This is a system that has been designed specifically for the purpose of improving time management skills for students. It begins with an overview, then builds rapidly into actually learning and practicing the reinforcement activities. This system was developed as a result of the lack of good time management that was provided for student’s work by the colleges, universities and schools. Sadly the best that they typically do is to provide a flyer stating that the student should plan out their time and then just work hard. Detail is sadly lacking, and students are not given forms to aid them in their studies and pursuit of time management skills.

Generally speaking it is a fairly straightforward system. The first step is to work out exactly what you will need to learn, then figure out the amount of time that it will take. Next, you quickly move onto planning the schedule and then putting together a nice and detailed plan. That is the entirety of the schedule part, and it can be summed up by saying:

Fail to plan, and you are planning to fail…

This is a fantastic quote to print and then place on your wall. It will help to remind you that you need to always create a plan and then follow it.

Now, if you are ready to get started with the scheduling section, it is split into two parts. The first is about motivations, the second is about planning and details. The next step is to study. When teaching how time management functions for students, this is typically the area that is begun with. Unfortunately, if the schedule part was not worked through, then this part will rapidly become unstuck. The study step is broken up into four categories:

• Break up the topic into smaller chunks
• Obtain past exam papers
• Complete the tutorials
• Understand all requirements to pass

Initially these might seem to be fairly obvious, but you will notice the emphasis is on passing the exam rather than on learning the subject matter. That step comes later. First it is important to make sure that you are able to pass the exam. Later you can build your subject knowledge. First, break up your topics into smaller chunks. Then refer to tutorials and understand basic test-taking strategy to pass exams. Typically, time management programs for students do not work this way. Typically, they will talk about acquiring a broad understanding of the subject matter and then deepening it. Learning enough to pass the examinations is sufficient for good grades, followed up later by broadening the knowledge of the subject.

If you would consider this a counter-intuitive approach to time management education for students then it is important that you consider our typically learning process. For example, one of the very first things that we learn is how to talk. We learn this skill by copying others. I am sure that you have repeated a word over and over to a baby in hopes that they will learn it. Eventually, they do. They do not need to study reading, grammar, punctuation, phonetics and such to participate; they only need to have learned to talk.

So the first focus of a baby is learning to talk (or passing the exam) and next they move on to full speech (improved marks) and eventually reading and writing (fantastic topic knowledge). For time management education and success for students they need to pass that first hurdle, the exam, and then they can move on to higher and harder hurdles, mastering the entire subject. Once study has been mastered, then you can begin measuring.

Measurement is easily of the very most important areas and things that you can learn to do. It allows you to eventually achieve two things. The first is that it will quickly identify any weak areas you may have. Secondly, it will motivate you. If you are able to see that things are improving then you will realize it is worth all of the effort you’re investing.

Measurement is used in a variety of different forms, but when used with studying it’s primarily about the ability to pass any exam or tutorial related questions. Two pages are included to help you master measurement. The first of the pages covers the basics of measurement in order to measure your successes against the study and strategy plans you have developed. The second page covers all development of the memory sheets and includes personal testing that will enhance your new college study skills.

Lastly, we must cover reinforce. Reinforcing is the section where you are able to begin to broaden your subject knowledge. At this point you will have the basics of the subject understood and you will be ready to move on. If you are like most people, you will find that it is hard to continually remember things that you have learned while still learning more new information. The secret is to reinforce the learning once it has been absorbed. If you would like to broaden your subject knowledge then you will have to do two different things. The first is that you must be certain that your foundation is rock solid. Secondly, you will need to continue to build upon the foundation.

In order to truly build a solid foundation you will need to continue to review all subject matter that you have already learned. This is when the first step, schedule, comes into play. You have already planned a schedule. You know when you will study and what you will study. At this point, all that is necessary is to add the reinforcement study. For each topic of study you should complete a reinforcement session after the first week, the first month and then after three months. Once your foundation has been solidly built, you will find that it becomes easier and easier to add new knowledge. You will feel confident in the subject so adding further information is a piece of cake.

