trying to find something
to do with the time we have
rushed through life trying to save.
- Will Rogers
Time will take your money,
but money won't buy time.
- James Taylor
Lost time is never found again.
- Benjamin Franklin
INTRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT OF TIME
God has made no discrimination between rich and poor, men and women, weak or strong while distributing time. Each one of us has exactly the same time day after day. Despite the fact that we get twenty four hours of time daily, most of us complain of lack of time. The fault lies with us as we have not learnt to manage our time and make the best use of it. We are equal in the amount of time we have but are unequal in the way we manage it. There are rare few who get through a tremendous amount of work each day and still find time to make contribution their communities and enjoy their private lives. But most of us complain that if only they had some more time they wouldn’t have done wonders. It is all a case of mismanagement of time. We don’t plan our activities and even when we plan we don’t adhere to it. Most of the time problems are created not by others but by ourselves.
The purposes behind this chapter are to make executives aware of the importance of time, to identify and classify time wasters, and to suggest measures for effective use of time.
CONCEPT OF TIME
The concept has been viewed differently through the ages. Different cultures and different individuals in these cultures attach different meaning to time. Infact the concept of time is an integral part of ones personality and cultures attach different meanings to time. Infact the concept of time is an integral part of ones personality and culture. Immanuel Kant, the great philosopher, believed time had no existence outside the human mind. Einstein described time as the fourth dimension. If space is the dimension within which things exist, time may be described as the dimension within which things change. From the viewpoint of managers, time is a resource just like labor and capital. As a resource time is completely inelastic. It cannot be physically stretched even by a single second. However, unlike other resources time can be manipulated infinitely. For instance we can utilize a given time period in playing, signing, and reading or just sleeping. A specific task can be given many time dimensions through the way we handle it. Time is a unique resource which can be misused or managed wisely. It is a resource which constantly gets depleted and replenished at the same time.
FUNDAMENTALS TRUTHS ABOUT TIME
1. Everybody has the same amount of time 24 hours per day.
2. Time flies or time drags.
3. A busy man must use his time wisely and effectively.
4. Time cannot wait for us.one may let it pass or make full use of each moment.
5. Time is inelastic and we cannot phrase our use of it.
6. Time is finite. Nobody has any more of it than you have.
7. Time cannot be stored and put by for future use.
8. Time cannot be replaced.
9. Everything we do involves expenditure of time.
10. Time is costly.
IMPORTANCE OF TIME
The clock is always ticking. The seconds keep on ticking just like busy ants. The ants keep themselves always busy by always hunting for food everywhere. Similarly the seconds always keep on ticking to attain short-term goals of making a minute with 60 ticks. After reaching a milestone of a minute the second's hand of a clock don't take a break, but start afresh for another round of 60 ticks. The take it minute by minute and inadvertently reach a quarter of an hour, and hour and then a day. They always focus on the smaller targets- that is a minute and the bigger aim of the clock itself gets fulfilled. That's why the minutes hand have to work less, as the seconds hand does most of the running around. The minute hand just has to make 60 movements on a clock dial. The hours hand is the luckiest of the lot. It just moves for 12 times in an hour. But the seconds hand movies for 3600 times around the dial for the same hour!
Parallel to this, in our life to we never realizes that we have lots to do.
Between every big task we can always find enough time to fit in a plethora of smaller tasks. If you are waiting for a train at the station, you can always read a magazine or rather chalk out your study timetable for exams. While traveling in the bus too one can find enough time to at least skim through the previous days notes.
Be like the clock. Always keep on ticking by involving yourself in various things and learning new things. These small knowledge and experience modules will perhaps one day take you to your bigger goal some day. They say "Time and Tide waits for no man". If so, now stop staring at the screen and utilize your time effectively!
Time is a very precious resource for an individual as well as for an organization. Unlike other resources time cannot be renewed or replaced.
While raw material supply can be increased, more workers can be hired and additional capital can be raised, the supply of time cannot be increased beyond twenty four hours. Most of us want that time should be extended so that we could do more each day. One researcher estimated that out of a thousand supervisors only one percent of them admitted that he had enough time. One in ten would like ten percent more time, four out of ten wanted twenty five percent more time and remaining fifty percent of the supervisor required another twelve hours each day.
In order to manage time effectively, F.W Taylor and his associates
developed the technique of time study. Time study experts can assist
managers and administrators in making better use of time. Return on time may become in future as important a success criterion as return on capital.
Time is the scarcest resource. Unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.
