We all have 24 hours in a day. We should dedicate at least 8.0 hours for sleep. The national average calculates you need about 2.5 hours to travel (home to work, shopping, etc.), national average for eating accounts for 2.5 hours for food (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Most people work for at least 8.0 hours - this will only leave 3.0 hours for everything else. No wonder we are sleeping less, eating on the go or driving like maniacs.
What is the solution? Changing Habits and Building Action Plans
How do we do that?
- Identify the habit you want to change.
- Carefully define the new habit you want to develop.
- Do not stray from the behavior until the new habit is firmly established.
- Your Mentor will help you stay on task.
How to Become a Time Master
Attitude
Do you have enough time?
Time management is self-management.
Why do we never have time to do things right, but find the time to fix them?
Goals
Determine your short, medium and long-range goals
Be sure to set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed
Don't try to keep your goals in your head
Priorities
Think about what the priorities mean to you to decide importance
80% of the value comes from 20% of the item
Start with important things first vs. quick or enjoyable
Analyzing
Make sure your activities are consistent with your goals
Keep a record of how you spend your time (Projected vs. Actual)
You and your Mentor will analyze how you waste your time
Planning
Ask these questions:
- What results do I intend to achieve?
- What I must do to get those results?
- What are the priorities?
- How much time would each activity require?
- When would I do each activity?
- How much flexibility should I allow?
Scheduling
Schedule all your activities for each day
Don't hesitate to take large time blocks for important work
Prepare tomorrow's schedule before you go to bed today
Interruptions
They are more manageable when you accept that they are part of your job
Set expectations for your peers and staff
Keep a record of your interruptions
Meetings
Clarify the specific purpose of the meeting
Consider alternatives such as e-mails or conference calls
Always make an agenda and stick to it
Communication
To manage communication, ask yourself:
Will I really do anything with this?
When will I do it?
Where will I keep it?
You and your Mentor will develop a system to keep track of details and develop routines and standard responses
Delegation
Levels of authority
- Get the facts, I will decide
- Suggest alternatives, I will decide
- Recommend an alternative, I will decide
- Decide and wait for my approval
- Decide, act unless I say no
- Act and report results
- Act and report if unsuccessful
- Act, reporting is not necessary
Procrastination
Stop rationalizing and get it done
You and your Mentor will analyze what causes you to put things off
Schedule the big jobs in manageable parts
Team Time
No matter how good you, are you cannot do everything
Don't wait for someone else to take the first step
Show people you respect them and their time
Here are some of the most traditional Time Management Tools
- Paper schedulers and planners
- Electronic schedulers and planners
- Computer task masters
- Agenda notebooks
- Others
Which one you should use? Use the one that WORKS FOR YOU.....
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