TIME MANAGEMENT

ByPrajakta Basu

क्षणश: कणश्चै�व विवद्या�म् अर्थं� च सा�धये�त् |क्षण� नष्टे� क� त्� विवद्या� , कण� नष्टे� क� त्� धनम् ||

Every moment one should learn, from every bit one should earn. If you waste a second (kshan) you can't get knowledge (vidya) and if you waste a bit (kan) u can't get money (artham)

STORY TIME

FIST-SIZED ROCKSGRAVELSSANDPITCHER OF WATERPOINT OF ILLUSTRATION ?

If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

•DECIDE THE BIG ROCKS OF YOUR LIFE A project or missionFamily and Loved onesEducationFinancesSocial CausesMentoring othersSpiritual beliefs

DO BACKWARD PLANNING• THE FINAL GOAL• LONG-TERM GOALS• SHORT TERM GOALS•GOALS FOR THIS ACADEMIC YEAR•MONTHLY PLANNING •DAILY PLANNING•HOURLY PLANNING

EAT THAT FROG"If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!"

• "If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first!" • "If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay to

sit and look at it for a very long time!" • Your frog is the task that will have the greatest

impact on achieving your goals, and the task that you are most likely to procrastinate starting.• The key to reaching high levels of performance

and productivity is for you to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your major task first thing each morning.

• What is your Frog? When is the best time of day for you to eat your Frog?

List your frog! List your most productive time of the day. Commit to eating Your Frog(s).

LET’s ANALYZE

Prof. Shah is a perfectionist. He is having a hard time adjusting to college life due to his fear of failure. In his mind, it is safer to do nothing than to take a risk and fail. Prof. Shah has decided to not confront his college workload. He feels he has too much to do and not enough time to do it perfectly. What should he do to ease his anxiety and diminish his tendency to procrastinate?

• From your point of view, how common is Prof Shah’s problem? 

• What kinds of events happen in your workday that keep you from getting to share some of the important projects you would like to spend time on?

• To what extent do you believe that Prof. Shah’s “problem” is caused more by Prof. himself or by the demands of his job? (Please explain)

We are playing a game!!!!• Get into group of 6. •Designate one person as a time keeper in your group.•Please send one member of your group to collect the material.•The purpose of this exercise is to work as effectively as possible in your teams to complete the task. •Each team is competing with other teams. The winning team is the one that can finish the task in the shortest possible time.•Rules : You need to lay out the cards exactly as shown.  •All cards must be in neat tidy rows with no cards touching. 

Rules contd.

•The aim is to complete this task in the fastest possible time – you are directly in competition with the other teams in the room!•You have 5 minutes to prepare your strategy and undertake any practice runs.  •  At the end of 5 minutes you will be asked to submit an estimate time in which you will complete the task.  •You will then be asked to complete the task against the clock.•There will be three rounds in the game and each time the winner will be declared.

Good Luck!!

THE PATTERNHEART, SPADE, DIAMOND, CLUB

WHAT HAVE WE OBSERVED• What was the experience in round 1?• What factors helped to improve the performance in the

following rounds?• Was the discussion before the final arrangement useful?• Were we able to perform as per our expectations? Could

we meet the deadline?• What factors were contributing to process excellence?• What factors were holding us back?• What is the major learning? (Reflect)

ACTION TIME!!!

Barriers to Time ManagementUnscheduled interruptions

Reacting or fire-fighting

Lack of delegation

Accepting other’s monkeys

Lack of planning and unclear priorities

Unnecessary paperwork

Socializing/drop-in visitors

Procrastination

Poor organization of desk/filing system

Inability to say “no”

Bureaucracy and administrative red tape

Failure to use time management tools

Stephen Covey’s Matrix

THE APPLICATION

MY TASK LIST

URGENT AND IMPORTANTIMPORTANT BUT NOT

URGENT

URGENT BUT NOT IMPORTANT

NOT URGENT , NOT IMPORTANT

SOME INTROSPECTIONHere comes a questionnaire that tries to illustrate your

skills at time management.Please allot a score to each of the item.Please be candid in your reactions and scoring.Don’t think about ideal options , just reflect your own

style.There is nothing right or wrong. Your choices are the

indicators of your approach.Take your time.Add the scores to arrive at a final score.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR ACADEMICIANS

