Basics of Time Management

Outline
Course intro
Identify your perception of time
How do you use time?
Steps in time management
External disruptors
Internal disruptors
Task ownership
Prioritize goals and tasks
Plan your day, week, month
Conclusion
Course intro
Anthony decides today is the day that he will become more

efficient at his job.
He writes a list of unfinished tasks, plus tasks he plans to do,

plus tasks due next week. He starts with an easy task due
next week. As usual, he is interrupted. His manager asks him
to find an address. A co-worker tells him about a new movie.
He reads each email as it arrives.
He accepts an invitation for lunch at a new restaurant. After lunch, he reserves a meeting room for a
co-worker who says she is too busy to do it herself. He reads more email while he waits for data for a
weekly report. He's not sure how to complete a form, so he puts it aside until tomorrow. He doesn't
think there is enough time to start another task, so he rearranges papers on his desk. At the end of
the day, his list is as long as when he began.
He thinks, "Where does the time go? Making a list doesn't work! How do people get their work done?"
How do other people get their work done? What time management advice could you give Anthony?
On the toolbar above, click the next number to move on to the next page.
Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Course intro
How could you manage time so you can accomplish more at work? Do you recognize your goals and
priorities, and are you getting to them?
There is no such thing as a person who does not engage in time management. Everybody manages
time—for better or worse. Many people feel anxiety about the tasks they must accomplish day after
day. These people feel so overwhelmed that they resign themselves to the feeling of running all day,
but never getting ahead.
It doesn't have to be that way. If you learn to recognize some situations and patterns that keep you
from accomplishing what you want, you can learn to manage your time effectively.
This course will show you ways to identify situations and environments under which you thrive; in
addition, you will learn ways to adjust elements in your work environment and your usual work style
that contribute to inefficiency, over-responsibility, and overload.
In this course you will learn how to:
● Analyze your use of time

● Identify current inefficiencies in your schedule
● Identify external elements that affect your schedule
● Identify psychological factors that affect time management
● Define scheduling, planning, prioritizing, and decision-making
● Define task ownership and responsibility
● Prioritize your tasks and goals
● Plan your day, week, and month
Click the right-facing arrow to move on to your next topic.

Learn about your work style and your time style.
Is time like money to you, or is it like air? Do you use it,

control it, or spend it? Is it just something that's "out there
somewhere" that you measure with a clock in the way you
measure the temperature with a thermometer?
Do you have spare time, or not enough time? Do you account for every hour, or do you have
difficulty in remembering how you spent your day?
Have you ever thought about your relationship with time, and whether you could be accomplishing
more during your workday with the time you have?
Managing time to meet your needs begins with an understanding of how you interact with time and
how you like to interact with time. As you complete this lesson, you will understand your time style
and collect information about yourself that you can use to plan and schedule your workday and work
week.

Before you can begin to structure your time differently, you should understand how you are using it
now. Below you will learn some facts about time management and time styles.
Transcript

Take a time survey to learn more about your preferred style of combining work and time.
Your answers will be helpful to you as you schedule your workday. Write your answers in the My Notes
area and print them, or write them on paper for your own reference.
Transcript

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Find out how long it really takes to finish a task.
Valerie, Augustine and Dale are having a conversation over

lunch about the value of writing to-do lists to manage their
time.
Did you agree with them? Or did you recognize the common mistakes that each of them is making in
their time management efforts? To-do lists can be a useful first step in time management if they are
realistic and accurate. This lesson will provide you with tips and tools to assess how you spend your time
and how to use that information to build a better to-do list.

Use the suggestions and tips below to find out how you spend your time, then begin to restructure it.
Transcript

The following example shows a part of Dale's time log and Dale's review comments at the end of the
week.
Task Time ActualTime Interruptions? Notes

Estimated
Send email 1 hour 3.5 hours No Didn't take into account the time
invitations spent in locating addresses.*
to client
lunch
* Next time I do a task like this, I'll send out the list of names first and request that
the account managers supply email addresses. Then all I have to do is prepare the
invitations and take the addresses from the lists.
Prepare 1.5 hour 3 hours Yes I didn't have all the information I
presentation needed for this, and I had to
for team phone and email several people.
meeting The returned phone calls took up
a lot of time, because everyone
asked questions about the
presentation. My computer froze
halfway through, and I had to
begin over again.*
* I should have saved my work regularly. That way, I wouldn't have had to start over.
Next time, I'll review the information before I start. I could request the missing
information and then begin a short task while I wait.
Brainstorm 2 hours .75 hour No This is my favorite type of task.

