TIME MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION Time is constant that cannot be altered. The clock cannot be slowed down or speed up.

Thus time management is misnomer. No one manages time itself but what is managed is simply self management. The nurse manager has a limited time her work is typically a shift beginning and ending with activities and events. The eight hour shift may become ten hour work day. Everyone has the same number of hours in a day and the same number of days per week, some people accomplish more than others. Granted some people work longer and harder than others to accomplish more, but some just make better use of their time. Because nurses work long hours, they should work smarter- not harder- to get more done in less time. TERMINOLOGIES Time logs- journals of activities that are useful in analysing actual time spent on specific activities. To do list- a list of responsibilities to be accomplished with in a specific time frame Interruption log- journal of specific information regarding interruptions, analysis of which may help identify ways to reduce interruptions. Job analysis a process that determines and defines the duties and requirements involved in a particular job Time and motion studies- an observational work activity technique in which an observer records exactly how much time is devoted to each skill, task or behaviour. Procastination- put off something until a future time , to postpone action , or to delay needlessly. DEFINITION Time Time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence. Time is often viewed as a continuum in which events occur in succession from the past to the present and on to the future. Time is a one-dimensional quantity used to sequence events, to quantify the durations of events and the intervals between them, and (used together with space) to quantify and measure the motions of objects. Time Management Time management is the optimum use of available time Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time with the aim of improving the quality of your life.

CHARACTERISTIC OF TIME Unique Resource Perishable Cannot Be Stored Irreplaceable Cannot Be Substituted With Any Other Resource Irreversible Time Is Inelastic Cannot Be Stopped By Anyone OBJECTIVES OF TIME MANAGEMENT To achieve goals on time To avoid unnecessary problems To prioritize most important and urgent matters To build-in time for constructive personal development To avoid stress To organize time effectively for work and life BENEFITS If you can manage your time more effectively, you will be rewarded in a variety of ways: You will be more efficient in serving your work and will be able to support your job better You will achieve greater success in your very important, and highly visible, role as a Leader On a personal level, you will certainly feel healthier, more energetic, and in a generally better mood

IMPORTANCE OF TIME MANAGEMENT Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that help you use your time to accomplish what you want. Here are the top reasons why time management is of great importance to your personal and career success: 1. To know how to use time wisely 2. Time is limited - Time is a very special resource in that you cannot store it or save it for later. Everyone gets the exact same amount of time each and every day. If you don't use your time wisely, you can never get it back. 3. To get more work done in less time - When you become more productive using improved time management skills and tools, you can accomplish more with less effort. Reducing wasted time and effort gives you even more productive time throughout the day. Both of these allow you to make time for a wide range of activities that bring more balance and fulfillment to your life.

4. To conserve time and energy 5. You can accomplish more with less effort. 6. Too many choices. In this day and age, there are so many ways you can spend your time, that you need some sort of plan to make intelligent choices. Time management helps you make conscious choices so you can spend more of your time doing things that are important and valuable to you. 7. Time management will help you set up your priorities. 8. Life today presents so many distractions that it is so easy to lose time on unimportant activities. Ask yourself, is watching this or that TV program, reading this or that gossip or participating in a certain activity is going to add anything to your life. Is the time spent on a particular activity well spent, or is just a waste of time and energy? 9. Time is a special resource that you cannot store or save for later use. Everyone has the exact same amount of time each day. Time not well used cannot be retrieved. TIME WASTERS Certain time wasters prevent nurse manager from effectively managing time. A Time water is something that prevents a person from accomplishing the job or achieving the goal. Common time wasters are as follows. 1. Interruptions such as telephone calls and drop in visitors 2. Meetings, both scheduled and unscheduled 3. Lack of clear-cut goals, objectives, and priorities 4. Lack of daily and/ weekly plans 5. Lack of personnel organization and self discipline. 6. Lack of knowledge on how one spends ones time. 7. Failure to delegate, working on routine tasks 8. Ineffective communication 9. Waiting for others, not using transition time effectively 10. Inability to say no POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE ABILITY TO MANAGE TIME EFFECTIVELY 1. We do what we like to do before we do what we dont like to do. 2. We do things we know how to do faster than things we do not know to do 3. We do things that are easiest before things that are difficult 4. We do things that require a little time before things that require a lot time 5. We do things that are scheduled (for eg , meetings) before non scheduled things 6. We do interesting things before uninteresting things 7. We tackle small jobs before large jobs

