Utilizing Effective Time

Management

2005 SASFAA Conference

Presenter -Wanda White

NC Community College
System
Utilizing Effective Time
Management
9:00 AM -10:AM - Hanover G
Moderator
Rochelle King
St. Augustine’s College
February 14, 2005
Time Management

• Solutions to excessive stress usually

boil down to eating right, getting
enough sleep, and managing your
time effectively. Organization is
time management, and time
management is one part of stress
management.”
» Lucy H. Hedrick
» “Five Days to an Organized Life”
Objectives

• Examine time management skills

• Organize your desk, day, and life

• Resources
Key Questions to Ask
Yourself
• Do you plan tomorrow’s work
today?
• Do you get unpleasant duties out
of the way as soon as possible?
• Are you able to deal bluntly with
people who waste your time?
Effectively Managing Time

• Do you set aside a portion of each

day to think, create, plan?

• Is your desk or other workplaces

tidy?

• Can you find what you need

without wasting time?
 Everyone has the same
amount of time

• 60 minutes per hour

• 1,440 minutes per day

• 525,600 minutes per year

How We Waste Time

• Lack of discipline • Inability to say

“NO”
• Indecisiveness
• Poor Delegation
• Personal Skills
Disorganization
• Day Dreaming
• Procrastination
• Worry
Time Waste - Caused by
Others

• Telephone • Unscheduled
Interruptions Meetings

• Drop-In Visitors • Poor

Communications

• Confused chain of
Authority
Inefficiency - Can Your
Company Afford It?

• Statistics show the average worker

loses at least one hour of
productivity each day due to
disorganization.

• How much is disorganization and

inefficiency costing your school or
company?
Do the Math

• 1 hour X one workers hourly salary

=$____________
• 5 days a week X____ $ lost
today=$ lost this week.
• 48 weeks X $lost this week+___$
lost this year.
• Number of employees x __$ lost
this year =$ total.
•
Signs of Disorganization
-Causes Inefficiency

• Desk or office cluttered with

papers, files and equipment.
• Poor or no filing system
• No follow-up system
• Don’t know where to put the
papers
• Procrastination - It’s either the fear
of failure or simple indecision.
Signs of Disorganization -2

• Being reactive instead of proactive

to the job or task at hand

-(Waiting for something to happen

instead of making something
happen)

• Unable to identify between the

urgent, the important and the
 Time Log

• Write down everything you do for a

period of time

• Learn how you really spend your

time

• Identify areas where you can

improve your use of time
 Time Management

• Time Management is only a set of

skills and tools to help us more
efficiently control the events of our
lives.
• Doing a better job of managing our
time is meaningless unless we are
managing it to accomplish those
things that are of greatest
importance in our lives.”
– Hyrum Smith- Creator of the
 Essential Tools

• Master List
• Calendar
• Prioritized Task List
• Paper
• Directory
 Energy Level

Example 1

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 Energy Level

Example 2

150%
100%
50%
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pm
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FAA Responsibilities

• __Deal With angry student/parent

• __Staff Meeting
• __Sort/review mail
• __Review student files
• __Read new regulations
• __Respond to NPRM
• __Complete FISAP
• __Complete Audit Responses
Tasks

• Low Energy • High Energy

• Staff Meetings • Dealing with

• Opening/Sorting angry parents
Mail and students
• Responding to • Writing Audit
Correspondence Responses
• Collecting data • Reconciling
federal Programs
Start With Your Desktop!

