Time Management Strategies We must use time wisely

Time Management Strategies "We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. " -Nelson Mendela Lucy Capuano Brewer, MA Psy 02 – Personal Growth and Social Awareness

The Zen of Time Usage “When You Wash The Dishes, Wash the Dishes. ” • What does this quote mean? • How is it related to effective use of time? • Being in the Here and Now Living in the moment: Living in the moment is about just being. Being fully present in every situation, body, mind, and soul, so that you experience everything you do totally and absolutely. In those moments when you engage yourself completely, nothing in the future exists - and nothing in the past is holding you back.

Time Management Time is Finite-You Already have all the time that will be allotted to you. Birth-------------DEATH What you do with that time is up to you!

Time Management Time is a difficult concept to define Time management is event control Planning is the key to control The only time you can exercise any control over is right now!

In College you will be asked to do many jobs, often by different instructors or supervisors who do not know the other work that you are doing. It is up to you to organize all your tasks so you can complete them by the deadlines given to you. You may also like to have some time to "have a life. "

In College PLANNING : IS THE KEY TO CONTROL No one plans to FAIL… They just fail to PLAN

The Time Management Matrix Urgent III ACTIVITES: • Interruptions, some calls • Pressing matters • Some mail / reports • Popular activities ACTIVITES: • Planning/Preparation • Relationship Building • Prevention • Values Clarification • Exercise • True recreation/relaxation IV ACTIVITES: • Trivia/busy work • Junk Mail • Some phone/e-mail • Time wasters • Escape Activities • Viewing Mindless TV Adapted from Steven Covey’s- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Important • PERSONAL GROWTH Not Important Crisis Medical Emergencies Pressing problems Deadline Driven Projects Last-minute Projects II Important ACTIVITES: Not Important I Not Urgent

The Time Management Matrix • Activities in this Quadrant are Activities that will bring Control to your life • This should be your FOCUS IV • Activities in this Quadrant are Activities of Deception • They should be Avoided/Controlled Not Important ACTIVITES: Important • Activities in this Quadrant are Activities of Necessity • They must be Managed III II ACTIVITES: Important I Not Urgent ACTIVITES: • Activities in this Quadrant are Activities of Waste • They should be Avoided/Controlled Adapted from Steven Covey’s- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Not Important Urgent

Time Management What’s Worked For Me 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Use an Organizer “To Do” Lists Rewards! The “ 3 Ds” Use “in between” Times

What’s Worked For Me 1. Use an Organizer o Get an organizer and use it. o Schedule everything! o Include classes, study time, projects, tests, work and play.

What’s Worked For Me 2. “To Do” Lists o Make a daily “to do” lists. o Include priorities (a, b, c, … 1, 2, 3) o Anything not done today is the first on the list tomorrow.

What’s Worked For Me 3. Rewards! o Reward things I need to get done with things I love. o Example: 10 minutes of TV, phone, etc. after 50 minutes of studying. o Example: after two hours of studying 30 minutes of exercise.

What’s Worked for Me 4. The “ 3 Ds” Anytime you get a new task, immediately do one of the three D’s with it. 1. Do it now! 2. Dump It! 3. Delegate it! (get someone else to do it)

What’s Worked For Me 5. Use “in between” Times “Time opportunities” are everywhere – use them. Have materials (Blackberry, flashcards, notes, etc. ) ready.

Artifacts for Staying on Track 10 Minutes a day for planning. Flexible Scheduling Automated Schedulers - Netscape Calendar, Microsoft Schedule, Outlook, Palm Pilot Pad of Paper - Running to-do list, place for unloading. A Watch • Build in flexible schedules. • Don’t optimize to the minute. • Allow for error. • Running to-do lists are useful for getting distracting thoughts out of your head

Developing The Habit Takes Discipline and Practice to Have Good Time Management Skills Develop Skills Incrementally Start by developing a realistic schedule Build in reward system for finishing things Over time, it’ll become second nature.

The Big Picture Important to know when you’ve done all that you can. Don’t schedule more than is humanly possible. Don’t stress about things that you can’t control. Keep the long term goals in mind.

TIME MANAGEMENT Some Days Are Impossible In spite of best efforts - It’s still impossible to get everything done. Partly the Environment or too many commitments. This can lead to stress.

Active Inactivity “Music is the Space Between Notes” - Claude Debussy Creating Empty Spaces in Life is Essential. • Creating Quiet Time - turn off phone, don’t check email, just “Be” • Very important to break up your life with quiet periods for reflection, planning, and refocusing.

The Art of Procrastination Wastes more time worrying about the outcome or avoiding what seems to be unpleasant. Art of Delaying the Inevitable Where can you lose time? Worrying about finishing on time. Worrying about the final outcome. Distractions. Doing “unimportant” things first.