When using a time management system it is recommended to create a task list to assist in prioritizing tasks. Alan Lakein’s ABC system would help to assign tasks based on their importance. “A” would represent the first important task, “B” the second and “C” the least important. This system may also be used to determine timeframe such as tasks to be done, within a day, week, or month.

Increase your effectiveness by working smarter and not harder. Learn to identify and focus on activities that will prevent you from falling into the trap of work overload. Sometimes this means saying, No to tasks that will consume too much of your time which is already limited. If you can delegate some of your tasks to someone else, by all means do so. Do not neglect to use the resources that you have to manage your time more effectively.

This leads to the idea of working more efficiently to complete your work in less time. You can do this by identifying tasks that are very time-consuming and experimenting with ways to cut the time spent on a particular task in half. Take time to evaluate how you spend your day and pay attention to activities that eat away at your time without producing any results. Break some of the larger tasks into smaller task to make them more manageable and to lessen the stress of looking at that task as something impossible to accomplish. For those projects that cannot be dissected, block out time on your calendar, close your door and turn off the phone.

When prioritizing your time it is important to decide what is most important on your to-do-list. Too often when people are overwhelmed, they waste time thinking about what they have to do instead of proactively working on ways to put things into perspective in terms of priority. Consider the 80/20 Rule when you think about prioritizing. This rule implies that 80 percent of all activities contribute to less than 20 percent to the value of our work. You will need to differentiate between urgent and important tasks when prioritizing your to-do-list and identify those tasks that would achieve your long-term goals and objectives

In summary, time management is an acquired art used to assists in budgeting and organizing one’s time more effectively. It is an important tool for everyone interested in using their limited amount of time more efficiently. Time management helps to avoid procrastination and prevents people from falling behind in completing tasks that must be performed. A little time management goes a long way. Mastering this skill could lead to better organization, more efficiency and productivity.

Time management strategies are vital in a workplace to ensure that the work is organized in a systematic manner and all the given tasks are accomplished within the set deadline. Effective time management will not only improve productivity, but it also considerably reduces stress. Planning the work, execution of assigned tasks within the specified schedules and monitoring the progress from time to time are the key elements of time management strategies. By allocating the available time among various tasks, prioritizing them and ensuring their timely completion, one will derive immense health benefits and improve overall quality of life.

Unfortunately, most people are not endowed with strong organizational skills. However, they can be acquired either by training or through regular practice. To begin, one can select one particular strategy, put it into practice for a little while and see if it works. If this is useful, another strategy can be added. If not, take another of these strategies and see if it can be made to work for you.

In all this, the key factor is time. We have only 24 hours in a day. As time does not change, we have to organize ourselves in such a manner that whatever we have to do, we accomplish it within the available time. Time management strategies can be classified into two types: planning the work and then working your plan.

Time Management Strategy: Planning the work

• Assess the daily activities and find out how the time is allocated among various activities. One should maintain a diary at least for 3 to 4 days. The idea is to determine the time that can be spent more judiciously. The spare time can be used on physical workouts or visiting relatives or friends.
• Ascertain where time is spent on frivolous matters. Some people spend a lot of their precious time on internet surfing or sending emails or on lengthy telephone calls. The foremost step in successful time management is to keep a track of daily activities. The objective is to eliminate wastage of available time.
• Another important aspect in a planning process is to fix priories for various jobs. There may be a few items of work that takes up too much of time in day but are relatively less important. Allocating time for tasks based on priorities will facilitate concentrating on those jobs that are really important and more urgent. Classify assignments into different categories:
  1. high priority tasks that are required to be completed by the end of the day;
  2. jobs that can wait till the next day; and
  3. assignments that do not have any specific time-frame.

• One can make the best use of the available time by grouping small jobs in categories b) and c)
• Don’t decline all unimportant jobs.  They can blossom into more meaningful opportunities. However, one should look into already set goals and deadlines before agreeing to take up additional work.
• Divide big and time consuming assignments into small jobs. Allocate smaller amounts of time to each one of them so that all of them can be completed within time.

