Time Management

Question 1

Describe time management techniques (12)

Answer 1

1. Use a to-do list giving each job a priority – trying to note how long you expect to spend on each job
2. Priorities List - Employees could prioritise tasks into urgent and non-urgent, high, medium and low priority
3. Try not to take on too much work – delegate more tasks – learn to say NO
4. Setting realistic targets/goals – to aid motivation
5. Gantt Charts - Which can show overall progress towards targets - Compares actual with estimated time spent on tasks - Use of milestones to track progress/used by teams to manage large projects
6. Being aware of own ability to cope with workload and not taking on too much work
7. Organised desk – in order to find information or allow others to find it
8. Try to make sure that meetings take no longer than necessary – set time limits and keep to Agenda
9. Try to handle papers or tasks only once – read them, take any actions needed, and file them – if you deal with things promptly there is less chance of a backlog of work building up
10. Try to avoid being interrupted – be firm with colleagues who just want to chat – learn to control time or protect time (phone or face to face)
11. Making use of diary to set reminders and deadlines – using task manager to monitor progress against predicted times
12. Action plans …

Question 2

Outline possible time stealers (8)

Answer 2

• Interruptions (telephone/visitors/e-mails)
• Taking on too much work/Inability to say ‘No’
• Desk stress/unable to find information
• Meetings taking too long
• Crisis management
• Procrastination
• Making unnecessary/duplicate journeys
• Disorganised

Question 3

Outline strategies that could be used to minimise time stealers (8)

Answer 3

 Interruptions (telephone/visitors/e-mails)
o do not disturb time/voicemail used at certain times of the day/close email down and check at certain times of day
o staff’s own phone alerting them to incoming messages
 Taking on too much work/Inability to say ‘No’
o delegate/discuss workload with line manager
 Desk stress/unable to find information
o introduce a good file management system/clear desk policy
 Meetings taking too long
o set time limits/realistic agendas
 Crisis management
o don’t react hastily to situations take time to find a reasonable solution
o have plans/strategies in place for unexpected circumstances for example staff absence
 Procrastination
o to-do list/priorities list
 Making unnecessary/duplicate journeys
o group jobs together so visits to other departments are only made once a day
 Disorganised
o make a to-do-list, ask for help