Time Management

simple techniques
to take control of your life
Why Are You Here?
the common challenges
we all face in time management
About Time Management
what it is
and how it works
 What is Time Management?
• Having all the information you need
readily available
• Having a trusted system that allows
incoming information to be collected,
organized and acted upon
• Keeping your head clear of
distractions
• Knowing what needs to be done at a
given time, in a given situation
• Feeling like you’ve actually
accomplished something
The 3 Phases in Time Management

•Collect & Organize

•Process & Prioritize
•Do & Review
The 5 Keys to Success
core concepts
to taking control of your life
 Key 1: Discrete Phases
•Each phase of time
management is a
discrete activity.
•Don’t skip phases.
•Don’t mix phases.
Key 2: Reduce Collection Points
•Reduce your
Collection Points.
•No more “stuff in
the glove box, stuff
in the briefcase, stuff
on the desk”
 Key 3: Be Organized
•When “stuff” comes
in, it gets put into the
right Collection
Point.
•No piles!
•No random stuff in
random places.
Key 4: Review Often, Review Well
•Regular reviews are
essential!
•You can’t know
where you’re going if
you don’t know
where you’ve been.
•Feeling like you’ve
succeeded requires
that you know what
you’ve
accomplished.
 Key 5: Next Actions Are Key
•Next Actions and
ONLY Next Actions
go onto your to-do
lists.
•Projects get broken
down into Next
Actions, with the full
list hidden away.
•Don’t overwhelm
yourself.
Collect & Organize
the first step
to successful time management
Key to Success: Each Phase is Discrete
What Are Collection Points?
•A Collection Point is
where you ‘capture’
and store incoming
information.
•Examples: Notepad,
physical inbox, PDA,
cellphone, computer,
etc.
 About Collection Points
• Too many Collection Points aren’t
healthy.
• Collection Points must be reduced to
their bare minimum, otherwise you
lose information.
• In an ideal world, we would have one
place where all information comes in,
gets sorted and gets prioritized.
• In the real world, information comes
from a million directions all at once.
Key to Success: Reduce Your Collection Points
Suggested Collection Points
• A single place to put paper (physical
in-box, basket or a visible space just
for you)
• A single place to jot down Next
Actions or thoughts “on the go” (pad
of paper, PDA, personal recording
device or even leaving yourself
voicemails with your cellphone)
• A single place on your PC where you
capture Next Actions (Outlook’s Task
List, a todo.txt file on your desktop,
etc)
Suggested Collection Points
• A single place to collect Email (your
Outlook inbox, your hotmail account,
etc)
• Your voicemail boxes (work, home,
cell)
 Unhealthy Collection Points
• Car glove box
• A pile on your desk
• A pile on somebody else’s desk
• On a chair
• In a “Miscellaneous” file in your filing
cabinet
• In the bathroom
Mini Key to Success…
NO PILES ALLOWED!!!
Effectively Organizing Your ‘Stuff’
the ideal filing system
for all your entertainment needs
Critical Elements to a Filing System
• Whether your filing system is real
(filing cabinet) or virtual (on your
PC), it requires certain common
elements.
• Recommended structure: Business
Critical, Business Reference,
Personal and Generic Reference
• Underneath each top-level structure,
include a folder for each project
• Mirror the filing system wherever you
file items.
 Example Filing System
• Business Critical
• Microsoft Courses
• Blogging Book
• Taxes
• Business Reference
• Newsletters
• Seminar Notes
• Personal
• Worship
• Band
• Generic Reference
• Paid Bills
• Filed Taxes
• Correspondence
Break Time!
Process & Prioritize
going where no man has gone before:
Next Actions
Why This Process is So Important
• First you get everything where you
can find it (Collect & Organizing)
• Then you figure out what needs
“doing” (Processing)
• Then you figure out what’s most
important (Prioritizing)
• Finally you do (Do)
• Then you make sure you’re
succeeding (Review)
What Happens When You Don’t…
• Stuff shows up, gets put somewhere
• You make a ‘mental note’ (these often use
crummy glue and fall off before you get
home) to do something about it
• Other things crowd into your day as
people ask you to do things
• When you finally have free time, you can’t
remember what you have to do
• At the end of each day and week, you feel
like you must have done something
important, but can’t remember what it
might have been.
 Sound Familiar?
the process may sound overly complicated,
but its really designed to make your life simpler
 What is Processing
• Working your way through the
material in your Collection Points
• Resisting the urge to “Do”
• Touch each item once, so that you
can move onto the next item quickly.
Make decisions as you touch items,
not “later” (otherwise you’re just
creating piles)
• Transfer items into other Collection
Points as needed (from a voicemail
onto paper, or from paper into your
computer)
 How to Process
• Processing is a 4-step process,
characterized by 4 D’s: Delete, Do,
Delegate and Defer.
Step 1: Delete
if it isn’t worth keeping,
it’s worth throwing away
 Step 2: Do
if you can do it in 2 minutes or less,
do it immediately
 Step 3: Delegate
entrust someone else
to do the task or project (like getting your husband to take out the trash)
 Defer
if it’s something you need to do,
but can’t do in under 2 minutes, you’re deferring it for later
 Next Actions
the simple key
to actually getting things done
 What Are Next Actions?
• The very next physical action you
have to do to move a project forward
• “Call travel agent about vacation
prices”
• “Heckle Peter during sermon”
• “Get gas for lawn mower” (or not, if
your “Project” is to NEVER do the
lawn)
 What Aren’t Next Actions
• “Plan trip”
• “Pay bills”
• “Do sermon”
• A Next Action is the NEXT action you
need to do. A Next Action is NOT a
Project!
 Next Actions vs Projects
• Projects are series of Next Actions.
In order to plan a trip you need to
decide on a budget, then call the
travel agent, then talk to your wife,
then get passports, then book the
tickets…
• Generally Next Actions are “small”
things you can do in 10-15 minutes,
while projects take serious time.
 Why Next Actions Work
• A Project is overwhelming, and is
easy to put off.
• Something that only takes 10-15
minutes of your time is not only do-
able, it’s also satisfying (check
things off your list)
BRAIN DUMP!
 What to Dump
• What are your responsibilities
• What projects are you involved in
• What are things you’d love to do
someday
• What things have you forgotten to do
in the last 2-3 months
 Ideas for Brain Dump
• Work
• Projects (started) Projects not yet started
Commitments
• Communications Reports
Proposals
• Meetings (new) Read and review
Budgets
• Forecasts Pipeline reports
Presentations
• Travel Training/seminars
Research