Time Management Strategies: Working the Plan

• Restrict disruptions: Mark out time on your work diary for major projects. When undertaking such important jobs, ensure that there are no interruptions. It is better to close the door and switch off mobile phones than to be constantly distracted and make no progress.
• Avoid spending time on insignificant aspects, when doing time-bound tasks. Too much time on the details can keep you from making headway.
• Sometimes one gets bogged down on a particular task and is unable to proceed. In such situations, it is better to take up some other smaller assignments in the meantime and resume working on them after a little break.  Alternatively, you might seek the help of others to help work on it, get advice, or just brainstorm.
• Devote sufficient time to do a thorough job so that errors can be minimized.  Nothing can throw off a schedule like unexpected rework.
• Breaks in between assignments can improve not only productivity but also relieves monotony and stress making each moment as productive as possible.
• Take some time off from work here and there. Take a short walk or brief holiday. Revitalization is necessary to get composure and approach your efforts with freshness.

To sum up, appropriate time management strategies are prerequisites for planning and successful execution of numerous tasks in a workplace within the allotted time frame.

Pickle Jar Theory - How will you fill yours?

You might go to sleep at night and realize that you have not done anything worthwhile during that day.  You might decide to be more productive tomorrow, and still find you wasted time all day long.  Nothing has changed.

Pickle Jar Experiment

Here is a way to picture time management: Imagine an experiment where a pickle jar defines your daily time allocation. In your world are stones, pebbles, and sand.  You can fill your container however you wish.  But, if you fill the pickle jar with sand, you will not have room for any stones or pebbles.  If you do, the pickle jar will be full with no room for anything more.

Think of the stones as the most important tasks in your schedule - odd-shaped, difficult to work with, and inflexible, as frequently they are.  Consider your current goals - these stones would be projects or tasks you need to complete in order to meet these goals.  The pebbles are less important tasks.  While they are related to the goals, they are not as urgent. The sand is the minutiae that fill out the day.  They are not important to your overall goals and objectives.  In fact, the sand often gets in the way, hindering us from completing our goals and feeling truly fulfilled.  These tasks might include preparing and eating meals, paying bills, or checking our email.

The Pickle Jar Theory

This is the Pickle Jar Theory of prioritization.  Just like the experiment with the pickle jar, if you fill your pickle jar with sand, you wind up filling your day with tasks that are unimportant.  And, if that happens, you won’t have room for the more important things.  But, if you fill the jar with stones, you will have plenty of room between those rocks to add some pebbles.  If you add some pebbles in the extra space, you will have room for sand on top.  And, if you were to shake things up a bit, the sand, rocks, and pebbles would settle, and you would find you have even more room for sand.

Vow now to take better advantage of your time management from this moment on. Before you go to sleep tonight, think of several action items that you can do tomorrow. Write these on a list. They will be your priorities - your stones. Think of a few more fairly important activities. These are secondary tasks, and they will be the pebbles that you fit in when you can. Finally, the sand will fit in the pickle jar at the end.

Set some priorities. What is most important to you? Is it family? Is it earning money? Is it health-related? Decide what your goals will be, and allow these elements to devour most of your time. They should be your top priority. Put them in the container first. Next, decide what you want to do if you have additional time. Ideas might include volunteering, being involved in the community, or spending time with friends. These are the pebbles, which will be enjoyed after the top priorities have been accomplished. Finally, you can add the other details to your schedule. These would be the nice things to do. They might even be urgent, just not important. These incidental activities might include a trip to the break room to get a coffee. They are important, but not instrumental in accomplishing the main priorities.

Each person is given 24 hours in each day, which is the fixed amount of room in the pickle jar. First, add the important stones, based on the priorities that you have set. You might ask yourself, “If I were to go on vacation next week, what is the one thing I have to do before I leave? Then, if I have more time, what else should I do?” Repeat this process until you identify your top priorities.  You don’t have to prioritize everything in your life, just enough to set your next target.  When you have more time or when things come up, you can figure out where they settle using prioritization techniques such as Pareto prioritization, Maslow time management or the Eisenhower matrix.

Add your stones to the pickle jar carefully, you can’t fit many in at one time. Time management is tricky. Unless you prioritize your efforts so the stones get in the pickle jar first, you will not have room for them. These are important in life, whether they are obstacles or priorities to accomplish. Pay attention to these priorities and let the sand fill in the cracks.

