1. Always ask yourself, "Is
what I am working on right now the best use of my time?"
How will you know if it is
the best use of your time? It will be the best use
if:
• it is going to help you
achieve your goals
• it is the item with the
highest value to you, your customers or your
company
• someone else couldn't be
working on it.
2. Rather than focusing on when you
need to finish something, focus on when you should be
starting. Then start when you need to. One reason
projects and tasks don't get finished on time is that we
think we have plenty of time, so we put off the important
work in favor of the urgent items. Until they become
urgent.
3. Schedule the most important work
during the time when your energy is highest. The earlier
in the day the better. Take control of the day before it
takes control of you. Don't procrastinate with those
things you don't like doing but which are necessary.
4. Plan what you will work on. If
we don't have a plan we tend to allow ourselves to be
interrupted, distracted and delayed from accomplishing
what is most important to us. We would usually not
consider taking a vacation without planning it out. Why
does our work deserve any less?
• Develop a plan for
the week. List your objectives for the week in order
of priority.
• Plan the following week
on Friday afternoon or Sunday evening.
• Allow enough time to
finish a complete part of the task (a
milestone).
5. Recognize that you will need to
make adjustments. There will always be some
interruptions. There will be changes in the work that
must be done. Build into your schedule some time for
interruptions and new or unexpected work. When you have a
"margin of safety" it helps you maintain
control.
6. Whenever you have a choice,
don't cram things together . If one of the activities
runs late, you'll be rushing from one project to the next
or one appointment to the next. That creates additional
stress that you don't need. Allow some extra minutes in
between so that you won't be as rushed.
7. Keep your desk or work area free
of clutter. Clutter distracts you from your primary task.
It also creates additional stress. Keeping things in
order promotes a feeling of control.
The First Principle of Time
Management is
Planning takes time; not
planning takes more time.
The Second Principle of Time
Management is
it takes a lot less to
prevent a crisis than it takes to solve
it.
The Third Principle of Time
Management is
that we manage
interruptions - we don't stop them."
Jim
DeSena
Review your results for the day
with these questions:
1. Did you accomplish your
most important priority?
2. What trends do you notice
about the way you spent your time?
3. What was the most productive
part of your day? Why?
4. What was the least productive
part of your day? Why?
5. What or who caused the
majority of interruptions?
6. What could you do to control
these interruptions?
7. What were your three biggest
time wasters?
©1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Performance Achievement Systems, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
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