Managers lay a great stress on planning but often fail to plan the use of their most valuable and scarce resource of time. Time management has often been ignored as a skill to be developed in supervisory training. Peter Drucker, the well known management consultant, has prepared a film demonstrating the misuse of supervisory time. Everybody works for eight hours a day. But the way one manages these eight hours makes all the difference between survival and success. Many managers often complain that they hardly have any time to spend with their families. They are perpetually busy while accomplishing very little. In most of the cases the solution rests with the managers themselves.The limited evidence available on time management suggests that there is insufficient consciousness amongst the majority of the managers of the importance of consciously planning and managing their time effectively.
Managers complain that they hardly have any time for long range planning.
This very reason require that time must have rationed. The minute hand of clock is beyond our control. Therefore, rationing of time involves managing ourselves rather than manipulating the clock. Managers must become conscious that time is the most scarce resource and must be managed effectively.
People who fail to manage their time effectively are often work-aholics.
They believe that greatest activity produces the best results. Therefore, they tend to complete tasks at the expense of everything else and themselves beyond their capacity. Such people are exhausted very soon both physically and mentally because they never relax and renew their energy.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TIME
There are several misconceptions which we all have about time. They affect everyone including those persons who may be considered quite successful and effective. Here are some of the misconceptions identified by Dr. Mackenzie:
• Time management is simple - all it requires is common sense. While it is true that the concept is simple, the self-discipline required to practice effective time management is not easy.
• Work is best performed under pressure. Psychological studies show this to be no more than an excuse for procrastination. One does not work well under pressure - only does the best one can under the circumstances. Pressure and challenge must not be confused. Lara’s performance when the West Indies Team is in trouble has more to do with application and determination rather than pressure.
• I use a diary, a to-do list and have a secretary to keep me organized. One has to keep oneself organized - no one can do it for others. The trouble with the disorganized person is that he hardly has time to listen to his secretary or look at his diary.
• I do not have the time. The effective worker or manager often gets more work done in the earlier hours of the morning than most laggards get done in the whole day. He then no longer has to work against tight deadlines and under stress which contributes to heart problems and not unusually the ultimate reduction of time on this earth.
• Time management might be good for some kinds of work but my job is creative. Time management is not about routine: it is about self-discipline. Lack of discipline prevents one from being great instead of simply good.
• Time management takes away the fun and freedom of spontaneity. Is working under stress, forgetting appointments, making constant excuses and apologies to be fun? Would it not be much more fun if by better organization one had one or two more hours every day to spend with the family, to play games, read a good book, plan for tomorrow and the day and week after or just relax?
SYMPTOMS OF POOR TIME MANAGEMENT
Poor time management shows up by way of one or a combination of typical perceptible symptoms. Managers would do well to look for and reflect on whether they are subject to any of those symptoms with a view to take necessary corrective actions.
The following are some of the indicators of poor time management:
• Constant rushing (e.g. between meetings or tasks)
• Frequent delays (e.g. in attending meetings, meeting deadlines)
• Low productivity, energy and motivation (e.g. ‘I can’t seem to get worked up about anything’)
• Frustration (e.g. ‘Oh, things just don’t move ahead)
• Impatience (e.g. ‘where the hell is that information I’ve asked him for?’)
• Chronic vacillation between alternatives (e.g. ‘whichever option I choose it is going to put me at a big disadvantage. I don’t know which way to jump’)
• Difficulty setting and achieving goals (e.g. ‘I’m not sure what is expected of me’)
The following are some of the indicators of poor time management:
• Constant rushing (e.g. between meetings or tasks)
• Frequent delays (e.g. in attending meetings, meeting deadlines)
• Low productivity, energy and motivation (e.g. ‘I can’t seem to get worked up about anything’)
• Frustration (e.g. ‘Oh, things just don’t move ahead)
• Impatience (e.g. ‘where the hell is that information I’ve asked him for?’)
• Chronic vacillation between alternatives (e.g. ‘whichever option I choose it is going to put me at a big disadvantage. I don’t know which way to jump’)
• Difficulty setting and achieving goals (e.g. ‘I’m not sure what is expected of me’)
THE ELEVEN TIME THIEVES
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore (“Time Thieves: The 11 Biggest Time-wasters Revealed”) lists out the eleven ‘inconsiderate troupe’ of eleven thieves that gang up to steal some of the precious time away from productive use of managers.
1. Poor Planning: Failure to see the value of planning and getting impatient to get something done are the causes of poor planning. Absence of a plan of action is likely to trigger off a false start, resulting in unproductive time utilization on the critical path of the task being undertaken. Consequently, the managers might not find enough time for completing the task.