Pareto Principle Time Management

Are you living up to your productivity potential? Most people don’t even know what they need to get done today, let alone have a list of those tasks.  Knowing the things that you need to accomplish is your first step to being productive.  If you haven’t heard of it, Pareto principle time management is a tool that many high producers use to focus on the things in life that give them the biggest benefit for their work.  It is also known by other names like the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Law.

Knowing what Vilfredo Pareto did will help you understand where this principle came from. Vilfredo, an Italian economist, noticed that all of the wealth in his country was not distributed equally among the people.  He began to notice that only 20% of the people owned a whopping 80% of the wealth.  That left the remaining 80% of the poorer population owning only 20% of the wealth.  Pareto, who was really into gardening, also analyzed that that 20% of his peapods yielded 80% of the harvest.

This 80/20 rule of distribution of wealth has since been identified as a natural distribution of nearly everything.  In business, for example, if you owned or operated a store, 20% of the items that you sell should, in theory, generate for 80% of your sales.  Those items would pay the bulk of your bills, overhead and wages.  20% of the customers provide 80% of our income.  20% of the customers ALSO make 80% of the customer service complaints.  20% of the people who are insured file 80% of the insurance claims.   This universally uneven distribution is known as Pareto Distribution.  It’s not always 80/20, sometimes it’s 75/25 or 90/10, but the concepts

Pareto Principle Time Management

20% of the tasks we perform take up 80% of our time.  20% of the tasks we perform give us 80% of the value of our time.  The basics of the Pareto Principle Time Management are that you should find and focus on the smaller percentage of projects that yield the highest results for your life.  Focus harder and longer on these tasks and your productivity will flourish.  You will get of you want done and accomplish your goals faster.

I think the 80/20 rule is the best kept and must underutilized secret to success.  Richard Koch in his time management book, The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less, describes the Pareto Principle as “the principle of greatest outcome for time and effort expended.”  It’s a popular notion that, hard work is what accomplishes results. However, when we focus our actions on the 20% that matters most, we get the results we’re looking for.  Doing a lot of work is not really a suitable substitute for doing the right things.  Application of the Pareto Law when managing your time, allows you to work smarter, rather than harder. Spending your time and effort on the 20% that is the most valuable delivers 80% of the results.

Applying the Pareto Law through Pareto Analysis

By taking a look at all of your outstanding tasks and figuring out which ones give you the biggest bang for the buck, you can weed out those which give the least value for the amount of time they take.  This process is called Pareto Analysis.

Oddly enough, the tasks that you will notice give you the best results, are often the ones which are the shortest to complete and the easiest. This is because you can perform them with minimal effort or thinking. Those tasks which require you to concentrate or focus intently are often the ones that take the longest and result in the lowest productivity level.  The prioritization results from this Pareto analysis can be used as the prioritization step for the POSEC method of time management.

This principle is very simple and yet there is much more to it that can’t be explained here in such a short piece. Many people, especially successful ones, use these principles and chart out their their daily lives. They use them for personal applications as well as business and financial ones. There will always be times that a person needs to buckle down and do the hard work of a long and tedious task, but making sure that you generally focus on the ones that get you’re the best result for your effort, will, in the long run, be the most productive.

Since the dawn of time, mankind has used time in innumerably diverse fashions; but the original objectives of timekeeping remained consistent across geographies and cultures. To understand how time management is linked to a human being’s five basic needs, Abraham Maslow’s needs hierarchy provides an interesting explanation.  How does the Human Needs Hierarchy relate to time management?

Maslow's Hierarchy

A system of living known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was laid out by Abraham Maslow in an article that was published in 1943. The hierarchy of needs developed by Maslow can now be effectively used to develop time management in one’s life. The theory laid out five distinct levels of needs which, fulfilled in an order of priority, can help with an improved self-esteem and joy. A pyramid of needs is laid out by the theory, which starts with the very basic requirements; for example, food and shelter. The practitioner is expected to work their way up the pyramid to a culmination point called self-actualization. If you can fulfill everything that is within your capability, you have attained self-actualization.