1. Schedule your time.2. Manage distractions.3. Identify and minimize "time robbers."4. Prioritize tasks.5. Manage your electronic life.6. Choose your teaching schedule.7. Control your teaching preparations.Conclusion

SCHEDULE YOUR TIME• Schedule every bit of your time. Don’t go into the office

in the morning without an accurate plan as to how you will spend your day.• Keep track of what you need to do. Use a calendar for

daily commitments. Make a project chart for longer-term commitments with due dates. Planning in these ways leverages time through focus. • Try to leave at least one day in your schedule with no

meetings.• Schedule structured time with your colleagues and

graduate students.

MANAGE DISTRACTIONS• Discover your preferred work environment. Yes, you

teach in a classroom, your meetings are all over campus, you meet students in your office during office hours... But make sure you have a determined place for all other work where distractions are minimized.• Do not check your email or answer the phone during

time set aside for a specific task such as writing, course planning, or thinking. Protect this time.• When an unscheduled visitor shows up, stand. It helps

end the interruption faster.

IDENTIFY AND MINIMIZE “TIME ROBBERS”

• Leaving tasks unfinished• Socializing• Telephone interruptions• Attempting too much• Drop-in visitors• Personal disorganization• Inability to say no• Procrastination• Meetings

PRIORITIZE TASKS

• List tasks and prioritize them. This allows you to reasonably say no to new commitments. Use a project chart to remind you of your priorities and their relative time commitments. • Delegate as much as possible. Choose tasks carefully so that time

for instructions and amending work is limited. • Learn to say no. Only take on new projects that directly dovetail

into something you’re already working on.• Monitor all of your duties as a faculty member related to Teaching,

Research and Service. Be aware of the time each activity takes and remember to keep them prioritized appropriately.• Maintain a list of accomplished tasks. It gives you satisfaction and

also saves time when compiling annual reports.

MANAGE YOUR ELECTRONIC LIFE

• Keep your email in-box empty. Delete, answer or move messages to folders as you read them. • Transform email messages into tasks as appropriate and

add them to your task list.• Monitor your time on the internet and social networking

sites. • Back-up all your work with hardcopies and on thumb drives.

CHOOSE YOUR TEACHING PLAN

• Limit the number of different classes you teach (number of preparations) to one or two per semester. • Arrange your teaching schedule such that your classes meet

on the same days. This arrangement will allow for uninterrupted blocks of time on other days. • Appoint TAs, CRs, etc to assist you in class evaluations and

act as process facilitators.• Identify group leaders who can help you percolate the

concepts.

CONTROL YOUR TEACHING PREPARATIONS

• Create a master syllabus with calendar dates and update it for each class.• Don’t reinvent the wheel. Teach a course that has been taught

before, either by you or by someone else, and start your preparation with existing materials. Use the textbook and its ancillary materials to your advantage.• Don’t over prepare. Maintain the 2:1 ratio.• Use technology only when it adds value. • Occasionally substitute other activities for prepared lectures - class

discussion, review, group activity, guest speaker, video, etc. This allows for reduced preparation time. • Stagger your due dates. Collect major tests/assignments from

different classes on different weeks so you don’t have everything to grade at once.

CONCLUSION• As part of our culture, we tend to separate work and life.

Consider them related and:• Set clear goals for life roles, including your work. Translate

those goals into a plan.• Do what is meaningful to you, in and outside of work. This

should contribute to your ability to prioritize and not procrastinate. When your daily activities reflect your values, you experience personal fulfillment, less frustration and more energy. • Accurately estimate how much time you need for everything

you do.

TIME MANAGEMENT IS REALLY A MISNOMER-THE CHALLENGE IS NOT TO MANAGE TIME

BUT TO MANAGE OURSELVES.

THE KEY IS NOT TO PRIORITIZE WHAT IS ON YOUR SCHEDULE

BUT TO SCHEDULE YOUR PRIORIES.

- STEPHEN COVEY