Time management | CHAPTER 7 | Leadership And Management

Time management – this book covers the entire syllabus of “Leadership & Management” prescribed by the BNMC for Diploma in Nursing Science & Midwifery Students.

We tried to accommodate latest information and topics. This book is examination friendly setup according to the teachers’ lectures and examination’s questions. At the end of the book previous university questions are given. We hope in touch with the pook students’ knowledge will be upgraded and flourished. The unique way of presentation may make your reading of the book a pleasurable experience.

Time management

Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity. Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to activities as per their importance. Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time is always limited.

Definition of Time Management:

According to Drucker, time is so important that unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.

Carla Crutsinger defined time management (In her 1993 book, Thinking Smarter: Skills for Academic Success) as the process of.

• Setting goals
• Prioritizing those goals
• Deciding how much time to allocate to specific tasks
• Adjusting plans as they change
• Revisiting the goals and priorities regularly
• Observing results.

or

“Time management is making optimal use of what times a manager have”.

or

Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.

Barriers of Effective Time Management

Some barriers to effective management of time may be mentioned as follows:

A. Habit: As people are creature of habits certain ways of behaving may be difficult to change. So while found comfortable, the time may not be used in an effective way. Thus it is important that the manager is aware of negative habits and makes time more productive.

B. Over supervision: Supervision is necessary but the manager must be mindful to understand how much is necessary. Giving too much supervision to a competent professional can give interpersonal problems and also be time consuming.

C. Under delegation: is when the manager does not delegate responsibility appropriately and keep with more work than necessary.

Using time properly involves prioritizing goals and applying time management principles and strategies.

The principles of time management include effective communication, planning, and delegation. Strategies are methods aimed at facilitating self-management of time. Even barriers exist, a manager who uses time efficiently and effectively is managing the human resources in an appropriate way.

Types of Time Management:

Hopper

Hoppers are people who work on multiple things simultaneously. They shuffle from one task to another before either task is completed.

Multi-taskers love chaos and often find themselves involved in too many personal and professional projects all at once.

Hyperfocus

• People with a hyper-focus style of management get deeply involved in the task at hand.
• Quick to get in the zone, they prefer to focus on one task and follow it through until it’s done.

Cliffhanger

• Working best under pressure indicates a cliffhanger personality. The thing that moves such individuals forward is the adrenaline rush they get as the clock ticks closer to the deadline.

Big Picture

• People with this personal time management style have a bird’s eye view of the different tasks and plans they have to perform. They spend the majority of their time planning and strategizing over paying attention to the fine details.

Perfectionist

• The perfectionist time manager spends too much time on details and engages in an endless pursuit of making everything just right.

Impulsive

• People with impulsive time management style like to work without a plan. The adrenaline rush that comes with spontaneity gets them going. They dread the idea of setting up a routine or creating a task list.

Principles of Time Management:

Be goal-oriented

To be successful in life you should be aware of the tasks and time you have. Plan tasks to achieve your goal and utilize time to do goal-driven tasks. A well-defined goal will motivate you to work hard to reach to aim.

Have a plan

Planning is one of the most important principles of time management. If you don’t have any plan for the day about where to go, what to do and how to do a task, chances are you’ll lose a lot of time wondering what you should be working. And you’ll lose your efficiency as well.

Be organized

Being organized is one of the key factors to achieve maximum efficiency in time management. You’ll need to do this in different aspects of your life.

Practice single-tasking

Single-tasking is a highly effective way to reduce the amount of time we spend to do a task. On the other hand, multitasking gives the illusion of hard work, but it makes us less productive.

Form good habits

Having good habits is one of the key principles of time management. With good habits, you can manage time easily and successfully.

Manage distractions

In this technology-reliant world, being focused is a big challenge for us. Therefore, an essential principle of time management is to manage distractions. After the battle with procrastination to begin a work, we need to fight against distractions to continue the work and finish it at the right time.

Importance of Time Management:

1. Time management is necessary for professional stuff.
2. To increase personal productivity and value.
3. To accomplish unit goals timely and appropriate manner.
4. To direct employees effectively.
5. For effective management of resources
6. To prevent periodic crisis.
7. To achieving organizational goal in time.
8. To perform the task within the given time.
9. To increase productivity.
10. To achieve expected goal.
11. To face duplication of work
12. To increase the efficiency of a manager.

Time Management Techniques/Strategies

Time management strategies are practical techniques to preserve, conserve, structure and also use time well to meet goals. These strategies are in large measures where the person can individualize the best use of time according to one’s particular needs and is a kind of time style where a person best manages his or her time.

Strategies have been devised to help managers and professional’s staff to use their time wisely and productively. Below there are some strategies, which are suggested:

➤ Time analysis is a personal diary where all the activities can be recorded and become the basis of analysis. Then one can find out time is spent, wasted and properly used.

➤ Daily planning is effective when time frames correspond with the manager’s responsibility. It is recommended that the daily plans be formulated or reviewed by the manager so that he/she can be prepared to make sure certain activities and completed.

➤ Crisis control is accomplished when communication and delegation of a new plan is recognized around priorities to manage an unexpected and untoward event. People being involved in crisis should be informed at once with necessary details of the problem.

➤ Problem analysis is essential for an effective manager by using time properly.. Managers must be able to distinguish between events which needs prompt action or which can wait. Another aspect of problem analysis that has been implications for the manager’s time is that not every problem require an immediate solution. Some problems go away with little or no intervention.

➤ Time control: Planned office time should be built into the managers plans and communicated to the staff.

➤ Time evaluation: Periodic evaluation of how time is spent is a helpful technique to assess the use of time spent. Time analysis techniques can be helpful guides to improve both effectiveness and efficiency.

Basic steps of Time management:

Time management can be summarized in three basic steps, this are-
Step 1: In the first step, time is allowed for planning and establishing priorities.
Step 2: In the second step, entails completing the highest priority task.
Step 3: In the third step, the individual must reprioritize based on new information that may have been received,

This is a cyclic process, all three steps must be approached sequentially.

Matrix of Time Management:

The idea of using four quadrants to determine the priority of a task was introduced by American keynote speaker Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
As you can see from the graphic below, the time management matrix is separated into four quadrants that are organized by importance and urgency.

Source: Stephen Covey, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

The matrix, also known as Eisenhower’s Urgent-Important Principle, distinguishes between importance and urgency:

• Important responsibilities contribute to the achievement of your goals.
• Urgent responsibilities require immediate attention. These activities are often tightly linked to the accomplishment of someone else’s goal. Not dealing with these issues will cause immediate consequences

Here’s a summary of the meaning of each quadrant:

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