Chapter 4Time Management

Time Management

• Quality Approach

• Effectiveness and Efficiency

• Time Management Tools and Strategies

• Evaluate Your Workload

Time Management (continued)

• Office Organization

• Ethics Regarding Your Work, Time, and Other Resources

• Time Management in Other Cultures

Quality Approach

• Fundamental and practiced by applying basic principles, such as

• Customer focus• Continuous improvement and learning• Strategic planning and leadership• Teamwork

Quality Approach (continued)

• What is Total Quality Management?• Requires organizations to

• Eliminate wasteful practices• Redesign business methods • Adopt focused approach to managing quality for customers,

employees, and company leaders

Quality Approach (continued)

• How does it work?• Best use of your work, time, and resources• Each employee involved with office teamwork and

focused on customer• Each employee encouraged to find new and innovative

ways of doing jobs more effectively and being flexible enough to assist others

Effectiveness and Efficiency

• Both are equally important

• Effectiveness—doing right things

• Efficiency—doing things right

Time Management Tools and Strategies

• Establish Efficient Work Habits

• Take Charge of Your Time

• Learn Job

• Take Time to Think

• Assign Priorities

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Work with Multiple Managers

• Adopt a Flexible Plan

• Manage Details

• Group Similar Tasks

• Work at One Task at a Time

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Start Day with Difficult Task

• Avoid Procrastination

• Cope with Interruptions

• Do It Right First Time

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Establish efficient work habits• Be self-starter• Arrive on time• Keep focused• Put in full expected hours• Work willingly with enthusiasm• Practice self-management

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Learn job• Understand how manager works• Learn what is expected before taking initiative• Learn what position or job entails• Become familiar with flow of information• Reply on resourcefulness and judgment

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Take time to think• Schedule time to solve problems and make

improvements• Assign priorities

• Assign numbers or alphabet to tasks• Learn the questions to ask• Discover ways to determine order of priorities

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Work with multiple managers• If needed, keep record to determine time allocated to

others’ tasks• Adopt a flexible plan

• Plan work and follow plan• Remain flexible, adaptable, and tolerant

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Manage details• Complete to-do list or daily plan chart• Develop habit in capturing details and using planning

lists/charts

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Group similar tasks • Increases effectiveness • Consider tasks that can be grouped

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Work at one task at a time• Important to multitask; however, jumping from task to

task can be confusing• Stay with task until completion

• Motivated by satisfaction of having finished task• Save time otherwise lost locating where you left off • Decrease risk of forgetting to perform part of task

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Start day with difficult task• Arrive on time, if not a few minutes early, review plan

for day, and begin task that requires concentration and effort

• Do not use beginning of day to perform easy tasks that can provide relaxation at interval during day

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Avoid procrastination• Gain understanding of behavior about work to

overcome it• Admit you procrastinate• Ask questions about tasks that cause you to procrastinate

• Follow tips• Think through consequences of procrastination• Break task into manageable subtasks• Avoid “perfectionist” behavior

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Cope with interruptions• Practice avoidance• Relocate noisy equipment• Ask for coverage during heavy task-oriented projects• Recognize interruptions are part of job• Follow other tips for coping

Tools and Strategies (continued)

• Do it right first time• Plan each task before you begin• Focus on exactness of details• Check each finished task

Evaluate Your Workload

• Make Daily Plan

• Prepare in Advance

• Manage Large Project

Office Organization

• Organize Office Supplies

• Organize Workstation

Organization (continued)

• Organize office supplies• Label shelves where supplies are stored• Identify person to control inventory and order supplies• Compose list of all items used on regular basis• Discourage staff from placing verbal orders

Organization (continued)

• Organize office supplies• Request everyone to complete requisition• Take inventory on regular bias• Do not over-order supplies• Provide required information to complete requisitions or

telephone order

Organization (continued)

• Organize workstation• Work within easy reach• Purge unnecessary items• Organize necessary items• Use follow-up organizers

• Tickler• Pending

Ethics Regarding Your Work, Time, and Other Resources• Organizations

• Encourage employees to assume responsibilities• Authorize and entrust people to complete job/task

ethically and to do their best

Ethics (continued)

• With regard to work, do you• Use someone else’s words or ideas?• Harass co-workers?• Pad your resume? • Spread untrue information?• Overstate expense reports?• Endanger others?• Make negative public statements about company?

Ethics (continued)

• With regard to time, do you:• Go home early often?• Take extended lunch breaks?• Take frequent smoking breaks?• Get to work late frequently?• Take/make personal calls frequently?• Talk too long on personal calls?

Ethics (continued)

• With regard to resources, do you• Exaggerate expense claims?• Exaggerate accomplishments?• Play games on your computer?• Conduct personal research on Internet?• Exaggerate time devoted to task or project?• Take paper, paper clips, and other supplies home?

Time Management in Other Cultures

• Learn to understand other cultures’ personal styles and preferences for getting work done

• Discuss issues with people who are members of culture you want to understand