PRINCIPLES OF TIME MANAGEMENT 1. Goal setting 2. Time analysis 3. Priority determination 4. Daily planning 5. Delegation 6. Interruption Control 7. Evaluation 1. GOAL SETTING Nurses are accustomed to setting both long and short range goals. A critical component of time management is establishing ones own goals and time frames. Goals provide direction and vision for actions as well as a time line in which activities will be accomplished. Defining goals and time frames helps reduce stress by preventing the panic people often feel when confronted with multiple demands. Individual or organisational goals encourage thinking about the future and what might happen. Goal setting helps to relate current behaviour, activities, or operations to the organisations or individuals long range goals. Without this future orientation, activities may not lead to the outcomes that will help achieve the goals and meet the ideals of the individual or organisation. The focus should be to develop measurable, realistic, and achievable goals. To manage time effectively the nurse manager must answer five major questions about these goals: 1. What specific objectives are to be achieved? 2. What specific activities are necessary to achieve these objectives? 3. How much time is required for each activity? 4. Which activities can be planned and scheduled for concurrent action, and which must be planned and scheduled sequentially? 5. Which activities can be delegated to staff? 2. DELEGATION Delegating tasks to others can be an efficient time management tool. Delegation involves assigning tasks, determining expected results and granting authority to the individual to accomplish these tasks. Delegation is perhaps the most difficult leadership skill for nurses to acquire. Today when more and more assistive personnel are being used to carry out the nurses work, appropriate delegation and supervisory skills are essential for success. A variety of activities may be delegated by the nurse manager for eg: the nurse manager may delegate responsibility for the QA programme Delegation involves Assigning tasks Determining expected results , And granting authority to the individual to accomplish these tasks. It conveys rights and obligations to a subordinate. 4

3. TIME ANALYSIS The first step in time analysis is how time is being used. The second is to determine whether that time use is appropriate to the managers role. In job redesign, there is a stronger emphasis on ensuring that time is spent wisely and that the right individual is correctly assigned the responsibility for tasks. Using time logs, typically kept in intervals of 30 to 60 minutes, is useful to analyze the actual time spent on various activities. These logs can be reviewed to determine which activities are essential to the nurse managers role and which activities can be delegated to others or eliminated. Instead of a separate log, nurse managers schedule book also may be used to review patterns of time use. A significant difficulty in moving from a staff nurse position to a leadership position is the need to develop different time management and organisational skills. When the nurse moves to a position he or she is responsible for defining how time will be spent. Learning to focus on priorities and evaluating time use is an important part of the analysis. 4. SETTING PRIORITIES Priority setting is perhaps the most critical skill in good time management. Nurse managers should establish priorities, taking into consideration both short and long term goals as well as the importance and urgency of each activity. Activities can be identified as a) Urgent and important- eg. Replacing two call offs and ensuring sufficient staffing for the upcoming shift. b) Important but not urgent- eg. Drafting an educational program for nurses on the changes in Medicare reimbursement c) Urgent but not important- eg. Completing and submitting the beds available list for a disaster drill. d) Busy work- eg. compiling new charts for future patient admissions. e) Wasted time- eg- sitting by the phone waiting for return calls. Activities that are both urgent and important such as the example described above must be completed. Activities that are important but not urgent may be those make the difference between career progression or maintaining the status quo. Urgent but not important activities must be completed immediately but are not considered important or significant. Busy work and wasted time are self explanatory. 5. DAILY PLANNING AND SCHEDULING Once goals and priorities have been established, the nurse manager can concentrate on scheduling activities. A to do list should be prepared each day, either after work hours the previous day or early before work on the same day. The list is typically planned by work day or work week. Because nurse managers combine many responsibilities, a week to do list may be more effective. Flexibility must be a major consideration in this plan; some time should remain uncommitted to allow the manager to deal with emergencies and crises that are sure to happen. The focus is not on activities and events, but rather on outcomes that can be achieved in the time available. Grouping activities and minimizing routine work Work items that are similar in nature and require similar environmental surroundings and resources for their accomplishment should be grouped within divisions of the work 5

