Time Management

Learning Objectives
• What is time management?
• Benefits of time management
• Prioritisation
• Time stressors
• Time stealers
• The time management matrix
• Strategies for effective time management
• The four Ds of time management
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you are the pilot.”
Michael Altshuler
 What is time management?
• Time management is a self-management technique.
• It helps people plan their work as well as leisure ahead of time.
• Time management goes beyond the mere completion of tasks on time.
• It is a value system that involves the commitment of an individual to a
disciplined way of life.
 Benefits of time management
• It allows people to invest time in personal growth.
• It allows them to make immense progress in their professional career.
• It allows them to lead a healthy, relaxed life at home.
• It enhances an individual’s efficiency on the work front.
• It contributes immensely to an organization’s profitability.
• It makes people successful, happy and positive in their thoughts and
interactions with others.
 Prioritisation
• To ‘prioritise’ is to arrange or do things in the order of their relative
importance.

“The key is not to prioritise your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
Stephen Covey
 Time stressors
• Time stressors are sources of pressure in the workplace, when you have a lot
to do and very little time to do it in.
• We try and multi-task where possible, delegate work where we can, take help
where necessary, and by the end of the day, accomplish all our goals.
• Good time management implies we divide our time wisely between things
that are important as well as those that are urgent.
 Time stealers
• Time stealers or time wasters are those activities or tasks that draw your
attention away from the more important work in hand.
 The time management matrix
Urgent Not Urgent

Important Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2

Not Important Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4

 Quadrant 1: Urgent and important activities

• Immediate and important deadlines

• Certain emails that require immediate action
• Assignment deadlines
• Deadlines for tax returns
• Major customer complaints
• A report due in an hour
Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent activities

• Long-term strategizing and development

• Exercising
• Learning a new language
• Learning a new skill
• Creating a budget and savings plan
• Studying for an examination
Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important activities

• Time-pressured distractions
• Activities that require our attention now but don’t help us achieve our goals
or fulfil our mission
• Requests from colleagues for help with their work
• Text messages and promotional phone calls from sales persons
 Quadrant 4: Not urgent, not important activities

• Surfing the web

• Playing video games in every spare moment of time
• Scrolling through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• Going on shopping spree
 Strategies for effective time management
• Start your day by making a daily planner and stick to it throughout the day.
• De-clutter your workstation. A clean and organized desk saves a lot of time
and effort.
• Use smart filing methods, whether you are saving documents on the
computer or in a filing cabinet. Use file names and locations in such a way
that you can locate them easily even under stressful conditions.
• Organize your contact lists systematically. Use technology to save people’s
business card information in an easy-to-retrieve manner.
 Strategies for effective time management
• Download and save important attachments that come with emails, promptly
and carefully.
• De-clutter your inbox regularly. Use filters to avoid spam and other
unwanted mails.
• Arrange your workspace well to save on time. Keep gadgets like printers,
scanners, fax machines, etc. close to your desk. This way you can avoid
walking up to them each time you need them.
• Learn to multi-task effectively. Manage the less important tasks by delegating
them where possible.
 Strategies for effective time management
• Avoid too many unwarranted breaks while at work. Time your breaks well
and optimize the relaxation you get out of them.
• Keep your telephone calls short and to the point. Spend a few minutes
planning what you need to convey, before making a call.
• Use technology to set up reminders to avoid missing deadlines, meetings,
appointments, etc. This can save you an immense amount of time spent in
re-scheduling and re-arranging activities.
 The four Ds of time management
• Delete
• Delegate
• Defer
• Do