Time Management

Shyam Kumar Madanan

WHAT ? WHY ?

HOW ?

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V ES

IMPRO

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PLANNING TAKES TIME:

NOT PLANNING TAKES 8 Apr 2009

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TIME 5

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ESSENTIALLY . . .

TIME MANAGEMENT IS

1

st

THINGS

1

st

DOES A BETTER ALTERNATIVE EXIST AT ALL ?

EVERYONE BELIEVES TIME IS UNCONTROLLABLE WE CANNOT MANAGE TIME WE CAN ONLY MANAGE OURSELVES & OUR USE OF TIME HENCE,

TIME MANAGEMENT IS ESSENTIALLY

SELF – MANAGEMENT

MANAGING OURSELVES & OUR USE OF TIME ESSENTIALLY, IT CONSISTS OF . . .

~ AN IDEA OF PRIORITISATION, OF CLARIFYING VALUES, & OF COMPARING ~ THE RELATIVE WORTH OF ACTIVITIES, BASED ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THOSE VALUES.

TI ME MA NAG EM ENT INV OLVE S . . . IDENTIFYING YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE HOURS ~ THE HOURS WHEN YOU FEEL YOU ARE MOST CREATIVE FOR INTENSE WORK NOTE THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE

DURING THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY, WHILE SOME FEEL THAT DURING THE LATER PART OF THE DAY, THEY ARE BETTER

BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR

PRODUCTIVE HOURS, AND PLAN YOUR WORK ACCORDINGLY

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THUS, THE FOCUS IS ON

SE TT ING GOALS – [SPECIFIC LONG-TERM, MEDIUM-TERM & SHORT-TERM GOALS]

AND DIRECTING TIME & ENERGY TOWARDS THE ATTAINMENT OF THESE GOALS, IN HARMONY WITH VALUES.

THE FIRS T S TEP

– DETERMINE YOUR GOALS ~ BE CLEAR, DETAILED AND SPECIFIC ABOUT YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TODAY, TO ACCOMPLISH THOSE GOALS. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER WAY, TO CONCRETISE YOUR GOALS. BE WILLING TO DO

AT LEAST S OMETH ING, EV ER Y DAY , IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS.

TIME MANAGEMENT BEGINS AND IMPROVES WITH GOAL-SETTING.

SO ME IMPO RTAN T QUESTIO NS: 3. HAVE YOU SET YOUR GOALS ? 1. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN LIFE ? 2. TO BECOME WHAT YOU WANT TO BECOME, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN ? Contd…

SO ME IMPO RTAN T QUESTI ONS:[ Contd… ]

2. WHAT IS YOUR TIME PERSPECTIVE ? 1. DO YOU COMPLETE THE PLANNED TASK, EACH DAY, OR HAVE A TENDENCY TO PROCRASTINATE ? IF SO, WHY ? 2. HAVE YOU PREPARED TIME-LOGS, AND THUS HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF THE TIME YOU ARE REALLY UTILISING TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS ? 3. ARE YOU SPENDING MORE TIME THAN REQUIRED FOR THE ROUTINE S.N.M. ACTIVITIES ? 4. DO YOU COMPLETE THINGS ON TIME ? OR, YOU USUALLY FEEL RUSHED, PUSHED AND THUS, STRESSED ? =====

YOUR CHOICES, DECISIONS AND ACTIONS OF TODAY, and EACH SUCCESSIVE DAY, WILL CERTAINLY INFLUENCE YOUR ABILITY TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS. TIME MANAGEMENT IMPLIES APPRECIATING THE VALUE OF TIME & TREATING IT AS A RESOURCE. TIME, SO FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED,

IS NOT UNLIMITED AND HENCE, OF GREAT VALUE ~

USE TIME VERY VERY VERY CAREFULLY LET IT ADD VALUE TO YOUR LIFE.

HA VING GO ALS HE LP S IN DEVE LOP IN G SENS ITIVIT Y T O T HE VA LUE OF TIME IT’S A BAD AND UNPLEASANT EXAMPLE – BUT LET ME RISK GIVING IT. IMAGINE THAT TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. I WISH YOU ALL SHATHAMANAMBHAVATHI. BUT LET US TAKE THE EXAMPLE AND DISCUSS FURTHER. WHAT HAPPENS ? SUDDENLY, EVERY MINUTE, EVERY MOMENT BECOMES VERY PRECIOUS AND CHERISHED.

EXTEND THE LOGIC. SINCE WE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT OUR LIFE SPAN, DOES IT NOT MAKE SENSE, TO CONSIDER THE AVAILABLE TIME AS PRECIOUS, OF GREAT VALUE, LIMITED IN SUPPLY, AND HENCE, TO BE USED VERY CAUTIOUSLY.