shift. Set aside blocks of uninterrupted time for the really important tasks, such as preparing the budget. Routine tasks , especially those that are not important or urgent and contribute little to overall objectives, should be minimized. If you insist on doing them, group the together and do them in your least productive time. This helps to use the small bits of time that become available. Implementation Implementation of daily plan and daily follow up is essential to time management. In addition, you should repeat your time analysis at least semi-annually to see how well you are managing your time , whether the job or environment has changed, and which requires changes in planning activities. This can help preclude reverting to poor time management habits. Personal organisation and self discipline Some other time wasters are lack of personal organisation and self discipline, including the inability to say no, waiting for others and excessive or ineffective paper work. Effective personal organisation results from clearly defined priorities based on well defined, measurable, and achievable objectives. A cluttered desk, working on too many tasks at one time, and failing to set aside blocks of uninterrupted time to do important tasks also indicate lack of personnel self discipline. Personal /internal time wasters 1. Procrastination 2. Poor planning 3. Failure to establish goals and objectives 4. Failure to set objectives 5. Inability to delegate 6. Inability to say no 7. Haste 8. Indecisiveness To be effective, the nurse manger must be personally well organised and possess self discipline. This often includes ability to say no. taking on too much work can lead to overload and stress. Being realistic to about the amount of work to which you commit is an indication of effective time management. Be assertive in communication your your own need to others. Focus on one task at a time, make sure to start with a high-priority task. 6. CONTROLLING INTERRUPTIONS An interruption occurs any time the nurse manager is stopped in the middle of one activity to give attention to something else. Interruptions can be an essential part of the nurse managers job, or they can be a time waster. An interruption that is more important and urgent that the activity in which the nurse manager is involved is a positive interruption; it deserves immediate attention. An emergency or crisis , for instance may cause the nurse manager to interrupt daily rounds. Some interruptions interfere with achieving the nurse managers job and are less important and urgent than current activities.

Keeping an interruption log on an occasional basis may help. The log should show who interrupted, the nature of interruption, when it occurred, how long it lasted, what topics where discussed, the importance of the topics and time saving actions to be taken. Analysis of this data may identify patterns that the nurse manager can use to plan ways to reduce the frequency and duration of interruptions. These patterns may indicate certain staff members are the most frequent interrupters and require individual attention to develop problem solving skills. Telephone calls- telephone calls are major sources of interruption, and interruption log will provide considerable insight for the nurse manager regarding the nature of telephone calls received. Nurse managers receive many telephone calls, some of them time wasters. Handling telephone calls effectively is a must. Minimize socialising and small task- if you answer the phone with , hello what ca i do for you rather than, helo how are you ? the caler is encouraged to get to business first. Be warm friendly and and corteous, but do not alow others to waste timr with inappropriate or extensive small talk. Plan calls- the manager who plans telephone calls does not waste any ones time, including that of a person called. Write down topics to be discussed before making call this prevents the need for additional calls. Set a time for calls-the nurse manage may have a number of calls to return as well as calls to initiate. It is best to set aside a time to handle phone calls especially during down time. State and ask for preferred call time and the purpose of the call- if a party is not available, state the purpose of the call, and provide several time frames when you will be available for a return call. Voice mail- is an excellent way to send and receive messages when a real time interaction is not essential. Drop in visitors- although often friendly and seemingly harmless, the typical got a minute? drop in visit can last 10 minutes. Rather that eliminate drop in visits the nurse manager should skilfully direct the visit by identifying the issue or question, arranging an alternative meeting, referring the visitor to someone else, or redirecting the visitors problem-solving efforts. An additional strategy is to stand up and to greet the visitor and remain standing. Interruptions can also be controlled by the arrangement of furniture. The nurse manager whose desk is arranged so that immediate eye contact is made with passers-by or drop- in vistors is asking for interruptions. A desk turned 90 or even 180 degrees from the door minimizes potential eye contact. Encouraging appointments to deal with routine matters also reduces interruptions. Regularly scheduled meetings with those who need to see the nurse manager allow them to hold routine matters for those appointments.

