Time Management Training Introduction In these days of increasing global competition, rising health care costs, and labor shortages, employers are constantly striving to increase productivity One of the best ways to increase productivity is to make sure that employees are effectively managing their time at work Training all new and retraining current employees in the principles and techniques of effective time management is essential This sample presentation is intended for presentation to all employees It is designed to be presented by an individual who has knowledge of time management principles and techniques This is a sample presentation that must be customized to include and match the employer’s own policies and practices ©SHRM 2008 Objectives At the close of this session, you will be able to: • • • • Recognize the importance of managing time effectively Understand ways in which we all waste time Follow tips for effective time management Avoid two major challenges to effective time management – unproductive and unnecessary meetings and e-mail overload ©SHRM 2008 The Importance of Managing Time Effectively “By labor we can find food and water, but all of our labor will not find for us another hour.” • • • In other words, time is finite – there’s only so much of it By effectively managing our time, we can avoid a stressed and less productive workplace and avoid cramming work and family and other personal needs into finite hours Just as we spend so much effort managing money, we need to spend equivalent effort managing time ©SHRM 2008 What are some of the ways we waste time ? We waste time due to factors beyond our control but also due to factors within our control • What are some of the factors beyond our control that result in our wasting time? • (To make this interactive, you may want to ask this question and put responses on flip chart of white board.) • What are some of the factors within our control that result in our wasting time? • (To make this interactive, you may want to ask this question and put responses on flip chart of white board.) ©SHRM 2008 Ways in which we waste time: Factors beyond our control • Interruptions – phone calls, questions from coworkers and customers • Computer and other equipment problems • Holding and attending unnecessary and unproductive meetings • Staffing shortages – covering for absent coworkers • Unplanned work and changed priorities ©SHRM 2008 Ways in which we waste time: Factors within our control • Lack of good planning and organization, failing to set and maintain priorities, losing focus on task at hand – jumping from project to project without completing any • Holding and attending unnecessary and unproductive meetings • Spending too much time on phone calls, e-mails and the internet • Procrastinating until a project becomes urgent • Inability to say “No” when appropriate – taking on too much • Failure to delegate when possible • Socializing too much ©SHRM 2008 Questions? Comments? ©SHRM 2008 Tips for Effective Time Management To manage your time effectively: • • Plan and organize your day and week Manage and control interruptions ©SHRM 2008 Tips (cont’d) - Planning and Organizing • Planning is the most important activity in managing your time effectively • As the old quote goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail” ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - Meetings Reasons NOT to have a meeting: • • • • You can more effectively accomplish your purpose by telephone, memo, report, e-mail, or a one-on-one discussion It is premature to meet – the subject is too uncertain or too insignificant to justify a meeting The group needs a cooling off period – currently too much anger or hostility among members Also, consider having one day each week when no meetings are held ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - Meetings Reasons to have a meeting: • • To allow attendees to collaborate – review, evaluate, discuss, problemsolve, decide – with each other To present significant information ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - Meetings • Start on time • Always make and follow an agenda With each agenda item, include:  the topic stated in question form  the person responsible for leading the discussion  the information relative to the issue  the time allotted for that issue  the action/reason/purpose of the exchange *Tip: Include with the agenda a not-on-agenda list of topics that are off limits for this meeting Indicate when these items might be expected to be on a future agenda ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - Meetings • Avoid attending your subordinates' meetings unless specifically invited to discuss a topic and limit your time attending to the discussion of that topic • Limit presentations to 10 minutes If a presentation is longer than 10 minutes, schedule the presentation separately as such and not as part of a meeting • Avoid having a meeting lasting over 90 minutes ©SHRM 2008 Questions? Comments? ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - E-mail • Unless you are awaiting an urgent message, check e-mails only at specified times during the day When you have planned to devote a block of time to work on project, not interrupt it by checking e-mails • Set up folders to save appropriate e-mails – possibly one folder for messages to review later and delete or respond to and another folder for reference/retention • Touch each e-mail just once – same as for paper documents Decide whether to delete, save to respond to later, save for reference or retention, or to respond to immediately ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - E-mail • Agree within your own department or company-wide on subject-line protocols • Some suggestions:      No reply needed – NRN Thank you – TY Need response by date and time – NRB (date) (time) End of message (EOM) Use subject line for entire message, example Meet 10 am on 03/01 Okay? (EOM) ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - E-mail • Keep e-mails short – no more than 1-10 sentences Communicate main point in first or second sentence • After two rounds of trying to solve a problem via e-mail, use phone or talk in person • If you can’t respond immediately, let the other party know when you can if you can’t respond to avoid repeat messages ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - E-mail • Remove yourself from as many distribution lists as possible • Use filters or rules to eliminate or assign junk e-mails to a special folder • Use “No response required” to end messages and discourage unnecessary replies • If someone is sending you messages or jokes that you not need and want, ask them politely to stop ©SHRM 2008 Challenges (cont’d) - E-mail • Develop boilerplate or stock responses for frequently used messages and save them in your draft folder using the subject line for easy recognition and retrieval ©SHRM 2008 Questions? Comments? ©SHRM 2008 Summary • Time is finite – there is only so much of it That is why it is so important for us to manage our time effectively at work • By effectively managing our time, we can avoid a stressed and less productive workplace and avoid cramming work and family and other personal needs into finite hours ©SHRM 2008 Summary (cont’d) • There are ways in which we all waste time Some are beyond our control But many are within our control and these are the ones we need to work on • To manage your time effectively plan and organize your day and week • Manage and control interruptions paying special attention to meetings and e-mail ©SHRM 2008 Questions? Comments? ©SHRM 2008 Course Evaluation Please be sure to complete and leave the evaluation sheet you received with your handouts Thank you for your attention and interest! ©SHRM 2008