If you don't feel that you are the organized type, or if making lists or drawing up detailed plans doesn't come naturally, don't worry. There isn't just one way in which time can be managed effectively. This course will introduce you to several different techniques for improving your time-management skills--experiment with them, and then choose and apply the tools which best suit your own situation.
In order to achieve anything it is important to establish goals. You need to know what you want to do, before you can decide how and when you are going to do it. You then need to establish deadlines. If these deadlines are unrealistically tight, your interest and commitment in the task may be undermined, or you may experience stress which can have a negative effect on your performance. Deadlines are important, but they have to be realistic.
Making "To-do" lists is a useful technique, but you can end up feeling overwhelmed by the amount that has to be achieved in a day, a week or a month. It is vital to prioritize the tasks, and the Priority Matrix is a quick and effective way of sorting the urgent, from the less important.
It is relatively easy to make changes to the way in which you work while you are concentrating on making improvements, but it can be much more difficult to sustain these improvements. Once you have taken better control of the way in which you manage time, you need to find ways of maintaining this control. The final lesson in this course will provide some suggestions as to how this can be done effectively.
Target Audience
Anyone in business who would like to have more time to do the things that they really need or want to do
Lesson Objectives
Course Overview
Lesson Overview
- identify the benefits of establishing goals and setting priorities.
Setting Realistic Deadlines
- identify methods for setting realistic deadlines.
Making Use of Lists
- identify which criteria have been applied in examples of to-do lists.
The Priority Matrix
- apply the Priority Matrix to a described situation.
Lesson Overview
- identify the benefits of using tools for effective time management.
Estimating Time Frames
- use the time frames equation to estimate the shortest possible completion time for an activity.
Improving Time Management by Sequencing
- apply sequencing to a described situation.
Using Queuing to Improve Time Management
- make recommendations for the use of queuing to improve time management in a described situation.
Lesson Overview
- recognize the benefits of maintaining control of time.
Making Decisions
- apply the PMI technique to make the right decision.
Improving Efficiency
- apply methods for improving efficiency and time management in a described situation.
Blocking Out Time
- match the types of blocking out time with examples.