Schedule Paperwork

Nurse managersspend considerable time in writing and reading and they are required to cope with increasing unit paper work. Some measures can be followed by the nurse manager Plan and schedule paper work- nurse manger should learn the organisations information systems and reqirements of the position, and make significant progress on that part of the job daily. Sort paper work for effective processing- a system of file folders or trays in which to sort mail can be very helpful. Analyze paperwork frequently- all standard forms, reports and memos should be reviewed annually. Do not be a paper shuffler- handle a piece of paper only once, is a common adage, but impossible to follow if taken literally. Each time a piece of paper is handled, some action should be taken to further the processing of that paper. 7. EVALUATION The nurse manager should make atleast a weekly assessment of how effectively the time has been used. A good time to complete this review is while identifying priorities for the next week. THREE BASIC STEPS IN TIME MANAGEMENT 1. Allow time for planning and establishing priorities. 2. Complete the highest priority task whenever possible, and finish one task before begning another. 3. Reprioritize based on the remaining tasks and on new information that have been received. 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 begning another. In the final step the person must reprioritize the tasks to be accomplished based on new information received. Because it is a cyclic process, all three steps must be accomplished sequentially. Unfortunately two mistakes common to novice managers are underestimating the importance of daily plan and not allowing adequate time for planning. Daily planning is essential if the manager is to mange by efficiency rather than by crisis. Managers may believe they are unproductive if they sit at their desk designing the plan of care for the day, rather than accomplishing a specific task. Without adequate planning, however the manager finds getting started difficult and begins to manage by crisis. In addition there can be no sense of achievement at days end if the goals for the day have not been clearly delineated. Planning takes time; it requires the ability to think, analyze data, envision alternatives, and make decisions. Setting aside time at the beginning of each day to plan the day, allows the manager to spend time on high-priority tasks. During this planning time, the manager should review short-term, intermediate, and long term goals and determine what progress will be made toward these goals. 8

Sometimes the manager does allow time for planning but has problems accurately predicting the length of time it will take to complete an activity. LEADERSHIP ROLES AND MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS NEEDED FOR EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT Because time is a finite and valuable resource , learning to use it wisely requires both leadership skills and management functions. The leader-manager must initiate an analysis of how time is managed on the unit level, involve team members and gain their cooperation in maximising time use, and guide work to its conclusion and successful implementation. Leadership roles and management functions needed for effective time management are listed below: Leadership roles 1. Is self aware regarding personal blocks and barriers to efficient time management as well as how ones value system influences ones own use of time and the expectations of followers 2. Functions as a role model, supporter, and resource person to subordinates in setting priorities. 3. Assists followers in wrking cooperatively to maximize time use. 4. Prevents and or filters interruptions that prevent effective time management 5. Role models flexibility in working cooperatively with other people whose primary time management style is different. 6. Presents a calm and reassuring demeanor during periods of high unit activity 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 using job analysis and time and motion studies 4. Eliminates environmental barriers to effective time management for unit staff. 5. Handles paper work promptly and efficiently and maintains a neat work area. 6. Breaks down large tasks into smaller ones that can more easily 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. OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT There are a lot of things that make it difficult for us to manage our time effectively. Lets consider some of the most common ones, and see if they apply to us:

Unclear objectives Its hard to hit a target with your eyes closed, and its just as hard to accomplish something when you arent exactly clear about what you want to achieve Disorganization Its easy to see when your desk is too messy, but sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself if you are taking an organized approach in completing all of your tasks Inability to say no We all want to be as helpful as we can when others need us, but this can mean taking time away from other priorities to do something we may not have planned Interruptions Many times we are in the middle of accomplishing something really important and the telephone rings. These calls can not only take you away from your task, but sometimes they interrupt your train of thought and you cant return to where you were without retracing your steps More interruptions We all like to visit with others, but conversations at inappropriate times can cost us time when we have to stop what we are doing and redirect ourselves from our plans Periods of inactivity As much as we think we are busy, there are times in our day when we are not really doing anything. Recognizing and making use of these times can have a positive effect on our efforts Too many things at once Many of our tasks are not routines. They require concentration to detail. When we are attempting to do too many different things at one time, each individual task suffers as a result Stress and fatigue Everyone experiences stress from time to time, and sometimes we actually operate a little better when there is some level of stress. Too much stress, on the other hand, causes our work to suffer and wears us down physically and mentally. Dealing with stress is an important part of time management All work and no play Most successful people know how to balance work and play. When work takes over your life, you not only give your body little time to reenergize, but you may end up sacrificing the really important things in life like family and friends