THUS, IT WOULD BECOME NECESSARY FOR YOU, TO BE CHOOSY, TAKE CAUTIOUS DECISIONS, ETC. QUESTIONS SUCH AS, WHAT IS IMPORTANT ? NOT IMPORTANT ? AND LESS IMPORTANT ? WHAT IS EFFECTIVE ? LESS EFFECTIVE ? WHAT IS EFFICIENT ? LESS EFFICIENT ? WHAT IS URGENT ? LESS URGENT ? NOTE THAT: WHAT IS NOT IMPORTANT NOW, MAY OR MAY NOT BECOME IMPORTANT LATER, BUT, WHAT IS NOT URGENT NOW, WILL SURELY BECOME URGENT, LATER.

I M P O R T A N C E

I M P O R T A N T N O T I M P

1. RELATIONSHIP BUILDING 3. PLANNING 4. RECOGNISING NEW OPPORTUNITIES

1. 2. 3. 4.

2. 3. 4.

SOME PHONE CALLS 2. SOME MAIL SOME VISITORS 3. PLEASANT ACTIVITIES

NOT URGENT

URGENCY ~

4.

DEAD-LINE DRIVEN PROJECTS PRESSING PROBLEMS CRISES

INTERRUPTIONS SOME REPORTS PRESSING MATTERS URGENT

SO ME USEFU L HINT S:

[ 7 Hints ]

3. LIST ALL YOUR USUAL ACTIVITIES 2. CLASSIFY THEM AS (A) URGENT & NOT URGENT, and (B) IMPORTANT & NOT IMPORTANT 3. ACT ACCORDINGLY ~ OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE FORCED TO DO THINGS HURRIEDLY, WITH UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES. 4. OBSERVE YOUR OWN ACTION PREFERENCES : SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS BEGIN WITH LESS URGENT AND LESS IMPORTANT WORKS. IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BEGIN WITH MORE URGENT AND MORE IMPORTANT WORKS. [ Contd… ]

SO ME USE FUL HINTS:

[ Contd… ]

5. DO NOT ENGAGE YOURSELF IN ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH YOUR GOALS. 6. DO NOT FALL A VICTIM TO THE UNFORTUNATE TENDENCY OF

MISINTERPRETING URGENCY FOR IMPORTANCE. 7. POSTPONING AND WAITING TO DO A TASK, UNTIL IT BECOMES URGENT, DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. =====

PRAC TICE US ING T IME-T RAC KIN G T OOLS : MONTHLY PLANNER, WEEKLY OBJECTIVES LIST WEEKLY PLANNER, TIME-LOG, ETC. 1. LIST THINGS TO BE DONE 2. TRACK THINGS ALREADY COMPLETED / PARTLY FINISHED/ TO BE FOLLOWED UP, ETC. 3. COMPARE THE TIME ACTUALLY SPENT, WITH TIME THAT WAS PLANNED TO BE SPENT, AND DRAW USEFUL LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE. ~ NOTE YOUR TENDENCIES AND DISTRACTIONS. 4. ANALYSE TIME WASTERS AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN REALLY DO ABOUT THEM.

IMPROVING TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS IT IS NOT THAT EASY. IT REQUIRES LOT OF MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENT HARDWORK. IT IS USEFUL TO REMEMBER THAT THE FOLLOWING ARE ALSO IMPORTANT: 1. SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY 2. IMPROVING YOUR SKILLS 3. PURSUING HIGHER STUDIES 4. KEEPING YOURSELF UPDATED 5. BUILDING NEW RELATIONSHIPS 6. EVALUATING TASKS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED 7. TASKS YOU WANTED TO DO, BUT COULD NOT DUE TO LACK OF TIME

GUIDING PRINCIPLES: 1. A SENSE OF PURPOSE 2. A SENSE OF PROPRIETY 3. A SENSE OF PROPORTION

SU MMA RY : WE NEED TO MANAGE OURSELVES EFFECTIVELY, IN ORDER FOR US TO MEET OUR GOALS IN LIFE. BY REMOVING THE TIME WASTERS FROM OUR LIFE, WE CREATE TIME, WHICH CAN THEN BE USED FOR DOING IMPORTANT TASKS THAT WOULD GIVE US BETTER RESULTS. KNOWING ONE’S PRIORITIES IS ONE THING, BUT IMPLEMENTING THE SAME IS ANOTHER.

SU MMA RY : WITHOUT AN AIM IN LIFE OR WITHOUT A PLAN BEFORE UNDERTAKING A TASK, WE WILL BE LIKE A SHIP IN THE OCEAN WITHOUT A CHARTERED PATH. WE WILL CERTAINLY REACH SOME PLACE, BUT IT MAY NOT BE THE ACTUAL DISTANCE THAT WE COULD HAVE COVERED. DISCIPLINE AND DESIRE ARE THE MOST DIFFICULT AND THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS IN IMPROVING YOUR UTILISATION OF TIME. =====

Time Management: Working for You  Control

Procrastination  Make a Task List  Plan Effectively  Set Goals  Make Schedules  Meet Deadlines  Be Decisive  Set Priorities 8 Apr 2009

 Do

Not Try to be Perfect  Keep Desk Organized  Stay Focused  Learn to Say “No”  Control Interruptions  Concentrate on Results  Stay Motivated  Write Down Ideas 26

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