2. Crisis Management: Most often, crisis management is an offspring of lack of prioritization of tasks. As a result of the inability to distinguish between the urgent, the important and the unnecessary tasks, unimportant tasks are likely to get done first at the cost of important tasks. Consequently, the managers are not likely to find enough time to get around to the important things.
3. Procrastination: It is easy to put off tasks if they are not due right away. The trouble is, tasks pile up and can force managers to run into a time crunch later. Procrastination is generally triggered off by the fear of failure / success, perfectionism, wanting to do it all or incorrect priorities. It is a virtue to want to do a good job. But some people become so anxious about getting a job done perfectly that they never complete it. Managers should
examine whether their efforts to get the job done perfectly are really improving things or preventing them from getting the job done.
4. Interruptions: Interruptions and distractions arise due to lack of planning, poor concentration and lack of control over environment. They are unnecessary thieves of a manager’s time and come in many forms – drop-in visitors, telephones, e-mails unscheduled meetings, poor communications and confused chain of authority etc. Managers should be less willing to automatically give away their time just because they demand it. They should learn to avoid distractions if they are to get work done. They should work in areas where they are less likely to be disturbed and tell people when they are busy and cannot be disturbed.
5. Not Delegating: Wanting-to-do-all by oneself is yet another thief that could let the managers lose control. They feel that employees can never do anything as well as they can. They fear that something will go wrong if someone else takes over a job. They lack time for long-range planning because they are bogged down in day-to-day operations.
6. Unnecessary Meetings: If a meeting is held without a specific agenda and nothing productive comes out of it, clearly that meeting was unnecessary. Obviously, such meetings are thieves as the time is wasted and things just do not get started.
7. The “shuffling blues”: Managers often waste much time because of disorganization. Keeping things that they need in a specific place, eliminating clutter, making sure that they have all the materials or information that they need before starting on the task and following a day-planner or schedule will help keep the ‘shuffling blues’ away at the work place.
8. Poor Physical Setup: Not having the things that the managers need frequently within easy reach and having a lot of the things that they seldom require close-by results in wastage of a lot of time, wearing out the carpet, retrieving what they frequently need. And of course, as they pass others they will often pull them aside to steal some of their time.
9. Poor Networking: Quality relationships with employees and others can be a substantial time-saver as they open doors for the managers with all kinds of opportunities. Failing to develop a good network base will cause them to waste time creating what they might have had through their network.
10. Bad Attitude: Nothing sinks a day more effectively than having a poor attitude. It causes the managers to dwell on the problems and not the solutions and makes it possible to throw the day away. When they are burdening others with their problems and complaints they are forfeiting their valuable time.
11. Negative People: Being surrounded by negative people could mean the managers are spending a lot of their time listening to them but getting nothing much or purposeful from them. Obviously, avoiding such people will help the managers to minimize wasted hours and get some of their productive time back.
1. Poor Planning: Failure to see the value of planning and getting impatient to get something done are the causes of poor planning. Absence of a plan of action is likely to trigger off a false start, resulting in unproductive time utilization on the critical path of the task being undertaken. Consequently, the managers might not find enough time for completing the task.
2. Crisis Management: Most often, crisis management is an offspring of lack of prioritization of tasks. As a result of the inability to distinguish between the urgent, the important and the unnecessary tasks, unimportant tasks are likely to get done first at the cost of important tasks. Consequently, the managers are not likely to find enough time to get around to the important things.
3. Procrastination: It is easy to put off tasks if they are not due right away. The trouble is, tasks pile up and can force managers to run into a time crunch later. Procrastination is generally triggered off by the fear of failure / success, perfectionism, wanting to do it all or incorrect priorities. It is a virtue to want to do a good job. But some people become so anxious about getting a job done perfectly that they never complete it. Managers should
examine whether their efforts to get the job done perfectly are really improving things or preventing them from getting the job done.
4. Interruptions: Interruptions and distractions arise due to lack of planning, poor concentration and lack of control over environment. They are unnecessary thieves of a manager’s time and come in many forms – drop-in visitors, telephones, e-mails unscheduled meetings, poor communications and confused chain of authority etc. Managers should be less willing to automatically give away their time just because they demand it. They should learn to avoid distractions if they are to get work done. They should work in areas where they are less likely to be disturbed and tell people when they are busy and cannot be disturbed.