REMEDIES FOR OBSTACLES The obstacles that we face are not insurmountable. Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to identify that these obstacles exist and are affecting your ability to manage your time. When you have identified your obstacles you can begin to overcome them. Here are some strategies you can use to overcome the obstacles: 1) Set clear goals. As a leader, you will want to accomplish many things in your time of office. The best favor you can do for yourself is to determine what those goals are and make sure your efforts are always directed toward their achievement. Effective goals share a number of characteristics in common. Effective goals are:

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Specific When a goal is too vague, you may never know how to reach it or even when you have reached it. Make sure that you know exactly what you hope to achieve Measurable When you have a goal that is measurable, you will know how far you have to go to reach the goal, and when you get there For instance, I will support extension in my district is a vague goal, while I will establish five new clubs in my district is both specific (new clubs) and measurable (five).

Achievable It is commendable to set your sights high, but sometimes we try to accomplish more than we can actually do. Your goals should be such that, if you extend yourself you can just reach them. Realistic Can you establish a program in your district to help everyone with vision problems? It is certainly a worthwhile goal, but it may not be realistic at this time. It might be better to work on setting up a program with schools to provide vision testing and eyeglasses for disadvantaged children. Time-based It is important to set time guidelines for your goals, so that you can keep track of your progress as you are going along and can be alert to when you are falling behind schedule.

2) Prioritize As a leader, you will be faced with many tasks. It is safe to say that you will not be able to do everything, so it is wise to periodically make a list of the tasks that confront you and prioritize them. The following technique may be helpful in prioritizing: Do Determine from the list the things you think are most important to accomplish, and are things you should do yourself. Delegate Remember that there many people within your work with skills, experience, and motivation to carry out a wide variety of tasks. A truly effective leader understands and recognizes that some things are better handled by others. Delegating not only frees up your time for other things, it ensures that resources are used wisely and that who want to help are motivated and involved. Delay until another time Some things can wait. The danger is delaying too many things until deadlines are near. The best policy here is to consider when things are due, how long it will take to accomplish them, and what your current workload will allow. Delete If you have set goals using the guidelines we mentioned earlier, you may recognize that some of them are not achievable or realistic, or that they are just not important. A good leader knows when to concentrate on the important and eliminate the rest.

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It is important when you have prioritized your tasks that you: Address the urgent Take care of things with short-term consequences as soon as possible. Accomplish what you can early Reports, registrations, requests that can be handled early should come next. Dont put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Attach deadlines to things you delay When you have determined that something can definitely wait, dont just toss it aside until later. Establish a deadline for the task in your schedule, and make a note to remind you to begin working on it.

3) Organize As you prioritize tasks and set deadlines, you will want to organize your plans and actions. Some of you may be more comfortable using paper and pencil, so I urge you to make use of a planner with a calendar and plenty of space to make notes. Many planners contain not only calendar space, but also room for daily activities, contact information, and to do lists. Find a planner that fits your needs and use it. You will find this to be an indispensable tool for managing your time. Maybe you use, or would consider using, a computer to help in organizing your time. Todays computers often come equipped with software programs that include calendars, task lists, reminders, and contact information. If your computer does not have such a function, software is readily available that you can install. You may also consider a small personal digital assistant, or PDA. These devices are small enough to fit in your hand, and use the same software your home computer uses. PDAs are helpful tools when you are away from your computer during the day or are traveling on business. Eg: This would be a good opportunity to share whatever tools you use to stay organized. If you use a planner, bring it out and show how you use it. If you use computer software, explain the program and how it helps you. You may also ask participants if they have any other organizational ideas, like reminder files for each week or month. Whatever method you choose, make sure you organize your tasks so that you can stay on track. 4) Learn when to say No It is some more personal strategies that you can apply to your life. These also have a great impact on how effectively you manage your time. The first of these strategies is being able to say NO when it is appropriate. When you learn to say NO you are not closing the door on your responsibilities, but rather you are making sure that you can meet your commitments and accomplish the maximum possible in the time available to you. 12

