time management for librarians taming the beast …
TRANSCRIPT
Overview
Why time management is necessary
Formal theory of time management
Ways to manage time in the real world
Helen Salmon
University of Guelph LibraryAssociate Chief Librarian, User ServicesResponsible for:
Information Resources Information ServicesAcademic LiaisonEvaluation and AnalysisArchival and Special Collections
Other duties as assigned …
Our roles outside of work life
GardeningHiking
Wife, Mother, Daughter
And all the other stuff!!
The time crunch
With the advent of technology, the distinction between workplace and home and between weekdays and weekends has blurred
We structure our leisure more formally, so it feels less “restful”
Cycles of economic downturn and downsizing means fewer hands to do the same work
Multi-tasking means multi-pressures!
Time is the scarcest resource of themanager; If it is not managed, nothing else can be managed.
– Peter F. Drucker
What is it anyway?
Work: time management refers to the development of processes and tools that increase efficiency and productivity.
What is it anyway?
Life: managing our time to waste less time on doing the things we have to do so we have more time to do the things we want to do.
Formal theories of time management
Pareto’s principle:
A small number of causes (20%) is responsible for a large part of the effect (80%)
“the vital few and the trivial many”
Implications
The relationship between input and output is not balanced:
20% of a person's effort generates 80% of the person's results; 80% of your success comes from 20% of your efforts
It is vital to focus 80% of your time on the 20% of your work that REALLY counts
Other Examples of Pareto in the workplace
80% of a manager's interruptions come from the same 20% of the people
80% of customer complains are about the same 20% of your projects, products, services
80% of your staff headaches come from 20% of our employees
80% of a problem can be solved by identifying the correct 20% of the issues
80% of the decisions made in meetings come from 20% of the meeting time
What they didn’t (couldn’t) What they didn’t (couldn’t) teach us in library schoolteach us in library school
Time Management 101Time Management 101::
Planning
Scheduling
Organizing
Meetings
Delegating
Collaborating
Decisions
Saying no
Interruptions
Procrastinating
And other things…
Planning and Prioritizing
Take time to think and to consultAlign your work with what matters most
to your institution: Mission statement and goals Supporting important work that others are
doingDetermine priority before urgency
Scheduling
Negotiate and manage realistic deadlines
Use available scheduling tools to best effect
Structure in adequate time for all stages of the work, then review and revise often
Check in with colleagues and clients
You are in charge (not the schedule)
Organize yourself
Keep an updated “to do” list, in priority order Deal with paperwork/email once … or treat it
as a scheduled event Staged filing Practice the “deep filing" method
Organize yourself
Use technology wiselyManage professional readingOrganize your workspace (match your
own mental models)Use project management techniquesTime shift
Managing Meetings
Question the need and frequency of meetings Shared agenda building (only) the right participants Facilitate well Keep minutes brief (a record of the agenda +
decisions + designated followup) Maximize email collaboration, document
sharing, and work between meetings
Delegating
Don’t delegate if you can eliminate
Delegate appropriately, gradually and strategically
Give support and credit Time invested now has
a future payoff DO NOT micromanage!
Collaboration
Assigning/sharing workload
Maximizing the strengths and productivity of a team
Making good use of the ideas of others
Asking for help when you need it
Borrowing models and templates from other sources
Decision making
Make informed decisionsDO make decisionsCommunicate effectively and clearlyUse common sense
It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions. -- Jim Rohn
Learn to say NO
Recognize your limits Take time to think about
it Be honest and vocal
about why Offer to defer or take a
turn next time Discuss workload with
supervisor - suggest an alternate approach
Managing interruptions
For crucial deadlines, make yourself inaccessible
Schedule formal “check-in” meetings
Schedule social time Be polite but direct Offer an alternate time Manage self-
interruptions
Procrastination
A little pressure helps – too much leads to poor work
Fear of failure Habit of doing the
easy or trivial stuff first
Lack of clear deadlines
Avoiding procrastination
Divide project into small, schedulable stages
Do collaborative work
Don’t be a perfectionist
Take a break at the end
Maximizing the “fun” parts
Choose work that you likeImportance of humourMake the work as pleasant as possibleRewarding yourself for reaching small
and large goals
Microsoft redesign of Windows
Software aesthetics is not a matter of superficial sex appeal. Beautiful design has an effect on our mental states – we think differently under the sway of beauty. “The brain has been wired through evolution to be attracted by good things…when we seethings that are pleasurable, when we’re enjoying ourselves, it makes us more willing to explore, more imaginative.”
…The keyboard jockeys of the information age – precisely the people using Microsoft Windows – do their best work when they’rerewarded, rather than discouraged, for creativity and mental agility.
- Discover, May 2004 issue
Your Mom was right…
• Take care of yourself Avoid burnoutTake breaks and time off and don’t compromise themRewards for good work doneForgive mistakes….and learn from them
• Play nice
• Use your common sense
• Take your umbrella