5. Not Delegating: Wanting-to-do-all by oneself is yet another thief that could let the managers lose control. They feel that employees can never do anything as well as they can. They fear that something will go wrong if someone else takes over a job. They lack time for long-range planning because they are bogged down in day-to-day operations.
6. Unnecessary Meetings: If a meeting is held without a specific agenda and nothing productive comes out of it, clearly that meeting was unnecessary. Obviously, such meetings are thieves as the time is wasted and things just do not get started.
7. The “shuffling blues”: Managers often waste much time because of disorganization. Keeping things that they need in a specific place, eliminating clutter, making sure that they have all the materials or information that they need before starting on the task and following a day-planner or schedule will help keep the ‘shuffling blues’ away at the work place.
8. Poor Physical Setup: Not having the things that the managers need frequently within easy reach and having a lot of the things that they seldom require close-by results in wastage of a lot of time, wearing out the carpet, retrieving what they frequently need. And of course, as they pass others they will often pull them aside to steal some of their time.
9. Poor Networking: Quality relationships with employees and others can be a substantial time-saver as they open doors for the managers with all kinds of opportunities. Failing to develop a good network base will cause them to waste time creating what they might have had through their network.
10. Bad Attitude: Nothing sinks a day more effectively than having a poor attitude. It causes the managers to dwell on the problems and not the solutions and makes it possible to throw the day away. When they are burdening others with their problems and complaints they are forfeiting their valuable time.
11. Negative People: Being surrounded by negative people could mean the managers are spending a lot of their time listening to them but getting nothing much or purposeful from them. Obviously, avoiding such people will help the managers to minimize wasted hours and get some of their productive time back.
TIME WASTERS RELATED TO MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
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MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS TIME WASTERS
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1. Attempting too much at once in realistic time estimates.
2. No deadlines.
PLANNING
3. The fighting/crisis management
4. Leaving tasks unfinished.
5. Shifting priorities.
6. No objectives, priorities orderly plan.
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1. Multiple bosses.
2. Confused responsibility and authority.
ORGANIZING
3. Duplication of efforts.
4. Personal disorganization.
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1. Not coping with change.
2. Not managing conflict.
3. Lack of motivation.
DIRECTING
4. Ineffective delegation.
5. Involved in routine details.
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1. In complete information.
2. No standards or progress reports.
CONTROLLING
3. Over control.
4. Ineffective performance.
5. Over looking poor performance.
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MONOCHRONIC AND PLOYCHRONIC VIEWS OF TIME
Just as a person’s overall personality is made up of and represented by his or her traits, a person’s time personality is made up of a series of time styles – monochromic or polychronic. It is expected that a person’s awareness of the monochronic/polychromic side of personal time style affects his or her overall approach to time use, perceptions of time pressure and the amounts and order of time spent on tasks. This, in turn, affects his or her personal efficiency. Monochronic approach to time management is essentially objective and lays emphasis on promptness, speed, brevity and punctuality. It is a very efficient and focused way to manage work and life. Monochronic time managers are those who thrive on detailed planning and organization. They prefer to focus on one task at a time and they follow a schedule from which they don’t like to deviate. They tend to get upset by distractions or interruptions and are inclined to put new tasks off until a later date, when they can be worked into the schedule. Polychronic approach to time management is subjective and lays emphasis on inspiration, imagination, flexibility, intuition and dedication. Trust, bonding, pleasure and quality of life influence more strongly the decisions of a person who ‘ticks’ in polychronic time. Polychronic time managers prefer to have many projects under way simultaneously, enjoy changing from activity to activity and are unflustered by distractions and interruptions. Unlike their monochronic counterparts, polychromic managers believe they perform well under pressure. Clearly, monochronic approach is better suited for dealing with routine and predictable tasks, while polychronic approach is better suited in dealing with things such as creating a new concept or resolving an argument. Conflict arises when managers apply a monchronic style to a situation that demands polychronic time, or managers prefer polychronic style while the situation warrants the use of monchronic style. So how do the managers cope with a healthy need for subjective, polychronic, self-imposed time and at the same time fit in with the monochronic and objective time measures? The only way managers can figure out which method works best in a given situation is based on sound reasoning and acumen.
HOW CAN YOU GET AN EXTRA HOUR OUT OF EACH DAY ?
Here are some tips to help you squeeze those extra minutes out of your day. Of course, you can adapt these so that they will fit in with your situation.
1. Get up earlier
2. Watch less TV (I mean how many Law & Order spin-offs does one need to watch?)
3. Avoid allowing others to waste your time
4. If you don’t have to drive to work, use that time to study or plan. If you do drive to work listen to a motivational tape on the way to work instead of
that mindless dj talk.
