Time Management

1: Disagree completely

2: Neither agree nor disagree 3: Agree completely

Try and answer most of the questions as either 1 or 3. Do not choose the middle path always.

No. Description

1 Planning is an important aspect of any task. Work done without planning may result in re-work which in turn will result in wastage of time.

2 Pareto’s principle or the 80/20 rule applies to most situations. 80% of the results are achieved with 20% of the effort. Figure out what makes the 20% so productive Spend more time on these high productive jobs and reduce the time spent on low productive jobs.

3 In order to appreciate the importance of time management, it is important to calculate the worth of your time. You will be surprised to see its worth, once you calculate the same. For many, this may be the first step taken towards time management.

4 Many people lead structured lives and may not entertain visitors without prior appointment. Confirm the appointment before going for the meeting. Firstly, it reminds the person about the meeting. Secondly, it will save time in case the person is unavailable.

5 While you are waiting before meeting a person, you must keep busy. Not only do you save on time, it also looks better and gives an impression that you have no time to waste.

6 Many people try to play power games by keeping others waiting for them. Just as we must value our time, we must also learn to value other’s time. This will help in creating better relationships with others in the long run.

7 It is easy to ignore the time spent in traveling while assessing time management. Travel time for most of us will turn out to be quite high. It is important for you to use this time more effectively.

8 Before taking up a task, analyze whether it helps you achieve personal or professional goals. In case it does not enhance either of them, it will be probably be worth trying to either drop them or delegate them if possible.

9 Too much enthusiasm on perfection of plans will result in much time spent unnecessarily. It may also result in delayed implementation.

10 Putting off unpleasant, routine or boring chores is human nature. Here you must bring in self-discipline. Think positively about the outcome of the job. You may even promise yourself a special reward for completing the job.

11. Often, people fuss over tasks for a long time even after achieving a certain level of completion. Not all jobs need perfection and it is not cost-effective to achieve the same.

12. Many people may derive tremendous pleasure out of achieving tight deadlines. The problem with this is that the work may be delayed to get the

Time Management

rush of adrenaline and will lead to wastage of time. Occasionally, the deadlines may slip due to the delay.

13. Not all the jobs that you do need perfection and may not be cost-effective for you to do. By delegating such jobs to others, you can utilize your time better.

14. Other people may not have as disciplined an approach to work as you. You may end up wasting a lot of time if you encourage such visitors. You need not oblige all such casual visitors.

15. Make/Update a To Do List everyday. Set a time in the day for doing the same. One way to organize your list is to put the most important activity at the top followed by the activities with decreasing priority.

16. Paperwork is a necessary evil. For efficient time management, take an action on it right away as it comes to your workstation. Alternatively, you can prioritize the action to be taken on the papers received by you.