Time

Management

Strategies

Becky Tankersley

Georgia Institute of Technology

SACRAO Annual Conference

February 17, 2014

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What Is “Time Management?”

• The planned, efficient

use of time.

Test Your Skills!

• Divide into groups

• Plan your day based on

the case study provided

What Is “Time Management?”

• Reframe how you

look at it!

Tool 1: Activity Log

• How do you really spend

your time?

• Each time you change an

activity (meeting, email,

phone, coffee, etc.) make

a note!

• Also note how you feel

(alert, lethargic, rushed?)

Benefits of an Activity Log

• Helps identify:

– When you’re at your peak

– Jobs you can delegate

– The number of times you

switch between tasks:

multitasking isn’t always

a good “skill”

Tool 2: To-Do List

• Often the turning point

for many careers!

• Captures all your tasks

in one place

• Writing things down

triggers your mind to

remember it

Tool 2: To-Do List

“Without to-do lists, you'll

seem dizzy, unfocused, and

unreliable to the people

around you.”

-Brian Tracy

Prioritize Your To-Do List

• A - very important, must

do, serious positive or

negative consequences

(ex: finishing a report,

campus visit, college fair)

• B - a task you should do,

but consequences aren't

as severe (ex. responding

to a non-urgent voicemail,

replying to email)

Prioritize Your To-Do List

• C - a task that would be

nice to do, but has no

consequences (ex: calling

a friend, having lunch

with a coworker)

• D - a task you can

delegate (ex: sorting files)

• E - something you can

eliminate (ex: Facebook)

Tips for Your To-Do List

• Make your list FIRST

thing in the morning

• Unexpected task? Add it

to the list!

Tips for Your To-Do List

• Remember the 90/10

rule:

The 10% of your time you

use to plan will help you

save as much as 90% of

your time in getting tasks

accomplished.

Tips for Your To-Do List

Tool 3: Urgent vs Important Tasks

• Important - has an

outcome that leads to the

achievement of your

goals

• Urgent – demands

immediate attention, &

often associated with the

achievement of someone

else's goals

Tool 3: Urgent vs Important Tasks

“What is important is

seldom urgent, and what is

urgent is seldom

important.”

~Eisenhower Principle

How to Classify Tasks

• Step 1 - list every task

you need to do, and

other items that utilize

time

• Step 2 - assign

importance using a scale

of 1-5

• Step 3 - assign urgency

• Step 4 - plot on matrix

Tool 3: Urgent vs Important Tasks

Tip: Use the 80/20 Rule

20% of your activities

account for 80% of you

results. If you have a list of

10 things, 2 of them will

be the most important.

*Resist the urge to

complete non-essential

tasks first!

Tool 4: Managing Interruptions

Tool 4: Managing Interruptions

• Keep an interruptions

log every day for 1 week

• Analyze it and see what

was valid, and what was

not.

Tool 4: Managing Interruptions

• If you see routine, valid

interruptions, block time

into your schedule.

• You will still need to

juggle, but now won't

have an overburdened to-

do list and be left trying

to cram everything into

your day.

Tips to Manage Interruptions

• Make technology work

for you!

• Don’t stress.

• Learn to say “no.”

Tips to Manage Interruptions

• Make ‘available’ and

‘not available’ time

• Invitation-only time

• Set ground rules

Action Items

• Learn how well you plan

(use handout)

• Create an activity log

• Write and prioritize your

to-do list – daily!

• Identify urgent and

important tasks

• Manage interruptions

Helpful Resources:

• “Eat That Frog!”

Brian Tracy

• Time Management

Toolkit - mindtools.com

• SACRAO.org

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