Components of procrastination A behavior sequence for postponement Often resulting in a substandard product Involving a task that is NOT important to do Resulting in a state of emotional upset

Procrastination is a crime it only leads to sorrow, I can stop at anytime, I think I will tomorrow!!!! – Unknown The act of putting off something that needs to be done. Ignoring the task, hoping it will go away. A natural human tendency Undermines The Creative Process Important: When you exclude the creative process, everything suffers!

STEPS IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS 1. PREPARATION 1. 2. INCUBATION 1. 2. 3. Whatever steps necessary to think about, begin to gather resources, STARTIN THE PROCESS. Let it chill… Give yourself time and space to think about, revise, revisit the first step. ILLUMINATION 1. Aha! Moment: "Aha!", "Eureka!", "What-da-ya-know". . . or just plain "hmmm. " Whatever we call it, it’s that single, magical moment when things just make sense 4. VERIFICATION (Doing it!) The actual process of getting it done!

The Power of Thought Procrastinating Productive I must/have to…or something awful will happen. I choose to. . . I've gotta finish. . . When can I get started on. . . Oh God, this assignment is huge!. Where is the best place to start? I must do well (fantastic, perfect). I'll do okay; I'll give it time. I have no time to play. It is important to play one hour. I see life and work as a grind. Life and work are rewarding & fun. I can't succeed. I will succeeding if I. . .

Six Styles of Procrastination 1. Dreamers: These procrastinators desperately want life to be easy and free from pain. They retreat from the real world and live in their heads. 2. Worriers: Prizes security above all else. Has a narrow comfort zone and is paralyzed with anxiety. Endless stream of "what ifs" about hypothetical situations, all with negative consequences. 3. Defiers: Resents authority but expresses the rebellion covertly. Likely to say, "sure, I’ll do that". Then they "forget", or delivers work that’s late. 4. Crisis Makers: Most of us do our best work under some kind of time constraint. A crisis-maker goes out of the way to create drama 5. Perfectionists: Self-esteem is on the line every time they do anything. Often they are idealists who are unrealistic in their use of time and energy 6. Overdoers: Always busy. People pleaser, the guy who never says no to taking on more work. For specific info: http: //www. nypsychotherapy. com/procrastination. html

Anti-Procrastination Techniques for Dreamers Change your someday’s and soon’s to specific times. Buy and maintain calendar’s: keep them visible and utilize it. Write out assignments. Do fewer passive activities and more activities. Prioritize!!!

Which one are you? Take a couple of minutes to write down which of the procrastination type best fits you? Give 2 - 3 specific (personal) examples Find others like you and come up with 25 effective strategies to stop procrastinating.

Anti-Procrastination Techniques for Worriers Recognize that making no decision is, in fact, making a decision. To help yourself become more decisive, follow a two-part-decisionmaking process: first commit yourself to the goal, then determine the steps you’ll take to achieve the goal. Instead of panicking with a rhetorical “What if? ” question, go one step further and state the answer.

Anti-Procrastination Techniques for Perfectionists Focus on what is realistic rather than perfectionism. Change your “have to’s” to “want to’s” Make a daily “to do” list that is short and practical

Anti-Procrastination Techniques for Over-Doers Say no when appropriate Take breaks and enjoy free time Make to do lists

Anti-Procrastination Techniques for Defiers Pick your battles carefully, weighing what's really worth fighting for according to a scale of priorities. Mean what you say. Do what you know needs to be done. Always try to act instead of react. Take pains to “decide and do” rather than “complain and defy”

Anti-Procrastination Techniques for Crisis Makers The crisis maker needs to increase his self-motivation to accomplish things Decrease the emotional investment in the death-defying, last minute performance. Recognize your need for an adrenaline rush, but find a safer avenue for it than your work or your relationships.

Managing procrastination Simply begin Set reasonable goals Set priorities Chunk tasks Use time line Write contract Use positive self talk Affirm your ability Motivational messages Challenge perfectionism Write reminders Reward yourself Develop a routine Reward yourself for progress “Work before you play” Work in daylight

Time of Your Life – Green Day Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you were to go So make the best of this task and don't ask why. It's not a question but a lesson learned in time. It's something unpredictable but in the end is right. I hope you had the time of your life. So take the photographs and still frames in your mind Hang them on a shelf of good health and good time. Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial. For what it's worth, it was worth all the while. It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right I hope you have the time of your life.

Time – Pink Floyd Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown Waiting for someone or something to show you the way. Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain. You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun. So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking Racing around to come up behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death. Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time. Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way The time is gone, the song is over, Thought I'd something more to say.

Create your own Time Sheet Make a choice to change Begin to manage your time more efficiently http: //www. usd. edu/trio/tut/time/evtime. html Resource: Covey, S. R. (1989) The 7 habits of highly effective people. Simon & Schuster: New York.