Time Management Training

[IMP]

i'm sorta stealing the other thread, but instead of management training, i'm looking for a good time management training. maybe it's not necessarily time management. here's my problem:

i'm usually very busy with a lot of close deadlines. If I'm working on something, and I get an email or phone call about another urgent situation/project, i stop what i was initially working on and attend to the new matter. so what ends up happening is that a little gets done on many things but not many things get finished during the day. so when the next day comes, i waste time looking over my work from the day before to determine where i left off and what i need to do to finish, and then it happens all over with the new urgent emails and phone calls. i suppose i'm just so overwhelmed with all these projects that i'm not being as efficient as i know i can be.

i think it boils down to prioritizing my work better, disregarding the phone and email when i'm pressed for time and can't afford to stop and restart, and keeping better track of all my projects and deadlines.

at one point, i had something similar to a franklin planner. in fact, my company had a training session with the people from the planner company to help us with prioritzing our work lists. it was alright. eventually, i just started printing out the daily calendar from outlook and recreating my lists each day. but lately, i've been reverting to writing down things on this post it and on that steno pad and on the other notepad...and i know this is very bad.

how do you stay on top of your work and manage your time and projects efficiently?

[Vorian Atreides]

Don't let someone else's urgency dictate what you need to get done. Remember that everyone is likely to make their requests sound urgent in the hopes that you'll do it sooner rather than later.

Learn to say "No" without actually saying "No".

Keep the list of things you've been asked to do--using whatever method works best for you--and keep it handy and in sight. So that when someone else asks if you can do something, you have something to help decide whether to take on the new request (and provide a reasonable estimate on it delivery) or to say no to it.

If it's something that you can't say no, and you're not sure on the priority of the all of the tasks you're expected to complete, ask your supervisor for advice on the prioritization of the tasks at hand.

[ADoubleDot]

I hope more people weigh-in on this, I have these same problems

[JMO]

1. Set aside a particular time of day to deal with these "urgent" matters. Some folks find it helpful to put their phone on voice mail, and not to look at e-mail until that time rolls around. (You may need to provide a way for your immediate manager to override this part of the system.)

2. I also like the 4 quadrant approach to managing that task list. For each item, decide whether it is urgent or not, and whether it is important or not.
1. Not urgent, not important. D'oh. Cross it off, don't bother.
2. Urgent, not important. Do the minimum necessary to deal with the "urgency." Don't polish it up.
3. Important, not urgent. Try to focus time and attention on this category. By doing the important stuff before it becomes urgent, you can do a better job on it.
4. Important, and urgent. Do it as well as possible in the time available, and think about how it could have been dealt with earlier.

Nice in theory, anyway.

PS - Don't forget to find some time for yourself* during the day. This belongs in item 3 on my list!!

*This may not be during business hours, but depending on your situation it could be during lunchtime or short "mental health" breaks.

[Mystical Bunny of Destiny]

Originally Posted by IMP

how do you stay on top of your work and manage your time and projects efficiently?

single task

[Coquelicot]

Originally Posted by JMO

1. Set aside a particular time of day to deal with these "urgent" matters. Some folks find it helpful to put their phone on voice mail, and not to look at e-mail until that time rolls around. (You may need to provide a way for your immediate manager to override this part of the system.)

2. I also like the 4 quadrant approach to managing that task list. For each item, decide whether it is urgent or not, and whether it is important or not.
1. Not urgent, not important. D'oh. Cross it off, don't bother.
2. Urgent, not important. Do the minimum necessary to deal with the "urgency." Don't polish it up.
3. Important, not urgent. Try to focus time and attention on this category. By doing the important stuff before it becomes urgent, you can do a better job on it.
4. Important, and urgent. Do it as well as possible in the time available, and think about how it could have been dealt with earlier.

Nice in theory, anyway.

PS - Don't forget to find some time for yourself* during the day. This belongs in item 3 on my list!!

*This may not be during business hours, but depending on your situation it could be during lunchtime or short "mental health" breaks.

This comes from "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by S. Covey. Excellent book to read - it has great practical suggestions for time management (this example and others).

[JMO]

Originally Posted by Coquelicot

This comes from "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by S. Covey. Excellent book to read - it has great practical suggestions for time management (this example and others).

Yes, Covey's books have had an influence on my thinking. And Seven Habits is a good one to start with. I also like Peter Drucker, but no particular book of his stands out in my memory - I once saw (back in the film projector days) a video of one of his talks. Very dynamic.

[Cho Da]

I recommend Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Do a google on "GTD"

[Mystical Bunny of Destiny]

Also listen to David Allen Coe