TIME
by Iris Nunn, Nunn Training and Development
Time. Time is a word, a concept, so drenched with extreme emotion and polar attitudes; elusive and coveted like the gold at the end of the rainbow. We often hear time is money and know examples where money can't buy time. As a Trainer and Instructional Designer, one of the most popular business classes that I develop and train is on Time Management. A recent conversation with Jill even involved outsmarting my own work and family life time-waster gremlins. Every day and every moment is an opportunity to practice time management skills. if we don't learn to manage time, time manages us. We're going to all be faced with a major time challenge, Sunday the 13th. How will you deal with it?
If you're like me, you're going to walk around and pout for at least a week about the hour that was stolen from you on Sunday the 13th. We'll walk into our offices, school and all sorts of work places on Monday to grim faces complaining about how "off" we all feel due to the time change. I just now figured out how to turn my car clock ahead. I mean, whose idea was this anyway? And don't they know I'm already behind on my laundry for the week?
So what if you got that extra hour back (that was so mercilessly stolen from you) on any day at any time you chose? What would you do with it? How would you spend it? Would you do something you always wanted? Or would you do something you needed to catch up on? Would you read a good book? Play with your kids? Take a nap? Catch up on work? Go through the mail? My advice would be to spend that hour on an important goal you have or something that is very important to you.
This brings up a critical question. How do we choose to spend our time overall? What will matter at the end of the day? At the end of the year, five years, ten years...on our death bed? Make a list or a pie chart of the things that are most important to you and in what proportion and be sure that you are dedicating your time to those things and to that degree overall.
There will be days where you'll be spending a disproportionate amount of time on work, family, or other commitments. You won't be able to divide your time equally daily. But in the end, keep an eye on things and be sure to balance things out. Be true to what's most important to you and allot most of your time to that, then to the next item of most importance on your list and so forth. Then you should feel that your time is well spent...even if you lost an hour on the 13th. But be of good cheer, you get it back in the fall!
Let me leave you with a few "freebie" time management tips. Enjoy!
1. Always "schedule" time in your day for unexpected interruptions. They WILL occur.
2. Tasks will take longer than you think.
3. Plan for prep time and wrap-up time before and after meetings.
4. Prioritize your work.
5. Can you delegate some of your work?
6. Use your peak energy time to get your most important work done but...
7. Don't wait to get motivated.
8. Use flags, folders, tasks, reminders, calendar in Outlook to manage your time.
9. Learn how to manage drop-in visitors. Remove chairs/candy from your office; stand, politely ask if you can continue the conversation later.
10. When all else fails, keep an honest hourly daily log for at least a week to see where your time is spent. You will be surprised. It will be time well spent. Make adjustments accordingly. You may also see that what you thought was wasted time is not. Either way, it will be worth seeing where your time is going - especially helpful if you are transitioning to a new position.
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