improving time management
DESCRIPTION
Regardless of the industry in which you work, there is likely some aspect of time management needed to be successful. This presentation provides an overview of common time wasters, tips for improving time management and ways to hold productive meetings. Learn more about Levelwing's Company Culture and Best Practices: http://ow.ly/jk9jdTRANSCRIPT
TIME MANAGEMENT
2
COMMON SENSE
COMMON is not so
AGENDA 3
- Self-Assessment
- Time Wasters
- Time Management Tips
- Effective Meetings
- Recap
YOU WILL LEARN… 4
- How Am I Currently Wasting Time?
- How Planning + Organization Will Increase Productivity
- How to Get a Handle on Email + Paperwork
- How to Not Waste Time in Meetings
5
SELF-ASSESSMENT
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6
- 1. Each day, I set aside a small amount of time for planning + thinking about my job.
- 2. I set specific, written goals + put deadlines on them.
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always
SELF-ASSESSMENT 7
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always
- 3. I make a daily ‘to do’ list, arrange items in order of importance + try to get the important items done as soon as possible.
- 4. I’m aware of the 80 – 20 rule + use it in my job. (80% of effectiveness will generally come from achieving only 20% of goals.)
SELF-ASSESSMENT 8
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always
- 5. I keep a loose schedule to allow for crises + the unexpected.
- 6. I try to handle each piece of paper only once.
SELF-ASSESSMENT 9
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always
- 7. I eat a light lunch, so I don’t get sleepy in the afternoon.
- 8. I make an active effort to keep common interruptions (visitors, meetings, telephone calls) from continually disrupting my work day.
SELF-ASSESSMENT 10
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always
- 9. I’m able to say no to others’ requests for my time that would prevent my completing important tasks.
- 10. I know what habits I have that keep me from using my time effectively.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? 11
- 0 – 15: Better give some thought to your time management
- 15 – 20: You’re doing okay, but there’s room for improvement
- 20 – 25: Very good
- 25 – 27: Excellent
- 28 – 30: You cheated!
12
TIME WASTERS
CONTROL 13
- Time is lost to two factors:
- Beyond our control
- Within our control
BRAINSTORM 14
- What are examples of factors beyond our control?
FACTORS BEYOND OUR CONTROL 15
- Interruptions: phone calls, last minute meetings, questions from clients
- Computer + equipment problems
- Unplanned work + changing priorities
- Holding + attending unnecessary + unproductive meetings
BRAINSTORM 16
- What are examples of factors within our control?
FACTORS WITHIN OUR CONTROL 17
- Lack of good planning + organization
- Procrastinating until project becomes urgent
- Failing to set + maintain priorities
- Losing focus on task at hand / jumping from project to project
- Not becoming self-aware of habits that lead to wasted time
FACTORS WITHIN OUR CONTROL 18
- Holding + attending unnecessary + unproductive meetings
- Spending too much time on phone + email
- Inability to say ‘no’ + take on too much
- Excessive socializing
AHA! MOMENT 19
- How can understanding what factors are inside + outside of your control affect your time management?
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HELPFUL TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS
PLANNING + ORGANIZING 21
- Failing to plan is planning to fail
PLANNING + ORGANIZING 22
- Get a game plan
- Daily to-do lists
- Review objectives throughout day to update / reprioritize
PLANNING + ORGANIZING 23
- Separate high priority items
- Breakout larger projects into smaller pieces
- Batch routine tasks together
- Match habit preferences to priority / routine items
PLANNING + ORGANIZING 24
- Set aside uninterrupted blocks of time for difficult / lengthy projects
- Music
- Shut off email
- Book a conference room
PAPERWORK 25
- Touch each document once if possible
- Pass on, file or discard
- Temporary hold file
EMAIL 26
- Check emails at specified times throughout day
- Organize email within folders
- Use filters / rules to automatically assign to separate folders
- Limit ‘touching’ emails more than once
EMAIL 27
- After 2 rounds of trying to solve problem via email, pick up the phone / talk in person
- If you can’t respond immediately, let team member know when to expect a response
EMAIL 28
- Be clear communicating what is expected from your email
- Use ‘no response required’ to end messages + discourage unnecessary replies
- Remove yourself from unnecessary distribution lists
EMAIL 29
- Create stock responses + store in drafts folder for frequently used messages
TAKE BREAKS 30
- Get up + stretch
- Grab a drink / coffee, snack
- Switch locations
- Continued education
AHA! MOMENT 31
- What other time management tips do you utilize every day?
- What can you implement this week?
32
EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
IS THE MEETING NECESSARY? 33
Employees have reported spending
hours / week on average in meetings
Source: SHRM
6 – 20
IS THE MEETING NECESSARY? 34
- When to Say Yes
- Allow team members to collaborate (review, evaluate, discuss, problem-solve, etc.) with each other
- Present significant information to the team
- Have face-to-face communication to encourage interaction + create team synergy
- Schedule away!
IS THE MEETING NECESSARY 35
- When to Say No
- Can more effectively accomplish purpose by phone, email, or 1-on-1 discussion
- Premature to meet: topic is still unclear / insignificant
- Consider having 1 day / week with no meetings
MEETING PREP 36
- Send agenda ahead of time
- Avoid meetings 90+ minutes
- Consider personal time management
MEETING AGENDAS 37
- Include:
- Topic stated in question form
- Person responsible for leading discussion
- Relevant information to topic
- Time allotted for discussion
- Okay to include a ‘not-on-agenda’ list of topics that are off limits for that particular meeting
CONDUCTING THE MEETING 38
- Practice A/V set-up
- Greet team members upon arrival
- Start on time
- Recap any last-minute revisions to agenda
- Review meeting purpose, agenda + priorities
- Designate a note taker
- Summarize consensus + any decisions before moving forward
GROUND RULES 39
- 1 person will speak at a time
- No side conversations
- No laptops or cell phones
- Treat everyone’s comments + questions with respect
- Stick to agenda
MEETING FOLLOW-UP 40
- Distribute notes within 4 days maximum
- Reminder of agreements + action items
- Follow up with team members that weren’t present
- Put unresolved topics on next agenda
AHA! MOMENT 41
- What do you do to keep meetings on track + productive?
42
RECAP
RECAP 43
- Are Time Wasters in or out of your control?
- Time Management Tips
- Planning + Organization
- Paperwork + Email
- Breaks
- Effective Meetings
- Is a meeting necessary?
- Agendas
- Next Steps + Follow-up
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? WANT TO SEE MORE?
This content brought to you by Levelwing.
At Levelwing, we specialize in interpreting data and providing you with applications (and not just graphs) that can impact your MARKETING, MERCHANDISING, INVENTORY and even RESEARCH + DEVELOPMENT initiatives. We help companies utilize data to OPERATE WITH GREATER CLARITY + PROFITABILITY.
Bottom line, we move your business forward by helping you make sense of your data so that you can ACHIEVE WHAT COULD BE.
For additional information, please contact: STEVE PARKER, JR. Co-Founder & Managing Partner [email protected] 1 + 843.631.4587
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SOURCES 45
- Effective Meetings Training for Employees: SHRM, 2008
- Time Management Self-Assessment : pulled from 2012 CYP workshop, led by Dale Carnegie Trainer Debbie Cooler
- Time Management Training: SHRM, 2008