Time Management and Maslow

The system provides an interesting checkpoint to look back at your life. What levels of needs have you already attained? Which ones still needs to be earned to reach a higher level of needs hierarchy? The knowledge which comes out of this checkpoint provides an interesting insight into where should one concentrate their time and energy on. What should be his priority with respect to time management?

An assumption that Maslow’s theory makes is that your needs keeps you motivated. Those needs are then divided in five different levels of a pyramid. The flat bottom end of the pyramid represents the most basic of those needs. The level of needs represented by the bottom of the pyramid needs to be attained first. The objective can then move to the next level in the pyramid once the level below is attained. The pyramid tapers into a culminating point where an individual realizes self-actualization.

Motivation is Key for Successful Time Management

A thought provoking connection becomes apparent when Maslow’s theory is linked to time management. The theory provides effective insight which is helpful to make one realize their priorities. When applying the Eisenhower method, the means to determine what is “important” can be weighed based on ones needs.  For example, when one’s basic needs are met can he start concentrating on more complex needs? If you can realize which level of need you are at, it becomes easier to identify where the individual’s time and energy need to be expended - obviously on needs at a higher level!

The ability to identify the level of need that requires most attention results in a state of self-awareness which can be in turn used to harness all your concentrated attention on one objective - the next level of need. It offers a level of introspection which is critical to identify what needs to be done, when. Your objectives then become singular and less disparate, scattered, and ineffective. To be able to attain eventual success and a higher level of inner peace, you need to know where you are now; don’t you?

The POSEC method enables you to dissect your goals and tasks into small projects. It enables you to prioritize things because accomplishing your individual tasks well will make the rest of your goals easier to attain. While for some people the POSEC method may work quite well, for others it may not.

The POSEC method of time management offers guidelines for helping the individual put their goals in order of importance. As a result, proper execution would cause upward movement on Maslow’s “Needs Hierarchy.”

The following steps constitute the POSEC method of time management:

Prioritize - Define your tasks according to your goals and prioritize your allocation of time.  This means to tackle your daily tasks in order of importance so as to create personal efficiency and team effectiveness. The POSEC method of time management is loosely based on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Organize - Giving an orderly structure to the goals one has to accomplish regularly. By doing so, one gains a feeling of security and freedom by meeting the most basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing among others. Other tasks may include daily tasks such as punctuality during meetings, administrative tasks, and organizing your desk to more easily access necessary equipment.

Streamline - Streamlining normally applies to the small jobs that you must do although no one really likes to do them such as washing dishes, and other household chores. These tasks are required for you to do, while not fond of doing them.  It involves making the jobs simpler and maintaining efficiency and security.

Economize - Creating economy involves those things that you must do or would like to do, but are not needed to be done with any degree of urgency. Economizing would entail such tasks as acquiring new skills, taking part in projects that you enjoy, and engaging in personal development, among others. These tasks are frequently at the bottom of the list of priorities.

Contribute - Contribution can be done by paying attention to those tasks whose measure of benefit may not be evident immediately, but make a difference in the long run.   These contributions to humanity as acts such as kindness and thoughtfulness, among others.  According to Maslow’s understanding of the motivation, contribution involves the social setting where one gives back to the world, thereby making your goals more attainable.

Using time efficiently in our day to day lives can help us make more money, gain independence from money pressures, and eventually help us realize a philosophical comprehension of time. The most likely reason that we do not attain our lifelong goals is the monetary restriction imposed upon us due to life’s twists and turns. If we assume independence from any white collar worker’s typical day in the office, we can embrace an additional easiness of time management. When given more time, we become silent.  Silence’s effectiveness leads way to developing greater strength, truth and power. These traits lead the way to a happier life.

