Susan Leong originally presented this workshop on December 27, 2002 at the WCCCC Winter Conference.

• Presentation (206KB PPS)
• Exercise (20KB DOC). Think through all the activities and commitments that take up your time in any given week (examples: work/school, time with family, helping friend with homework/project, fellowship group, social or recreational time, eating out, shopping, Bible study/small group, worship service, serving on some committee, etc.)  Evaluate them in light of their eternal value. Place an “x” on the value continuum to indicate their relative worth. Be honest in your assessment. This is between you and God.

Time Management Basics

A. Setting Goals and Priorities

1. “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” Most goals come about as the result of something not being fulfilled. The difference between what is and what should be is the “goal gap”. You want to close this gap.

2. S.M.A.R.T. goals
• Specific: Goals need to be detailed (i.e. who, what, when, how, etc.)
• Measurable: Goals need specific completion dates and criteria for how well they will be achieved.
• Action-Oriented: Goals are not passive; they are proactive and dynamic. Every well-articulated goal includes an action verb.
• Realistic: Goals should be attainable, given the resources and constraints of the situation at hand.
• Timely: Time allowed for accomplishing the goal should be reasonable.

3. Priority setting is a matter of identifying and aligning what is important on a macro and micro level.
• Macro level: Personal core values and long-range goals
• Micro level: Day-to-day tasks
• Determine priorities based upon importance, deadlines, time to complete, consequences of in-completion, impact on others, etc.

B. Organizing Files, Paperwork and Desk

1. Desk Management: Most of us work better when we have a clean desk. You need to assess what on your desk is vital (“A” priority), important (“B” priority), and optional (“C” priority). Arrange your desk such that the most critical things are easily found.
2. Paperwork: With the growth of technology, we are actually using more paper than before. To reduce paper overload:
• Don’t print out emails or other files unless you really need to.
• Quickly look at each piece of mail/paper and make a decision on it:

 Skim it. Quickly look at it and collect data to make a decision about it.
 Mark it. Jot down a few notes; highlight sections, etc. Do this on especially important letters & reports.
 Act on it: Delegate it; discard it; or do it now.

• Apply the 80/20 rule. Do, delegate or discard 80%; file only 20%.
• Use color-code files to differentiate subject matters, level of importance, etc.

C. Using Planners, Pocket PC’s and Other Organizing Devices

1. Many people have found that using a planner to schedule and organize their time has been helpful. In many cases, people claim they have significantly increased their personal productivity and feel much more organized as a result of using such devices. Some cautions:
• Use only ONE calendar for all events to avoid possible frustrations from overlapping schedules.
• Remember GIGO: “garbage in garbage out”. The tool is only as useful as the person who keeps it up.
• If you put little or no information or effort into maintaining the planner, you won’t get much out of it.

D. Delegate Effectively

1. If you want to manage your time effectively, you must learn to delegate. Delegating frees you up to accomplish those things that you need to do. Also, delegating things you don’t do well frees you up to focus on those things you do well so you use your time better.

• Who to Delegate To: Keep two major things in mind when you are determining who you should delegate a task or project to…

 Does the person have the ability to accomplish the task?
 Is he or she willing to do the task?

• What to Delegate: You probably won’t have trouble deciding what to delegate since you’re overloaded. Before you delegate just anything, think about the following questions…

 Is this a high or low priority task?
 Can you focus your time on higher priority tasks and give the lower priority tasks to someone else?
 Can this task be given to someone else who can learn and develop from the experience?
 Is this task the best use of your time?
 Could you be more effective if you spent your time on things you do best and gave this task to someone else?

• How to Delegate:

 You must clearly communicate exactly what you expect the person to do. Your vision of what is expected must match the other person’s vision before he/she begins the task.
 You must follow up in a timely manner. Let the person know at the start that you expect the task to be completed, and that you expect updates along the way.

Common Time Robbers

Time robbers are the variety of things that eat up our valuable time.  In and of themselves, they may not be bad.  In fact, at the right time, many of them are appropriate.  Unfortunately, all too often, they happen at the wrong time.  Take a look at the list below and see if your top three or four time robbers are there.

• Travel
• Conflicting priorities
• Unreal time estimates
• Lack of help or resources
• Unclear goals
• Junk mail
• Personal disorganization
• Paperwork
• Negative attitude
• Poor planning
• Waiting for answers or approval
• Poor communication
• Attempting to do too much
• Lack of motivation
• Meetings
• Equipment breakdown
• Mistakes of others
• Indecision
• Socializing
• Lack of delegation
• Red tape
• Lack of procedures
• Peer or family demands
• Lack of authority to make decisions
• Inability to say “no”
• Lack of self-discipline
• Procrastination
• Interruptions
• Personal mistakes
• Failure to listen
• Shifting or changing priorities
• Distracted by other things

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