• A Master List
• Unused File Folders
• Pen
What To Do

• ACT ON IT

• DELEGATE IT

• FILE IT

• THROW IT AWAY
 Act

• Add to master list

• File in new folder

• File in Action Drawer

Delegate

• Individual’s name

• Notes

• Place in delegation stack

• Place in individual’s mailbox

 File/Throw Away

• Toss old papers/articles

• File in inactive file

• Forward -routed mail

Clear Up the Clutter

• Family pictures
• Books of sayings
• Puzzles
• Stapler/staple remover
• Paper clip holders
• In/out baskets
• file tray bins
Clear Up The Clutter - 2

• A cluttered desk is a sign of

disorganization
• The higher on the organizational
chart, the less cluttered the desk
Keep Clutter Out of Your Life

• Managing Time More Productively

Keeps Clutter Out of Your Life

• Mental Clutter-Things that occupy

your mind that should be released
from it. -Example - Things you
should delegate to others.
Keep Clutter Out of Your Life-
2

• Emotional Clutter - Things that

trouble us emotionally that need to
be released

• Examples - fear, worry, pride,

jealousy, etc.
Too1 1: Master List

• Begin with items from your

desktop

• Quick reference of ongoing

activities

• Include due dates

Master List Examples

• Complete and submit FISAP by

Sept. 30
• Schedule appt. for shots for dog by
Nov. 1
• Purchase plane tickets for vacation
by Nov. 10
• Write Audit Responses by Dec. 1
• Complete Staff Evaluations by
Dec. 10
Too1 1: Master List

• Keep track of delegated work

• Establish and set goals

• Organize larger projects

-Break down into smaller task
-Daily task lists
-Expect the unexpected
Breakdown of Large Task

• September 30 - FISAP Due

– Sept. 25 submit FISAP electronically
– Sept. 24 - send signature pages
– Sept. 20 - review Business Office data
– Sept. 1 - schedule appointment for
signatures
– Aug. 5 - send request for information
to the Business Office
– Aug. 1 - review instructions-request
computer data
Tool 2: Your Calendar

• Maintain your own calendar

• Keep one calendar for everything
• Take calendar wherever you go
• Know your energy cycle
• Plan every day
Tool 2: Your Calendar

• Don’t plan every minute

• Prioritize
• Save peak energy periods for
yourself
• Schedule time for routine tasks
• Schedule your rewards
Tool 3: Daily Task List

• List everything you’d like to

accomplish

• Assign value using “ABC” system

• Assign numerical value to each

item
 Prioritizing

Prioritizing means determining the

relative importance and precedence
of events. And it is absolutely
necessary for effective planning.
Prioritizing keeps us from spending
time on things we don’t really
value.”
Hyrum Smith
Tool 4: Notes

• Carry paper at all times

• Make notes
• Use full-sized paper
• Date notes
• File in action file folders
Tool 5: Telephone/ Address
Directory

• Carry It
• Maintain one directory
• Transfer business card information
• Include e-mail, fax, home
address/phone
 Time - Saving Tips:
Telephone
Calls
Unavailable Person

• leave specific message

• find out when person will be

available

• mark availability on calendar

Time - Saving Tips:
Telephone Calls

• Don’t answer phone!

• Leave message

• Forward calls
Time - Saving Tips:
Managing E-Mails

• Know your system’s special

features
• List serves
• Same time every day
• Use Web services -(examples)
-IFAP.ed.gov
-NASFAA Today News
Time -Saving Tips:
Interruptions
• Close your door
• Distinguish between necessary
visits and interruptions
• Use different techniques
-Visit others
-Arrange appointment
-Leave your office
-Establish regular meeting time
Time-Saving Tips:
Meetings
• Request agenda
• Arrive early
• Notify chair if you will be late
• Avoid routine, emergency,
impromptu meetings
• Avoid Monday mornings, Friday
afternoons
Change Your Time
Paradigm
• New travel and/or work times
• Direct deposit, off-hours for
banks/ATMS
• Change lunch hour
• Schedule vacations during non-
peak times
• Investigate service provider
 Remember

• Value the time your have

• Nothing is worth more than this

day.

• Take care of today….let the

calendar take care of the years.
A Final Thought On Time

• Many People….

- Think too much of destinations

and too little of preparations

- They don’t realize that today’s

actions
will determine tomorrows
achievements
Thank You