Take a look at your day to day activities for personal and financial success through effective time management:

Organizing your time according to the Eisenhower method makes logical sense, you develop skills to separate the urgent from the important and thereby proceed with more efficiency. Check with yourself on every issue and fit it into the mental diagram below:

Urgent and important - to do immediately
Important yet not Urgent - enter this into your calendar
Urgent yet not Important - Delegate this generously while reducing involvement
Not Important as well as Not Urgent - Dispose Promptly into the Trash

Whether reacting to or creating our environment, Dwight Eisenhower’s method of Time Management makes a great deal of sense. If our work is dependent, this method prioritizes our work tasks.  However, we should also go a step further and see about planning and using our time with maximum effectiveness.

Eisenhower Matrix for Time Management

Let’s examine the “prioritization matrix”. In this prioritization matrix are the dimensions Importance and Urgency.  Once again we’re not looking at work priority this time, but how to plan our time to plan our life.

It has been said by Steven Covey in his work, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in habit number 3, that putting the most important things first is an important lesson regarding time management.

Important as well as urgent - Daily Fire Fighting

Most people spend a majority of time in this get nowhere rat race. Take care to reduce the time you spend in this on this quadrant and be quick to delegate.

Not Urgent but Important - Think strategically about the big picture.

Look for the forest instead of the tree. Maximize your quality time spent in this area.

Urgent but not Important - Someone else’s emergency, not yours

Minimize your investment in these activities.  This is a where unhappy people spend most of their time.

Neither Urgent nor Important - Time Wasters

These activities are such as when you gossip over the phone, watch television, surf the internet for recreation.  Be certain to minimize on this.

Even when spending the majority of time in the strategic mode of thinking and, even when planning carefully, we can be overwhelmed with our day to day lives. To attain clarity and strength again we can retreat for a while. Somewhere along the line contentment along with happiness will set in if you develop your personal time allotments thereby helping you to truly be a fully inwardly motivated person.

Augustine of Hippo pointed out, “there is only one word written on the eternal clock - now!” He used this metaphor to encourage us to not procrastinate. We also need to use intuition to make wise decisions. There is often not time to collect the information required to make informed decisions. We live in a very complex world and should not take the time to gather all the information when we frequently use our own intuition.

Ultimately, we need to give equal priority to our family or friends, leisure or pleasure as we do toward work.

By applying these simple time management methods to your life can help you become more effective as a professional as well as bringing yourself in into greater awareness of time. Increasing your own consciousness of a thing is the basis of improvement.

Here’s what Dr. Donald Wetmore an American Time Management Specialist says:

Training is not a cost it’s an investment

‘It really doesn’t matter what we pay for an investment. What’s relevant is what we get in return. One of the best ways to jeopardize an company’s future in today’s world and increase the probability of troubled times it to look at training as a cost and pay the price of not training or provide substandard training that operates only as a Band-Aid for the training requirements.

A person being paid $50,000 per year who is wasting just one hour per day is costs $6,250 per year. If, by getting some time management training, that person can learn how to recapture just one hour per day, that translates into a payback of $6,250 per year!  For a group of 25 people, the savings on that is $156,250 per year! That doesn’t even include other benefits like improved profitability, reduced turnover, greater motivation, enhanced teamwork, greater creativity etc.)  Over 5 years, the accumulated payback is $781,250. What would you invest in to achieve that return and payback?

Not so many years ago, time management training wasn’t an option for most companies. Today, it is mandatory. If we don’t constantly improve, within five years most of us will become obsolete. Why? Because our competitors are helping their people to become more effective through training.

If we look closely at companies who are doing well in the long run, they almost always have a well thought out training program in place.  They prioritize training within their organization, realizing that the price for not training is the real expense of training.

The most important training or knowledge enhancement you can offer to your employees is in the personal development area. Effective time management is a life skill which affects us all. Depending on how skilful we are at managing our time it can have a major impact on the whole of our life. Our skill levels in this area can greatly benefit us or cause us to be constantly stressed out.

Training is a life-long endeavor. It has to be ongoing. Life changes constantly and so do our needs and those of our people, the #1 asset in every business. Time Management training is crucial for it’s when we learn to use our time effectively that we get so much more done in our lives.

Lorraine Pirihi is Australia’s Personal Productivity Specialist and Leading Life Coach. Her business The Office Organizer specializes in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organized at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including “How to Survive and Thrive at Work!”