items? When someone is asking for our time for a meeting, 80% of the time, there is an alternate date and time that will be acceptable. 29

30 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Crises Unexpected events happen. However, if a crisis is recurring, you need to check into the root cause to eliminate it. If you see a pattern, determine what the proper response should be when it happens so that you have a planned response rather than a panic response. If you procrastinate, you are contributing to a possible crisis which will waste your time and perhaps the time of co-workers. Use contingency planning to minimize the effects of crises. Use the following three steps: 1. Identify potential problems. Ask yourself, "What could go wrong?" 2. Rank them in priority order, considering both the degree of seriousness and the probably of occurrence. 3. Develop steps to prevent the crises or limit the consequences. Use the Contingency Matrix on the following page to help you prioritize. 30

31 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Crises (continued) Contingency Matrix: 1 = Most serious or likely; 2 = Serious or likely; 3 = Least serious or unlikely Add the points for 'how serious' and 'how probable' to derive the weighted priority. The weighted priority with the lowest score is your most serious concern. After you have identified your most serious concerns, think though steps to prevent or limit each crisis. Develop preventative steps. Use your job knowledge to uncover potential problems. Potential Problems Priority Analysis How Serious How Probable Weighted Priority Prevent Steps to: Limit 31

32 Dealing with Common Time Wasters Unused information/reports If you suspect you are generating or find you are receiving information or reports either electronically or in paper form that have outlived their useage, discuss this with the originator and determine what can be discontinued. This is a quick and easy way to save dollars for the company. Time and resources can be better directed toward current business needs. Many times it is easy to get in the habit of assuming something needs to be done because that's the way it's been since you started. While you are keeping your Activity Time Log, notice the information you are receiving and sending and re-evaluate it's usefulness. 32

33 Dealing with Your Time Wasters EXERCISE: List time wasters you have dealt with. Select three of the most serious and determine how you can deal with them effectively. Time Wasters Caused by me Caused by the Environment List your three most serious time wasters. What are they? How much of your time do they consume? What causes them? What can you do to reduce the impact of these time wasters? 33

34 Time Management Making Better Use of Your Time Select three opportunities to improve on. Add up the possible time savings. Opportunity No. 1: Actions I will take Target Date Opportunity No. 2: Actions I will take Target Date Opportunity No. 3: Actions I will take Target Date Follow Up 34

35 After six weeks, take the Six Week Check Up in the appendix. After three months - Keep an Activity Time Log for a week. Compare it to your first one. How much time are you saving? Long range follow up - Take time to keep an Activity Time Log once a quarter. This will help you see when you are falling back into old, ineffective practices. 35

36 Activity Log Activity Time Started Time Stopped Total Time Energy Level (5=high, 1=low) Six Week Check-Up - In six weeks, complete the following to document your progress. 36

37 Scoring key: Yes = 1; Usually = 2; Sometimes = 3; Rarely = 4; Never or No = 5; Not Applicable = N/A 1. Do you have your objectives in writing? 2. Do you plan and schedule your time on a weekly and daily basis? 3. Can you find large blocks of uninterrupted time when you need to? 4. Are the crises in your job reduced or eliminated? 5. Do you let the phone go unanswered when you are engaged in important conversations or work? 6. Are you making good use of travel and waiting time? 7. Have you identified and followed through on opportunities for delegation? 8. Are you making sure your staff is not practicing upward delegation? 9. Are you taking the time each time to ensure that what you are doing is related to what you are trying to accomplish? 10. Have you eliminated any time wasters during the last week? 11. Do you feel you are in control of your time? 12. Are your desk and office organized and free of clutter? 13. Have you reduced or eliminated time wasted in or attending meetings? 14. Have you improved your tendency to procrastinate? Adapted from Personal Time Management, Revised Edition, Marion E. Hayes, copyright1987,1994, Crisp Publications 37

38 Six Week Check-Up (continued) Scoring key: Yes = 1; Usually = 2; Sometimes = 3; Rarely = 4; Never or No = 5; Not Applicable = N/A 15. Are you using the priority system to guide your work? 16. Are you resisting getting overly involved in non-productive activities? 17. Is your schedule such that others do not waste their time waiting for you? 18. Are you meeting deadlines? 19. Can you identify the critical few tasks that account for the majority of your results? 20. Has you better organized and getting more accomplished than you were six weeks ago? 21. Are you spending less time on routine paperwork (e.g., reports, mail, etc.) 22. Are you effectively controlling interruptions and drop-in visitors? 23. Are you able to say "No" when you should? 24. Is your reading file current? 25. Did you schedule in time for the things you enjoy - recreation, family, community service, study etc,? Scoring: Add the points assigned to each statement. The lower your score, the better. Look at the items you rated a 4 or 5. These are areas for further development. Re-take this survey every 90 days. Old habits have a way of creeping back in. This will help you stay on target with your time management goals. Adapted from Personal Time Management, Revised Edition, Marion E. Hayes, copyright1987,1994, Crisp Publications 38

39 Resources: Performance in Practice - Spring Personal Time Management - Marion E. Haynes, Crisp Publication The Time Trap, Third Edition, Alex Mackenzie Type and Time Management - Sharon Fitzsimmons, Ph.D. 39