• Personal
• Projects (started) Projects not yet started
Commitments
• Civic groups Special occasions Financial
• Home chores Home projects
Entertainment
• Health care Hobbies
Errands
Find Next Actions
 What Are the Next Actions
• In groups, help each other figure out what
the very next action required to move a
project forward is
• Break down project or two per person
• Remember: if it takes more than one
“step” to do each Next Action, it’s
probably more than one Next Action
• Remember: Next Actions are generally 10-
15 minutes in length. If your Next Action is
longer, see if it can be split up so that you
are more likely to actually DO it
Tips for Creating Next Actions
• Understand the difference between
projects and Next Actions
• Break multi-step activities down into
individual actions
• Use action verbs
• Use a portable Collection Point to
capture Next Actions “in the
moment”
 Reviewing
How to know if you are succeeding,
and how to correct course if you aren’t
 Two Types of Reviews
• Daily Reviews: Done at the beginning
or end of each day. Last 10-15
minutes. Help you figure out what
you HAVE to do each day.
• Weekly Reviews: Done at the
beginning or end of each week. Help
you assess priorities, measure your
progress in large projects and align
your plans for the coming week.
 Daily Reviews
• Don’t plan too much in: Pickle
Jar’ing It
• Plan different types of activities (mix
it up, so you don’t get bored)
• If it helps you get things done, plan
breaks
• Leave space for you
 Weekly Reviews
• Do a brain dump to make sure stuff
that’s in your head makes it onto
paper or into Next Actions
• Process any lingering information in
your Collection Points
• Review your progress from last week
• Look forward to the week ahead:
what does your calendar look like,
what major events might be coming
up, how full is your to-do list, is it
your wife’s birthday or your
anniversary? ;-)
How it All Works Together
Theory is good,
application is better, practice is best
 Marc’s Example
• At the beginning of each day, Marc
reviews his email, his voicemails and
talks to his wife and/or boss to see
what needs done that day
• Marc schedules in any calls he needs
to do at specific times, or meetings
he needs to be at
• He then either schedules in specific
tasks OR blocks of time to do tasks
from his Next Actions list
 Marc’s Day… Continued
• As Marc goes throughout the day, he
carries a notepad with him to take
down notes.
• Marc does NOT have email
notification on, because processing
email is part of the Processing
phase. When he Processes, he
checks email.
• Marc maintains 2 to-do lists: a large
“Next Actions List”, and a daily list of
things he HAS to get done, as well as
things he’d LIKE to get done.
 Marc’s Day… Part 3
• If Marc finds ‘free time’ (ie: unscheduled
time) in his day, he looks to his small,
daily to-do list.
• Marc has enough freedom and discipline,
that if he’s “on a roll” with a project, he
can figure out what the Next Action is, and
do it right away while the thoughts are
fresh.
• Marc keeps post-it notes in his day-timer:
one side is the name of the project and the
next task he’s set out, the other side is all
the tasks he has identified to finish the
project. As he crosses off items on one
side (the Next Action side), he writes a
new one down from the other side.
 Marc’s Story… Part 4
• At the end of every week, Marc reviews his
objectives for the week, the lists of things
he’s gotten done and his overall progress
towards his “big goals” and rewards
himself accordingly
• During his reviews, Marc makes sure his
Collection Points are empty, makes sure
each of the important people in his life
(boss, wife, business partners, children
and Peter Fitch) are being well served
• Marc spends time in prayer or quiet time
to see if there is anything important for
next week
• Marc plans out his next week’s important,
MUST DO, and “hope to do” Next Actions
Question & Answer