Republic of the Philippines

Central Mindanao University

COLLEGE OF NURSING
University Town, Musuan, Maramag, 8710 Bukidnon

As Partial Requirement for the Subject Course:

NCM 69NURSING LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

TIME MANAGEMENT
Midterm Term Report

Submitted to

ELLEN GAY S. INTONG, DM, RN

Clinical Instructor

Submitted by

JANNA MAE H. PATRIARCA

BSN 4 Student

October -14 -2020

“TIME MANAGEMENT”
 Time management can be defined as making optimal use of available
time. Homisak (2012) notes that many people with poor time management skills
spend inordinate amounts of time burning the candle at both ends, blaming
others for their time inefficiencies, and getting others to work harder. The reality
is that each person is given 86,400 seconds every day to use as they please and
when they are wasted, they can never be retrieved. Homisak goes on to suggest
that “we invite all the activities in our lives and unless we choose differently,
nothing will change.”

The keys then to optimizing time management must include prioritizing

duties, managing and controlling crises, reducing stress, and balancing work and
personal time (Homisak, 2012). All of these activities require some degree of
both leadership skills and management functions

Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Time Management:

LEADERSHIP ROLES
1. is self-aware regarding personal blocks and barriers to efficient time
management.
2. recognizes how one’s own value system influences his or her use of time and
the expectations of followers.
3. Functions as a role model, supporter, and resource person to others in
setting priorities for goal attainment.
4. Assists followers in working cooperatively to maximize time use.
5. Prevents and/or filters interruptions that prevent effective time management.
6. Role models flexibility in working cooperatively with other people whose
primary time management style is different.
7. Presents a calm and reassuring demeanor during periods of high unit activity.
8. Prioritizes conflicting and overlapping requests for time.
9. Appropriately determines the quality of work needed in tasks to be
completed.

MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
1. Appropriately prioritizes day-to-day planning to meet short-term and long-
term unit goals.
2. Builds time for planning into the work schedule.
3. Analyzes how time is managed on the unit level by using job analysis and
time-and-motion studies.
4. Eliminates environmental barriers to effective time management for workers.
5. Handles paperwork promptly and efficiently and maintains a neat work area.
6. Breaks down large tasks into smaller ones that can more easily be
accomplished by unit members.
7. Utilizes appropriate technology to facilitate timely communication and
documentation.
8. Discriminates between inadequate staffing and inefficient use of time when
time resources are inadequate to complete assigned tasks.

A. Three basic steps to time management

 The first step requires that time be set aside for planning and establishing
priorities. The second step entails completing the highest priority task (as
determined in step 1) whenever possible and finishing one task before beginning
another. In the final step, the person must reprioritize what tasks will be
accomplished based on new information received. Because this is a cyclic
process, all three steps must be accomplished sequentially.

1. Taking Time to Plan and Establishing Priorities

Planning is essential if an individual is to manage by efficiency rather

than by crisis and the old adage “fail to plan—plan to fail” is timeless. Managers
who are new to time management may underestimate the importance of regular
planning and fail to allot enough time for it. In addition, many individuals fail to
allow enough time for their plans to be carried out. Baiyun and Quanquan (2012)
agree, noting that while many individuals make plans, often that plan is not
completed in the time predicted. And despite the fact that the time allowed to
carry out their plan is shown over and over again to be inadequate, most
individuals continue to be optimistic that their new forecasts, which are no
different, will be realistic. This phenomenon is known as planning fallacies.
Similarly, Pugsley (2009) suggests that many students fail to establish a
plan for completing their learning activities. Sometimes this is because they are
unclear about what the finished product must look like. Other times, they are
unsure when assignments are due or how to break large assignments down into
workable subcomponents. In all of these cases, the end result is that the
student’s ability to achieve the desired outcome, within the required timeline, is
threatened. To counter this, Pugsley suggests students adopt a “SMART”
approach to planning that allows learners to make effective use of every study
period, whether the learning activities are formal or informal (Display 9.2).
The SMART Approach to Studying

1. Set specific, clear goals to be accomplished.

2. Record your progress as measurable progress maintains your
interest.
3. Identify the steps needed to accomplish your goals.
4. Be realistic about your time constraints and set goals that can be
accomplished within these constraints.
5. Set a time frame and plan for this.

2. Priority Setting and Procrastination

Because most individuals are inundated with requests for their time and
energy, the next step in time management is prioritizing, which may well be the
key to good time management. Unfortunately, some individuals lack self-
awareness about what is important and therefore how to spend their time.
The “don’t do” items probably reflect problems that will take care of
themselves, are already outdated, or are better accomplished by someone else.
The individual either throws away the unnecessary information or passes it on to
the appropriate person in a timely fashion. In either case, the individual removes
unneeded clutter from his or her work area.
 Three Categories of Prioritization
1. “Don’t do”
2. “Do later”
3. “Do now”

Some “do later” items reflect trivial problems or those that do not have
immediate deadlines; thus, they may be procrastinated. To procrastinate means
to put off something until a future time, to postpone, or to delay needlessly.
Although procrastination may be appropriate in some cases, the reality is that
more often than not, it is a barrier to effective time management.
Procrastination is a difficult problem to solve because it rarely results from
a single cause and can involve a combination of dysfunctional attitudes,
rationalizations, and resentment. The key in procrastination is to use it
appropriately and selectively. Procrastination is rarely appropriate when it is
done to avoid a task because it is overwhelming or unpleasant.
Before setting “do later” items aside, the leader-manager must be sure
that large projects have been broken down into smaller projects and that a
specific timeline and plan for implementation are in place. The plan should
include short-term, intermediate, and final deadlines. Likewise, one cannot
ignore items without immediate time limits forever and must make a definite
time commitment in the near future to address these requests.
The “do now” requests most commonly reflect a unit’s day-to-day
operational needs. These requests may include daily staffing needs, dealing with
equipment shortages, meeting schedules, conducting hiring interviews, and
giving performance appraisals. “Do now” requests also may represent items that
had been put off earlier.

