Time Management

Organising your time and getting things done

UniversityGraduateSchool

Erika Hawkes

1.Introduction and learning outcomes

This handout accompanies the University Graduate School Time Management workshop. The workshop covers:

  • Finding out what wastes your time
  • Why time management is valuable
  • Planning techniques and resources
  • Prioritising and your to-do list
  • How to say ‘no’
  • Creating a time management schedule.

What do you want to get out of the course? What could you do if you managed you time better? Note your ideas here.

2. What wastes your time?

Look at your time logs. Are there any common time wasters? Note them down here.

Common time wasters include

  • Lack of proper planning
  • Interruptions
  • Other people

And, crucially and commonly, procrastination

2.1Procrastination

Put simply, procrastination means putting things off you know need to be done, often in favour of things that are easier or more enjoyable. People procrastinate for a number of reasons:

  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Fear of failure
  • Fear of success
  • Perfectionism.

Procrastination leads to a lot of wasted time and to reacting to problems instead of planning to avoid them.

3. Tackling Time Wasters.

Time management techniques can help improve your focus, be more productive, have a better work/life balance, and reduce stress and anxiety.

Work smarter, not harder.

The course discusses different time management techniques, pick which one works best for you.

3.1 Concentration and Focus

  • Our minds work best in short bursts.
  • Pomodoro technique.
  • 25 minutes on, 5 off- it is impressive what you can get done in 25 minutes without interruption.
  • Use time logs to work out when you concentrate best, and plan difficult work for those times.

Your brain is a processor, not a library- free up thinking time by using a list or notebook to write down tasks and dates instead of trying to remember them all.

4. Your to-do list and planning your time

4.1 To Do

What do you need to do? When? Separate out short term tasks from long term goals. SMART targets can help:

Specific

Measureable

Achievable (agreed)

Relevant

Timely

Plan a to-do list for the following week. Be SMART! See the resource pack for a template.

4.2 Time management planning tools

Tools to help plan and schedule your time include

  • Flow diagrams- useful for planning processes
  • Tasks software- such as GTasks, Evernote, to set tasks and reminders
  • Mind Maps- good for seeing all the sections of a task
  • Gantt charts- used a lot in project management, allows you to see all the sections of a task and the time each takes

See the resource pack for examples.

5. DO IT NOW: Prioritisation

When we are pressed for time, everything seems urgent. But there is a difference between urgent and important. Non-work activities also need to be factored in. The Action/Priority matrix can help to make the distinction.

Prioritise your To-Do list, using the matrix to help.

6. Just say ‘no’ (to other people)

Time wasters are not always in our control- other people can upset schedules by interrupting, giving extra work or making unreasonable demands. Saying ‘no’ is perhaps the most valuable time management tool there is, but doing it in practice is not always simple. It can be very hard to say no to people in positions of direct or indirect authority, such as your supervisor, or department head. Yet learning to say no is one of the best ways of freeing up time.

Tips for saying ‘no’

  • Say it early, say it often
  • Don’t apologise
  • Reschedule or postpone
  • Don’t explain if you don’t want to.
  • Offer alternatives
  • You are refusing the task not the person.

If you reduce interruptions, people have less chance to ask you things that might waste your time. Consider using an out of office message, only checking your email twice a day, closing your office door, or having ‘office hours’ (even if you don’t have students of your own). All of these can help limit interruptions and allow you get things done.

7. Bringing it all together: Creating a time management strategy

Use this space to make notes on your new time management strategy. When do you work best? How will you create a to-do list? What techniques will you use to improve focus or to plan your time? How will you deal with interruptions?

Appendix: Time Management Resources.

Websites

Despite the user-unfriendly redesign, this is still a great resource for new productivity and time management tips and techniques

Downloads and resources on a time management course run by Vitae (requires free registration)

Downloads, forms and newsletters. Quite business-centric

For more information about the pomodoro technique

Office tutorial on creating simple Gantt charts in Excel

Software/cloud apps

Free mind mapping software.

Personal to-do list, it also has a mobile and paid version

An online Gantt chart creator

Open Project, an open source clone of MS Project

Example flow chart, Source: