Adpated from: Making Every Minute Count. Balancing Work and Family Series. Columbus,
Ohio: The Ohio State University Cooperative Extension Service.; Walker, Doris "Katey". Time Management, Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service.Walker, Doris “Katey”. Time Management, Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas State, June, 2001

Walker, Doris K.

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1Time ManagementKansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension ServiceFactSheetDo you ever feel like there are not enough hours in the day?This problem is common for people with growing children, but it is also aproblem for others, especially those who are involved in community affairs, thattend to bite off a bigger chunk of responsibility than they can handle. Developingtime management skills can help meet the demands of day-to-day living so thatcommunity service can also  fit into the picture of your life.Although we talk about managing time, we are really considering how to manageourselves in relation to time.Why Is Time Management Important?Time management helps you:• Keep a balance between your volunteer time, personal time, work time,and time for other people and interests.• Accomplish priority items.• Have free time without feeling guilty.• Gain a sense of accomplishment.• Reduce stress by not wasting time on what is not important.Time Management PlansA time management plan is a useful tool to accomplish these goals. Dependingon your needs, a time management plan could be very simple or quite complex.Here are three types of plans that you may want to consider:1. List of projectsThe simplest time plan is a list of large and small projects. These can be done asyou have time and feel like doing them. When you have a lot of free time, thislist may be all that you need to manage time effectively.2.  Series of projectsThe series of projects is similar to the list of projects, but it also involves puttingthe activities into an order of priority. Start with your list of large and smallprojects, and decide which activities must be done first, second, third, etc.For example, balancing your personal checkbook may be more important at themoment than writing up the minutes of the last church board meeting. You will,however, accomplish both tasks before spending time on trivial matters.3.  Detailed time scheduleA detailed time schedule includes both an order of projects and estimates of thetime necessary for each project. This type of scheduling has special value topeople whose obligations leave them with little free time. It is also important toMaking2those who are just beginning to learn how to manage time.You will need to look at your entire day or week and decide how important thevarious activities are, and how much time you will spend on them. If you knowexactly what you are doing, why you are doing it, and approximately how longeach task will take, you will work more effectively.While planning takes time at first, it saves time later. The following is an exampleof a detailed schedule that may help when you have many tight deadlines.Saturday morning, July 23Task TimeWrite list of what needs to be done 8:00  8:15Spot clean the house 8:15  8:45Write crucial letter 8:45 9:15Phone committee chairman to get feedback 9:15 9:30Take goods to recycling center 9:30 10:00Go grocery shopping 10:00 10:45Put groceries away 10:45 11:00Fix lunch 11:00 11:30Where Does Your Time Go?Learning how to budget time is similar to learning how to budget money. Youlearn to decide how much — whether it be minutes or money — is needed to getsomething done. You may also want to consider your energy levels as youestimate time needs.Start with these steps to develop your own time management plan.1.  Keep a written log.If you are new at learning time management, or are bogged down by manypressures, a written time log can help you see where your time goes. Keep anhonest and detailed record of what you do every half hour for a day or two. If youhave a great deal of variety in your daily schedule, you might want to recordlonger.Study your log to see what you do, when and why you get interrupted orfrustrated, and when you are most productive. You may not realize how manytimes a week you use time and energy to plan committee meetings.2.  List your activities.Flexible activities (those that can be done at any time during the day, such asgrocery shopping or writing a report) and inflexible activities (those that must bedone at specific times, such as serving meals or attending a meeting) should beincluded.3.  Estimate the time needed.Write down an accurate estimate of the time needed to complete each task. Add up3the total time. How many hours do you need? You may need to divide big jobsinto smaller ones.4.  Consider available time.You may be over-committed if the time you need is greater than the timeavailable. Decide where you can make changes.5.  Rank importance of tasks.One way to rank tasks is to use the A-B-C system pioneered by managementconsultant, Alan K. Lakein.“A” priorities are extremely important tasks which must get done. They lead topositive results and help accomplish personal goals, such as maintaining a car,exercising daily, or community goals; such as planning a meeting or solicitingfunds door-to-door.“C” priorities are tasks which are less important than other activities at aparticular time. Personal examples are washing windows in the house, orcommunity goals might include keeping a scrapbook of an organization’sactivities (unless, of course, you are the historian). Paper shuffling and rewritingmemos are often less useful activities in both personal life and community work.“B” priorities are often difficult to identify. They are tasks which are importantpersonally, and in a community-based sense, but less important than the “A”tasks. Personal examples might be planting some flowers in front of your house,or, in terms of your volunteer activities, organizing informational handouts for thenext committee chairman to use to come up to speed.Steps toward long-term goals, as well as short-term projects, should also beincluded in this list.6.  