marketing No one bothered me while I was
tasks for working and there were no emails
the launch or phone calls. Ideas were really
of new flowing! *
product
* Perhaps I can arrange to reserve a conference room to work on projects like this, so
I can cut down on interruptions. I think I'm more productive late in the morning than
in the afternoon when it comes to thinking of ideas.
Answering 1 hour 3 hours Yes My email is always turned on. I

email didn't realize that I check it so
often. I feel it's important to
answer every email right away,
but it's constantly interrupting
me.*
* I can program my email program to notify me of messages from my manager and

high-priority messages and move others to a "Read Later" folder.
Writing an 20 2.5 hours No I wrote the abstract in the time I
abstract for minutes estimated, but every time I
a paper submitted it, my manager added
more sections and wanted it
revised! *
* I won't take the time to prepare a final version next time until I'm sure that my
manager doesn't have any more changes. I'll email her the draft and let her write in
what she wants. Then I can edit the draft and prepare the final just once.
Order lunch 30 1.5 hours No No interruptions, but I didn't

for weekly minutes realize that I needed to consider
team several sets of dietary restrictions.
meeting I had to keep calling the
restaurant to change the orders. I
wish I hadn't offered to take on
this task! *
* If I do this again, which I'll try not to do, I'll make copies of the restaurant's menu,
distribute them, and have everyone circle whatever item they want and initial the
menu. That way, I can make one call when everyone turns in the menu copies. That's
my best idea of the day!

Transcript

Learn how your priorities and goals arrange your workday.
Four co-workers here are trying to determine which one is

practicing time management. What is your idea of time
management and how would you explain it?
Oscar: "Time management? It's about setting priorities at work and in my career. Then I check what I'm
doing to see if I'm still following my priorities. That's how you manage your time."
Francine: "Not really. It's more about the goals you set for yourself. You set up what you want to
accomplish in the future. One of my goals is to use the advanced features of that new accounting
software. Then, every week I ask myself if I've made progress on my goals. That's time management."
Marco: "No, that's not it, either. It's about planning activities for the next week or month. First I think
about what I have to do on a particular day and time, and then I think about everything else I have to
do in that week or month and do it. That way you're managing time. That's why it's called time
management."
Janis: "What I mean by time management is scheduling the tasks in my day. Which ones I do first, and
tasks I leave for later when I want to do something easy, and which task is more important to do before
some other task. That's the time you're managing, right?"
This debate could go on for hours, because each of them is right about one part of time management.
Effective time management is a process with four separate steps. In this lesson you will learn more
about how priorities, goal setting, planning, and scheduling work together based on the decisions you
make.

The following explanation of the steps of time management will help you understand where you currently
are in the process.
Transcript

The following example shows how some time management problems can be solved by steps in the time
management process.
Transcript

Transcript

External disruptors
Learn to accommodate to situations you can't control.
IF ONLY…
The traffic lights between home and work had been

green…
The rain hadn't slowed traffic on the highway this morning…
They hadn't reorganized my department and assigned me more work…
My manager hadn't given this report back to me five times with changes…
…I would have been able to do more of my work today.
You may not have control over changes to your life or your work environment. As a result, your
ability to manage and plan your time can be affected for a short or long period of time. It can be a
helpless feeling.
But, have you ever said IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN…?
If you had known, you would have made a different choice. The situation would still be the same, but
your actions and your response would be more successful.
When you are able to recognize external disruptions and their impact on time management, you can
choose to respond in ways that return at least some control to you again.

External disruptors
Most external disruptions to time management can be classified into four groups:
● Health
● Change and transition
● Work overload
● Unpredictable environment
Here is a description of each group to help you be aware of external time disruption in your life.
Transcript

External disruptors
Learn more about ways you can respond to external disruption of your schedule in the following
example.
Transcript

External disruptors

Internal disruptors
Recognize behaviors that can become time management

problems.
Four managers discuss the common psychological patterns

their employees exhibit when it comes to time management.
"This one employee," sighed Clarise, "takes forever to begin a project. Once he's going on it, he's fine.
But he needs so much pushing to take the first step. I don't understand it."
"I know what you mean," Bernard said. "I've got someone like that, except she stays on schedule
almost to the end of a project, and then she takes forever to finish the last few details, and…."
Jeanne interrupted, "I wish I had those people. One of my assistants keeps re-doing his work until I just
about have to pull it away from him. It would have been good enough three or four revisions ago."
"At least your staff is working on their projects." This was Marco. "Why would someone keep putting off
a project? It's at the point where I've got to take some corrective steps at her performance review, and
I wish I could understand the problem."
Sometimes what appear to be time management problems are actually the result of psychological beliefs
and habits that affect how and when tasks are performed. As you complete this lesson, you will learn
how to identify some common psychological patterns that can disrupt your ability to manage your time.
In many cases, awareness of a negative belief or habit is the first step to overcoming it.

Internal disruptors
The following tabs contain information about some of the most common psychological patterns that have
an impact on time management.
Transcript

Internal disruptors
The following examples show how negative beliefs and habits can emerge as time management
problems.
Transcript

Internal disruptors

Task ownership
Learn how to identify when you're taking on others' work.
"It will only take a minute."

