Project Management

Lecture 6
Time Management
Management Your Time

Tarik Ahmed{Professor, Dr}

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• Once the first task required in any time management
programme is an assessment of the current state.
• Request the students to prepare a time log for a
typical day, recording for each activity or task:
– Time started
– Activity undertaken
– Pay off or value ( low, medium or high)
– Duration
– Whether planned or not
– Could the task have been delegated?

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 Time Management Myth 1

• Focus on your goals and only the information

relevant to them, then ignore the rest

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 Time Management Myths 2 and 3
• Don’t waste time on unimportant people
• Place a do not disturb sign on your door to
limit interruptions so you can be more
productive

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• Information fuels knowledge which is the lifeblood of the
manager.

• That knowledge, however, must relate to the entire system;

otherwise, the left hand does not know when the right hand
is doing.

• Miss one key piece of information about your supplier,

customer, competitor or emerging trend and you risk not only
productivity and success but ultimately your business
survival.

• An accurate and useful view is necessary

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 Time management Myths 4 and 5
• Carefully plan ahead and schedule your time
on a daily basis

• Never handle a piece of paper more than once

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 Master Control System
• Keep a view of the picture
• Categorise information
• Use only one calendar
• Enter information only once
• Begin each category with a top-down view –
relating details to the major categories

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• MCS may consist of anything from an individual time planner if properly
used to a company wide computerised executive information system.

• Categorise your 12 most important activities-these should include major

projects; activities that you monitor; people with whom you deal;
information that you need.

• Any area that consumes hours of your time on a weekly basis becomes a
candidate for separate category.

• Ensure that your files remain consistent with your MCS

• Carry the MCS with you at all times.

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 Use Appropriate Technology

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• Remember only to have one single master source!

• What effect does it have when someone other than yourself is

responsible for the upkeep of your diary?

• How could this be achieved without causing conflict?

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 The productivity pyramid

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• Ideally everything you do should relate to your personal
values
• This will improve your enthusiasm and effect use of time
• The goals that you set should not constrain you rather be
used to direct you and channel your life’s activities into
perspective.

• You should give priorities to activities that:

– Matter most to your department, company, industry and
customers
– Follow from your vision and contribute most toward the
attainment of your main goals

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 Setting and Balancing Goals
Short term professional goals

Long term professional goals

Long term personal goals

Short term personal goals

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• Long term personal and professional goals
when it comes to setting overall targets, but in
the short term a personal goal, such as
starting a family, may take temporary
precedence over long term aims such as
running a business

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 Priorities axis

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• Remember that the priorities of different
stakeholders in your task may not be the same
as your own and you may need to consult with
all the stakeholders before plotting the task on
the graph.

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 Too Much Paperwork
• A TON of paperwork does cross your desk!
• Procedures
• Reduce the excess with electronic paper, color
coding, visual organisation
• Do not aim for the unachievable
Paperless office

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 Avoiding interruptions

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• Assess source of interruption-how many interruptions are
made by whom and using what media?
• Assess how much the telephone interrupts, how many:
– Unexpected calls received?
– Unwanted calls received?
– Calls lasted longer than necessary?
– Calls could have been dealt with by someone else?
– Calls interrupt me?
– Calls could have been screened out?
When you do not wish to be disturb, do not sit down if you
are followed into your office.
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 Managing outgoing calls
• Plan calls as if attending a meeting
• Prioritize calls
• Set limits on duration of each call
• Collect relevant documents before the call
• Summarise discussions before end of call

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 Managing incoming calls

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 Too much to learn
• Step 1 asses your learning style?
• Step 2 use appropriate strategies to help you
learn
• Step learn collaboratively

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 Scheduling time off
• Do not forget to eat and drink!
• Take daily breaks
• Take time for yourself and your family
• Take regular holiday
• Do not feel guilty

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