To be able to say NO you will have to accept these three principles: 1. I realize that I cant do everything 2. I wont agree to undertake a task or project that I know I will not be able to complete in the timeframe required 3. I will not make commitments that are not consistent with the goals and objectives I have set for myself If you keep these principles in mind, you will find it easier to justify (and explain) why some requests must be turned down. You will also find that you are better able to accomplish the things that you have prioritized as must do. USAGE OF WAITING TIME Another personal time management skill is to make good use of your waiting time. Have you ever thought about how much time you spend doing nothing during an average day? Usually this is not a situation where you planned to do nothingit just happened. Think about all of the things you could accomplish if you could make use of this time. For instance: Time you spend commuting on a train or bus Time you wait at the doctor or dentist office for your appointment Time you spend on a plane, waiting for your plane, or the time you spend waiting for your baggage Time you spend on hold on the telephone Time you spend when you arrive at work or at a meeting earlier than you had anticipated

There are two ways to look at these periods of time. You can either consider them as wastes of time or as gifts of time. If you choose to think of them as gifts of time, you can use them as opportunities to accomplish routine tasks that are necessary, but dont require large periods of time. Most successful people have already found that there are a number of things that they can accomplish while they wait. The trick to making use of your waiting time is to always make sure you have something with you that you can accomplish in the event that you are kept waiting. For instance: Reading correspondence Take your mail with you and read it while you are waiting or traveling. Some PDAs have e-mail capability, so you can read your e-mail on a train or plane or at the doctors office Writing letters or memos While you wait, you can take out a notepad or use a PDA to write letters or memos. This could also be a good time to update your planner Reading or listening to tapes Carry a book or magazine or a tape with you. You can also download books and articles to your PDA. There is often no time in your schedule to keep current on books or articles related to your business or to self13

improvement. Instead of being impatient when you are delayed, this could be a perfect time to advance your own knowledge and skills. ADVANTAGES OF TIME MANAGEMENT The advantages of time management are numerous, and well worth working to get. Effective time management can really improve the quality of your daily life. It can allow you to obtain emotional, physical, and monetary benefits. A Reduction of Stress When you effectively manage your time, youll have a properly prioritized schedule. Youll find that you lead a life that has considerably less pressure. By completing tasks on time and not procrastinating, you decrease the quantity of stress that happened when you put off completing tasks. When everything has to be completed at the same time and no timetable is intact, your level of dissatisfaction can increase radically. Your head becomes a cluttered mess of what you need to do, what you could do, and what you would like to do, but nothing really gets finished. By using time management, you can decrease the strain and irritation that a hectic schedule brings. A Sense of Achievement Good time management can also give you some piece of mind, and help you to feel more relaxed. With a proper timetable, you have time to spare to do the things that you enjoy and can find more time to unwind. You dont have to worry about how you are going to get everything done on time, because your schedule is set so that everything gets completed in an planned manner. When you are not rushed and overworked you gain a sense of peace and rest. A sense of achievement also comes from knowing that you finished everything that you needed to get done, and since you werent rushed, the end result was probably much better. You feel proud about what you have been able to accomplish and feel as though you are doing a good job. You not only have extra peace of mind and accomplishment, but you produce better work then when your time was not being managed. Increased Energy When you dont manage your time well, you are constantly running around trying to get everything done, and that can be a tiring process. When you arent running around trying to complete a task, you are trying to sort through the jumbled mess of information that is clamoring for attention in your thoughts. If you get proper time management however, you are able to complete a task all at once and then move on to the next task at your leisure. The relaxed pace that comes from managing your time is a great benefit, and can help you to have increased energy. When you arent running around or worrying about what needs to be done you are free to relax. You can also gain more energy by increasing the amount of time that you sleep each night. With spare time on your hands you are free to sleep a full eight hours at night. Increased Productivity Another advantage of time management is an increase in productivity. When your time is managed, you can complete more tasks and can get more done than you ever 14

