Detailed Course Outline
Course benefits:
Most of us feel that there are just too few hours in the day and wish that we could get on top of the paperwork and have a clean start in the morning. The incentive is there, but somehow it never seems to work out the way we hope.
Whatever plans we make seem always to be confounded by interruptions, by changes to priorities and the sheer difficulty of getting started. By rushing from task to task we do not have the time or opportunity to plan, and so we end up never improving the situation.
This workshop is aimed at people who have some discretion as to how they use time. It is particularly helpful for anyone who is struggling with priorities, knows that they could be so much more effective and really productive if only they were more organised, or just want to feel they are achieving something rather than pushing paper around.
There are no prerequisites for attending this course but participants will be requested to conduct a small amount of pre-work.
The workshop provides an opportunity to reflect on current working practices and how they can be improved. It looks at simple but practical techniques that can apply to all aspects of our lives.
On successful completion of the course, attendees will be able to:
- Establish effective priorities so as to manage your time more effectively and efficiently
- Apply a daily planning approach to make best use of time
- Avoid time wasters and procrastination
You will achieve these by following recommended processes and by 'thinking' about how you ought to use your time and how you actually use it at the moment.
- What is Time Management; what we gain and lose by poor management of our time; the economic value of time; what we can and cannot control
- Where you are now; analysis of pre-course log of time usage; categories of time usage; video to show typical problem
- Making time useful; setting your goals and objectives; assessing your work patterns; being able to answer the question, 'What am I here for?'; ways of classifying tasks - active / reactive, urgent / important, progress / maintenance; the importance of 'category 2' tasks and how to get out of the 'vicious circle'
- Managing Yourself; setting both long- and short-term objectives; task planning and the 'tricks of the trade' which can help us start and finish time-consuming or difficult tasks; to do lists; day and week plans; types of diaries and how to use them effectively
- Managing time wasters; preventing waste and the de-motivating effect it can have; typical time wasters, including unscheduled visitors, telephone calls, meetings, poor working environment; strategies for each type; hints and tips; getting rid of 'monkey' management
- Improving others; what we can do to affect how others work so that they do not waste our time; managing and delegating
- Overcoming procrastination; reasons why we find excuses not to start some types of work; what we can do to overcome this; getting started even when we do not want to
This is an intensive day with discussion and practical exercises rather than formal lecture sessions. It is full of practical ideas and tips which attendees use to develop an understanding of how they use time at the moment and to develop an action plan to improve working practices for the future. Course handouts help them remember the messages of the day.