Decide when and where to begin.You may decide to begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. Write down your “To-Do” list for theday, leaving some catch-up periods.When you have finished planning, you will have a list of top-priority activities.These are things you want to work on today or tomorrow, and are ranked in theorder of importance. Check off the tasks as you complete them.Give yourself 10 to 20 minutes each day to review what happened to your timeduring that day. Like the video replay of a ball game, a quick rerun of your daylets you identify problem areas that need attention, as well as areas ofaccomplishment.Busy people have to be creative in setting this time aside. Some prefer doing it thelast thing at night, while others find time first thing in the morning.Overcoming ProcrastinationProcrastination is a problem for many people. A persistent effort is necessary toovercome it.People procrastinate for many reasons, such as fear of failure or even fear ofsuccess. Spend some time thinking about if and why you procrastinate, and aboutthe types of projects that you usually put off. Important projects are often put off4because the project is overwhelming or unpleasant.Suggestions for coping with procrastination are the salami technique, the balance-sheet method, and the development of new time-management habits.Salami Technique. This is based on the idea that a salami, in its original state, ishard to handle and unappetizing. After the salami is cut into thin slices, it ismanageable and something that we can “sink our teeth into.”Big projects should be sliced into small slices or “instant tasks.” The tasks shouldbe so simple and quick that one can be finished in several minutes.Make a list of these tasks. When you have a few minutes to spare, do a small taskfrom your list.Balance-Sheet Method. This method involves writing down why you areprocrastinating on a certain project. On the left side of the paper list all the reasonswhy you are procrastinating. On the right side list all the benefits that will bereceived if you get the project done.The effect is striking. On the left side, your excuses are often feeble. On the rightside, you will have a long list of benefits. One benefit will be a feeling of reliefthat comes from getting necessary, but unpleasant tasks accomplished.Habit-Change Approach. The third suggestion is a systematic approach tochanging a habit. Procrastination is seldom related to a single item. It is usually aningrained behavior pattern. It is important that you take action to overcomeprocrastination and set realistic goals. Use your “To-Do” list regularly. Giveyourself small rewards for accomplishments.More Ways to Manage Time1.  Learn to say “No.”Many of us don’t know how to refuse a request for our time, even when we haveessential things to do. Make it a point to politely and directly refuse requests thatwill over-commit and frustrate you. Since time is limited, remind yourself thatsaying “no” to one request is saying “yes” to a more important activity.2.  Use your most productive time wisely.What time of day are you most efficient? We all function on different biologicalclocks. Some people feel most energetic and do their best work in the morning,like the early bird who catches the worm. Others wake up and slowly get moving,with top efficiency in the late afternoon. Still others are “night owls” whoaccomplish their work easily in the middle of the night.Plan your day so that you will be doing your most important tasks at your mostproductive time. Make an appointment with yourself so that you can takeadvantage of your “prime time.”3.  Write things down.Use a large calendar. Locate it centrally for quick reference. You can use it toremember personal appointments, and to alert yourself to time conflicts. Detailedplanners — both in written and electronic forms — are useful tools for somepeople.5Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension ServiceEP-104 JUNE 2001It is the policy of Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service that all personsshall have equal opportunity and access to its educational programs, services, activities, and materials without regard to race,color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability. Kansas State University is an equal opportunity organization. Issued infurtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, as amended. Kansas State University, CountyExtension Councils, Extension Districts, and United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating, Marc A. Johnson, Director.4.  Group similar jobs together.Suppose you have five telephone calls to make: three are essential and two aresecondary. You also have six letters to write, four of which are vital.• Set time aside to make the three essential calls, one right after another.• Group the four essential letters together and write them, one after another.• Do not fall into the trap of making the secondary phone calls before tacklingthe essential letters (unless they can be done very quickly).5.  Deal effectively with interruptions.Many of us have jobs where we must be available to others by telephone, inperson, by memo, and even by electronic mail.Social interruptions can often be managed by telling the person that you are facinga deadline and would like to talk to them at a later time. Use your “To-Do” list toget you back to work on your major project after you have been interrupted.ConclusionDo you have trouble managing your time wisely?Try putting a time management plan into writing.• List tasks you need to accomplish in their order of priority and the time neededto accomplish each task.• Learn to say “no” to requests for your time.• Use your most productive time wisely, grouping similar jobs together.• Take control of your time instead of procrastinating on certain jobs or lettingtime slip away.You may be surprised at what you accomplish.Adapted from:Making Every Minute Count. Balancing Work and Family Series. Columbus,Ohio: The Ohio State University Cooperative Extension Service.Walker, Doris “Katey”. Time Management, Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas StateUniversity Cooperative Extension Service.

Time management

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