imagined. Instead of rushing through your tasks at work and not doing a proper job, you can take your time and produce quality results. Not only do you have more time to get important things done, but you also have free time to work on further achieving other goals. Your increased productivity can help you get a promotion at work, earn more money for yourself, or meet your goals faster. Control over life Proper time management allows you to take some measure of control over your life. By pre-planning your activities you help your days to become ordered. Things come up and you may be forced to change your plan at times, but for the most part, knowing exactly what you need to achieve each day and having a plan to ensure that these things get done, will help you be more in control of your destiny. Fun: Proper time management allows you to have more time for fun. By prioritizing and getting the most important and pressing things done first, you then have time to do the things you really want to do. This might be a favorite hobby, going dancing, enjoying time with your family, or simply resting. DISADVANTAGES OF TIME MANAGEMENT Time management is what many people think or dream about all times, but dont easily get into achieving the same. It is because time management lies in managing ones tasks in an effective manner. And, this cannot be done or learned overnight. It requires some (actually a lot of) practice. Hence, while most people think all the time about time management, they dont get into action. This may be due to the following reasons: They think that their kind of job or lifestyle does not require time management and only business people or rich persons need it. They dont find a compelling reason to realize the need to manage time effectively while all tasks can be done as they appear, just like that. There is nothing wrong in having these two notions. But this article will help you to think out of the box. If you know the bad effects of poor time management, then you will not take it so easily. Here are some of the key disadvantages of poor time management. Stress: The first, direct and spontaneous outcome of poor time management is stress. If you are the one among many others who search the internet for tips and techniques to stress management, you will have to do your search for tips and techniques to efficient time management. Stress due to poor time management can be in any of the following two categories: 1. Stress due to flooded tasks that await you one day and you have no idea on how to deal with them. 2. Stress due to picking up tasks without prioritizing. You choose to do task 2 now while task 1 awaits your attention, and hence you are stressed about task 1. As you can see, these two categories apply not only to business people or rich persons but to everyone. The sad fact is that if you are a person who poorly manages time, you are not stressed only on occasions, but accomplishing your day-to-day tasks will be challenging.

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Leading a stressful life (due to poor time management, while you will be also stressed due to many other reasons) is not at all healthy. Inefficient management (general): A person who poorly manages time cannot manage things in an efficient manner. Certain things in the list include tasks (which again includes email, learning, executing, follow up etc.), people (if you are in a managerial or supervisory position), family, business and so on. The list consists of all kinds of stuff from very basic to complex levels. So, poor time management will leave a big impact on your lifestyle, on the whole. Procrastination: It will be appropriate to say that procrastination branches from poor time management. Considering the two categories mentioned under Stress headline, 1. When you have flooded tasks and if you are poor at time management, you cannot deal with all of them. You pick some and do them. Again since you are not good at managing your time, you dont complete tasks on time, you do not follow proper methods to complete tasks in an order, and as a result you will have tasks that are either incomplete or not attended to. You leave those tasks for tomorrow. 2. When you cannot accomplish tasks by looking into their priorities, things go badly wrong. You spend time on a task which can wait, and hence you either partly complete a task that cannot wait, or postpone it for another occasion. In any case, since you cannot manage time effectively you either postpone tasks as a whole or postpone them partly. Procrastination again is so unhealthy since in order to perform a procrastinated task, you either have to squeeze your tasks or leave some other tasks unattended, on the day you postpone the tasks to. You can ultimately encounter a pile of incomplete or poorly done tasks. Imperfection: As I have just pointed out, most of the tasks that are poorly managed are performed so that the outcome is not perfect. The point is, once you do not do anything about managing time, you cannot also do anything about imperfection. Your imperfection in this case is not because of your skill, knowledge or moral support but this is because of poor time management. For the former case you can do something to improve your skills, knowledge and also to acquire moral support, but for the latter you only have to start to manage your time effectively. Lose name/fame/branding: If I am the boss of an IT company, I do not value all my employees equally (I am not talking about their posts or positions). There are some employees who always complete tasks or projects on time, have action plans towards a goal/target, manage their team very well so as to get optimal outcome from all the team members and the team, work in a systematic manner, manage their working hours effectively and so on. As the boss, it is not a problem for me to easily remember the name of such a person regardless of what his/her position is. I always associate trust, reliability, best results, and in general a good name or a positive impression to these kind of persons. Now just think of those employees 16

