How To Manage Your Time More Effectively

[pakfame]

Managing the time over which you have discretion is the critical
aspect of personal planning and organisation. The tasks that
you complete in this time can be thought of in two ways:

Urgency:
The task has the appearance of needing immediate attention

Importance:
The task contributes to the effective performance of your job

Here are the issues:

* We know we need to spend time on the urgent, important tasks
(problems)

* We know we shouldn't waste time on the non-urgent, unimportant
tasks (pleasant)

* The question is how much of our time is spent reacting to
urgent, unimportant tasks and how much should be spent on the
pro-active, important tasks?

So, What Are The Important Tasks?

Important tasks are those that help you to achieve your Key
Result Areas - those areas of the job against which your
performance is measured, and which contribute to the overall
effectiveness of your company.

Here is a quick ready reckoner of what you should do and should
not do as far as manging your time is concerned:

WHEN A TASK IS IMPORTANT AND URGENT YOU SHOULD.....

DO IT NOW!

- emergencies, complaints and crisis issues
- demands from superiors or customers
- planned tasks or project work now due
- meetings and appointments
- reports and other submissions
- staff issues or needs
- problem resolution, fire-fighting, fixes

Subject to confirming the importance and the urgency of these
tasks, do these tasks now. Prioritise according to their
relative urgency.


WHEN A TASK IS IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT YOU SHOULD...

PLAN TO DO IT!

- planning, preparation, scheduling
- research, investigation, designing, testing
- networking relationship building
- thinking, creating, modeling, designing
- systems and process development
- anticipation and prevention
- developing change, direction, strategy

Critical to success: planning, strategic thinking, deciding
direction and aims, etc. Plan time-slots and personal space for
these tasks.


WHEN A TASK IS NOT IMPORTANT BUT URGENT YOU SHOULD...

REJECT AND EXPLAIN!

- trivial requests from others
- apparent emergencies
- ad-hoc interruptions and distractions
- misunderstandings appearing as complaints
- pointless routines or activities
- accumulated unresolved trivia
- boss's whims or tantrums

Scrutinise and probe demands. Help originators to re-assess.
Wherever possible reject and avoid these tasks sensitively and
immediately.


WHEN THE TASK IS NOT IMPORTANT AND NOT URGENT YOU SHOULD...

RESIST AND CEASE!

- 'comfort' activities, computer games, net surfing, excessive cigarette breaks
- chat, gossip, social communications
- daydreaming, doodling, over-long breaks
- reading nonsense or irrelevant material
- unnecessary adjusting equipment etc.
- embellishment and over-production

Habitual 'comforters' not true tasks. Non-productive,
de-motivational. Minimise or cease altogether. Plan to avoid
them.