"Just help me out on this one thing."
"It's just a tiny little project."
"I know I should be learning to do this, but you do it so
well."
"You can still finish in plenty of time after lunch."
"If I want this done correctly, I'd better do it myself."
Have you ever ordered dessert in a restaurant with someone who won't order dessert for
themselves, but takes spoonfuls of your dessert until it's gone? "Just one more little bit-you won't
miss it." In the workplace, your time is the dessert and supervisors and co-workers who ask you to
take on tasks that they should be doing are the ones with the spoons. Before you know it, you don't
have enough time for your own tasks.
Could this be a reason why you feel overloaded with work? Could you be giving away your own time
by keeping tasks for yourself that you should delegate to someone else? As you complete this
lesson, you will learn to identify tendencies you may have to be over-responsible and some ways to
avoid giving away your time.

Task ownership
Here are some tips to help you identify and change patterns of over-responsibility.
Transcript

Task ownership
The following example shows people changing their responses in ownership situations.
Transcript

Task ownership

Learn how to select your most important tasks.
"Who's next?"
Anna hears this many times during the week when she's
away from work, and she hears many different answers:
"Me. I was here first."
"Me. I've been waiting longer."
"Me. This is an emergency."
"Me. I don't have time to wait."
"Me. I'm next in line."
Back at her desk, Anna looks at a pile of projects to be worked on, a stack of case folders to be
refiled, her career development plan, and her daily calendar. As always, she's never sure in which
order to work on the tasks. She thinks about the ways which other workplaces determine the order
in which customers are served.
Could she use the coffee shop "next in line" model, the emergency room "most urgent first" model,
the commodities exchange "whoever yells loudest" model, or the doctor's office "make an
appointment" model?
Which model do you use to identify "who's next" to be completed? In this lesson you will learn to
identify your goals and priorities, and how to analyze them in terms of urgency and importance.

The definitions and procedures below can help you to identify and prioritize your work goals and your
tasks.
Transcript

The following example shows how one assistant prioritized her tasks.
Transcript

Transcript

Learn how to be creative and realistic in scheduling tasks.
You have a convenient, easy to use tool nearby that can

help you plan your work—your paper or electronic calendar
or appointment book. Take a moment to think about how
you use it now.
If you're typical, your calendar is a reminder or to-do list, not a planner. You write in appointments
or due dates for a specific day or time. You may write everything you want to do that day on the
page or screen and "roll" uncompleted tasks to the next day. Your calendar shows you what you
could be doing. Why not use it to show what you will be doing?
If you have already established goals, identified activities, and can estimate and prioritize tasks, take
the fourth step in time management. Place your tasks in priority order in your calendar. Shift them
around to make use of the available time. Now you have a realistic, achievable work plan for the
day.
In this lesson you will learn a process and some tips to help you do more with that free planning tool
you look at every day.

The following scheduling steps and tips will help you organize your day's work.
Transcript

Transcript


Conclusion
You should understand by now that you can control your own time. You've learned how to recognize
those elements in your environment—and within your psyche as well—that keep you from effectively
managing your time. Remember: poor time management is a conscious choice. You can choose to do
otherwise. Make the most of your time, and pay special attention to the priorities in your life—both
professional and personal.
By now you should be able to:
● Analyze your use of time

● Identify current inefficiencies in your schedule
● Identify external elements that affect your schedule
● Identify psychological factors that affect your time management
● Define scheduling, planning, prioritizing, and decision-making
● Define task ownership and responsibility
● Prioritize your tasks and goals
● Plan your day, week, and month
Ready to move on? Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Glossary
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Basics of Time Management

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Outline

Anthony decides today is the day that he will become more

He writes a list of unfinished tasks, plus tasks he plans to do,

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In this course you will learn how to:

● Analyze your use of time

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to your next topic.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Learn about your work style and your time style.

Is time like money to you, or is it like air? Do you use it,

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Find out how long it really takes to finish a task.

Valerie, Augustine and Dale are having a conversation over

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Task Time ActualTime Interruptions? Notes

Brainstorm 2 hours .75 hour No This is my favorite type of task.

Answering 1 hour 3 hours Yes My email is always turned on. I

* I can program my email program to notify me of messages from my manager and

Order lunch 30 1.5 hours No No interruptions, but I didn't

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how your priorities and goals arrange your workday.

Four co-workers here are trying to determine which one is

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Learn to accommodate to situations you can't control.

The traffic lights between home and work had been

…I would have been able to do more of my work today.

But, have you ever said IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN…?

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Recognize behaviors that can become time management

Four managers discuss the common psychological patterns

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how to identify when you're taking on others' work.

"It will only take a minute."

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Click the right-facing arrow to move on to the next section.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how to select your most important tasks.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2003 DigitalThink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how to be creative and realistic in scheduling tasks.

You have a convenient, easy to use tool nearby that can