who are always irregular, unpunctual, do not complete projects on a deadline and so on. Isnt it really hard to establish a good name with poor time management? Integrating leadership management roles and management 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 also in 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 to prioritize activities of unit functioning to meet short and long-term unit needs. Successful leader-managers are able to integrate leadership skills and management functions; they accomplish unit goals in a timely and efficient manner in a concerted effort with subordinates. They also recognize time as a valuable unit resource and share responsibility for the use of that resource with subordinates. Perhaps most importantly, the integrated leader- manager with well developed time management skills is able to maintain greater control over time and energy constraints in his or her personal and professional life. CONCLUSION The key to using time management techniques is to respect ones own time as well as that of others. Nurse managers who respect their time are likely to find others respecting it also. Time management is an important aspect of life, be it work, study or during leisure time. It sounds obvious but there are a number of advantages of time management, and can end up saving a lot of time in the long run. Time is your most precious resource. It is the most valuable thing you have. It is perishable, it is irreplaceable, and it cannot be saved. It can only be reallocated from activities of lower value to activities of higher value. All work requires time. And time is absolutely essential for the important relationships in your life. The very act of taking a moment to think about your time before you spend it will begin to improve your personal time management immediately. JOURNAL ABSTRACT Gregory P Smith written an article on the art of managing time and your life. This article describes that there are two major components of time management they are practice and purpose. The practice component refers to what you do with the minutes of your day. The purpose component refers to finding and knowing your purpose in life. When you manage your time, the minutes of your life, and it falls in alignment with your purpose of your life, you have a fantastic chain reaction. This alignment can enable you to accomplish your tasks more effectively, to reach your goals more quickly, and to give you a greater sense of peace.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. By Russell C. Swansburg Management and leadership for nurse managers. pg 559- 560 2. By Howard S. Rowland, Beatrice Rowland Nursing administration handbook.pg: 660 3. Rebecca Sampson. leadership and management in nursing practice and education. Jaypee brothers, 4. , Eleanor J. Suliivan, Phillip J.Decke. Effective leadership and management in nursing. Addision Wesley, 5. Ann Marrinier Tomy, Guide To Nursing Mangement , mosby publication. 6. Dr. Basavanthappa BT. Nursing administration. 2ed. St Louis (USA): jaypee brothers medical publishers; 2009. p809-36.

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maxiIMIZE MANAGERIAL TIME 1. Inventory activities 2. Set goals 3. Plan strategies 4. Plan schedule 5. Say no 6. Use transition times 7. Streamline paper work 8. Improve reading 9. Improve memory 10. Use telephone calls 11. Schedule office visits 12. Control visit time 13. Use meetings effectively 14. Delegation MAXIMIZE ORGANISATION TIME 1. Plan 2. organize 3. staff 4. direct 5. control principles of time management 1. selection of staff 2. goal setting 3. setting priorities 4. daily planning and scheduling 5. plan strategies 6. delegation 7. personal organisation and self discipline improve reading and memory 19

transition time use telephone calls schedule office visits say no use meetings effectively schedule paper work time analysis evaluation respecting time

TIME MANAGEMENT Time wasters Potential constraints on the ability to manage time effectively. Principles of time management 1. Goal setting Individual goals 2. Time analysis 3. Setting priorities 4. Delegation 5. Daily planning and scheduling Grouping activities and minimizing routine work Implementation Personal organisation and self discipline 6. controlling interruptions Telephone calls Minimize socialising and small talk Plan calls Set a time for calls State and ask for preffered call times and the purpose of the call Voice mail Drop in visitors Paper work -Plan and schedule paper work -Sort papers for effective processing -Use the computer or dictate communications -Analyze paper work frequently -Do not be a paper shuffler 20

7. Evaluation Respecting time ------------------------------------------Prority setting and procasrination Managing time at work Taking breaks Dealing with interruptions Time wasters External and internal time wasters Personal time wasters Monochromic and polychromic time management styles Personal time wasters Using a time inventory Integrating leadership roles and management functions in time management

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