5. Organize your work; do it systematically.
6. Make creative use of lunchtime.
7. Delegate authority if, possible.
8. Spend less time on unimportant phone calls.
9. Think first, and then do the task.
10. Do what you dream about doing, instead of just dreaming about it.
11. Work hardest when you’re the most mentally alert
12. Eliminate activities that make the smallest contributions to your life.
13. Always do the toughest jobs first.
14. Before each major act ask, “Is this really necessary?”
15. Choose interesting and constructive literature for spare time reading.
16. Learn how to sleep. Sleep soundly, then work refreshed.
17. Skip desserts.
18. Stop smoking.
19. Write notes or letters while waiting for others.
20. Always carry an envelope with paper in it and a few stamps.
21. Combine tasks that are done in the same area.
22. Be prompt for all appointments.
23. Lay out your clothes the night before.(I need to remember this myself)
24. Call on specialists to do work that you cannot do efficiently
25. Learn to read more rapidly.
26. Take a nap after dinner. Then take a shower. Begin the evening hours relaxed and refreshed.
27. Avoid interruptions.
28. Avoid making a big production out of tiny tasks.
29. Search out job shortcuts.
30. Know your limitations.
31. Work to your full capacity. I know it’s tough to break bad habits. However, it is necessary to
make sacrifices so that your business can be successful. Don’t try to implement all of these ideas at once. Implement them one at a time and repeat them until they become a part of your daily routine.
make sacrifices so that your business can be successful. Don’t try to implement all of these ideas at once. Implement them one at a time and repeat them until they become a part of your daily routine.
TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS
To achieve maximum success and productivity in the work place it is essential that we understand how we use our time at work. Like many things in life, we take time for granted and give little thought to it until we no longer have enough of it. We all have same amount of time each day it is how effectively we use it that is important. That does not mean we have to schedule every waking second in our day, but there are several effective time saving habits that we can use to dramatically increase our productivity.
Understand how you use each day.
Honestly review your day and understand how you are wasting time, then commit to becoming more efficient with your time. It is important to be honest and objective about how you really spend each day.
Set priorities.
Even with a well organized schedule and good work habits, there is still often not enough time in each day for workers. Particularly small business owners and managers. So it is essential that we prioritize tasks and categorize them into urgent, very important, important, and wasting time categories. Spend majority of our time on tasks that are important and either delegate low priority jobs or move on to them only after completing the more urgent tasks.
Plan your time.
By having a clear and precise plan for each day you have a target to aim at which eliminates many of the hours wasted in between tasks or thinking about what to do next. Along with a daily plan, there should also be longer term goals to work towards. Setting daily, weekly, monthly and yearly can dramatically increase your focus and productivity.
Review your progress.
Many work habits have been formed over a life time, so we will often slip back into them if we fail to continually review our progress. Some habits will be harder to overcome than others, but the efforts we put onto overcoming them will be rewarded with added productivity, profitability and a more focused workplace.
Take time out.
We are only human, so we should also plan for times when we can wind down and do less important tasks. Browse the web, call a friend or have a longer lunch sometimes. It is only when we make habit of doing these time wasting tasks that they become a problem.
Understand how you use each day.
Honestly review your day and understand how you are wasting time, then commit to becoming more efficient with your time. It is important to be honest and objective about how you really spend each day.
Set priorities.
Even with a well organized schedule and good work habits, there is still often not enough time in each day for workers. Particularly small business owners and managers. So it is essential that we prioritize tasks and categorize them into urgent, very important, important, and wasting time categories. Spend majority of our time on tasks that are important and either delegate low priority jobs or move on to them only after completing the more urgent tasks.
Plan your time.
By having a clear and precise plan for each day you have a target to aim at which eliminates many of the hours wasted in between tasks or thinking about what to do next. Along with a daily plan, there should also be longer term goals to work towards. Setting daily, weekly, monthly and yearly can dramatically increase your focus and productivity.
Review your progress.
Many work habits have been formed over a life time, so we will often slip back into them if we fail to continually review our progress. Some habits will be harder to overcome than others, but the efforts we put onto overcoming them will be rewarded with added productivity, profitability and a more focused workplace.
Take time out.
We are only human, so we should also plan for times when we can wind down and do less important tasks. Browse the web, call a friend or have a longer lunch sometimes. It is only when we make habit of doing these time wasting tasks that they become a problem.