3. Making Lists

In prioritizing all the “do now” items, the leader-manager may find
preparing a written list helpful. Remember, however, that a list is a plan, not a
product, and that the creation of the list is not the final goal. The list is a
planning tool. Although the individual may use monthly or weekly lists, a list also
can assist in coordinating daily operations. This daily list, however, should not be
longer than what can be realistically accomplished in 1 day; otherwise, it
demotivates instead of assists. In addition, although the leader-manager must
be cognizant of and plan for routine tasks, it is not always necessary to place
them on the list because they may only distract attention from other priority
tasks. Lists should allow adequate time for each task and have blocks of time
built in for the unexpected. In addition, individuals who use lists to help them
organize their day must be careful not to confuse importance and urgency. Not
all important things are urgent, and not all urgent things are important. This is
especially true when the urgency is coming from an external source.
5. Reprioritizing

The last step in time management is reprioritizing. Often, one’s priorities

or list will change during a day, week, or longer because new information is
received. If the individual does not take time to reprioritize after each major task
is accomplished, other priorities set earlier may no longer be accurate. In
addition, despite outstanding planning, an occasional crisis may erupt.
If a crisis does occur, the individual may need to set aside the original
priorities for the day and reorganize, communicate, and delegate a new plan
reflecting the new priorities associated with the unexpected event causing the
crisis.

6. Dealing with Interruptions

All managers experience interruptions, but lower-level managers typically

experience the most. This occurs in part because first- and middle-level
managers are more involved in daily planning than higher-level managers and
thus directly interact with a greater number of subordinates. In addition, many
lower-level managers do not have a quiet workspace or clerical help to filter
interruptions. Frequent work interruptions result in situational stress and
lowered job satisfaction. Managers need to develop skill in preventing
interruptions that threaten effective time management.
Dealing with interruptions also requires leadership skills. Leaders role
model flexibility and the ability to regroup when new information or tasks
emerge as priorities. Followers often look to see how their leaders are coping
with change and even crisis and their reactions often mirror those of their
leaders. That is often why a staff nurse who feels harried or out of control
typically finds these same feelings reflected in the individuals he or she is
assigned to work with.

7. Time Wasters

Time Wasters
1. Technology (Internet, gaming, e-mail, and social media sites)
2. Socializing
3. Paperwork overload
4. A poor filing system
5. Interruptions

B. Personal time management

Personal time management refers in part to self-knowledge. Self-

awareness is a leadership skill. For people who are not certain of their own
short- to long-term goals, time management, in general, poses difficulties.
Svehaug (2013) suggests that to most appropriately manage time, each
individual should step back and think about what they truly want to accomplish
and the time they are willing and able to dedicate to achieving that goal.
Honesty should be the key in performing this exercise because there is no right
or wrong answer.

Bran’s 12 Habits to Master for Personal Time Management:

Habit 1: Strive to be authentic.

Habit 2: Favor trusting relationships
Habit 3: Maintain a lifestyle that will give you maximum energy. Exercise, eat
well, and get enough sleep.
Habit 4: Listen to your biorhythms and organize your day accordingly.
Habit 5: Set very few priorities and stick to them.
Habit 6: Turn down things that are inconsistent with your priorities.
Habit 7: Set aside time for focused effort. Schedule time every day to work on
just one thing.
Habit 8: Always look for ways of doing things better and faster.
Habit 9: Build solid processes. Set up processes that last and that run without
your attention.
Habit 10: Spot trouble ahead and solve problems immediately.
Habit 11: Break your goals into small units of work, and think only about one
unit at a time.
Habit 12: Finish what is important and stop doing what is no longer worthwhile.

.
Using a Time Inventory
Most people have an inaccurate perception of the time they spend on a
particular task or the total amount of time they are productive during the day, a
time inventory may provide insight. A time inventory is shown in Display 9.6. A
time inventory allows you to compare what you planned to do, as outlined by
your appointments and “to do” entries, with what you actually did.

When using a time inventory, Mattison suggests plotting in sleep first and
then the time that is immovable, including classes and clinicals. Once that is
done, students should plug in the things that are important to them, such as
family time or church. Next, study time and planned break times should be
included in the time inventory.
C. Integrating leadership roles and management in functions in time
management:

The leadership skills needed to manage time resources draw heavily on

interpersonal communication skills. The leader is a resource and role model to
subordinates in how to manage time. As has been stressed in other phases of
the management process, the leadership skill of self-awareness is also necessary
in time management. Leaders must understand their own value system, which
influences how they use time and how they expect subordinates to use time.
The management functions inherent in using time resources wisely are
more related to productivity. The manager must be able to prioritize activities of
unit functioning to meet short- and long-term unit needs. To do this, the leader-
manager must initiate an analysis of time management on the unit level, involve
team members and gain their cooperation in maximizing time use, and guide
work to its conclusion and successful implementation.