Tài liệu Techniques to Counter Common Time Thieves ppt

They’re the time spent compulsively checking emails despite being busy doing something else when you hear the inbox alert, and the time spent forwarding on jokes, chain mail and amusing

Techniques to Counter Common Time Thieves

By Sue DwanDwan & Associates LtdSmashwords EditionCopyright 2012 Sue DwanCover Image by Microsoft OfficeUsed with permission from Microsoft

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author Thank you for your support

Limitation of LiabilityThe general information and advice contained in this ebook is offered with the aim of assisting those interested in improving their time management skills The information

is not intended as an exclusive solution and Sue Dwan, Dwan & Associates Ltd, is not responsible for the application of the principles and steps taken in any undertaking Please note: New Zealand spelling, which is different from American spelling for

some words, has been used throughout this text

Introduction

Chapter 1: Some Ideas about TimeChapter: 2: Tine Thief: MeetingsChapter 3: Time Thief: TelephonesChapter 4: Time Thief: EmailChapter 5: Time Thief: InterruptionsChapter 6: General Tips

About the Author

I heard Engelbert Humperdinck singing a pitiful lament the other day – “If I only had time”, he anguished, “Only time” I realised I hear that same lament almost daily, but

from ordinary folk – not singing icons It got me thinking about common time thieves

and how they live amongst us, wearing a number of clever disguises

They’re colleagues who interrupt you when you’re deep into something and say,

“Could I pick your brains about something?”, or, “Could you help me with…It’ll only take a minute…”, or, “I know you’re busy, but ”

They’re filing cabinets bursting with ancient and new files that may be unlabelled, and

so creatively alphabetised that you can’t find anything for looking They’re piles of papers on your desk that get bigger and bigger, a repository for the ‘I’ll get around to this, this week’ work, but you never do

They’re the time spent compulsively checking emails (despite being busy doing

something else) when you hear the inbox alert, and the time spent forwarding on jokes, chain mail and amusing video clips They’re the hours you spend reading all incoming emails, yet put off responding or processing them for another day And that day may or many not ever come They’re the emails you deliberately ignore reading because you’re busy doing other things or because you have an inbox with 2000+ emails and you’re overwhelmed at the thought of them all

They’re the meetings that leave you frustrated and angry that your time has been wasted They’re the meetings with no agenda, the ones that start late and finish late and where most of the time is spent on minor issues, leaving little time for the big issues that need attention They’re the meetings where the same topics are ‘put forward

to the next meeting’ at every meeting, so they’re never, ever addressed

They’re the days you know you haven’t achieved anything; despite your efforts to be unavailable to others, your intentions to tackle important tasks and your to-do list They’re the days when you can’t quite put your finger on why your best laid plans have gone to pieces, yet again They’re the days you take work home to do after

dinner, because you never get everything done during the day

If any of these scenarios hit the mark for you, it’s timely you are reading this little book You needn’t sing Humperdinck’s song There are simple, yet highly effective strategies to use to arrest time thieves in their tracks It’s up to you really – do you want to be known as a lamentable singer or a person of decisive, smart action that gets results?

*****

Chapter 1: Some Ideas about Time

The interesting thing about time is that it dominates our entire life The demand for it has absolutely no influence over its supply There is never 'enough' of it, and what we have is all there is It can’t be seen or physically touched, it is an abstract concept, yet

we know when it’s temporarily unavailable or gone completely Individuals have their own ‘temporal alignment’ (a time orientation) to either the past, present or future; and they may also view time as ‘linear’ or ‘cyclical’, depending on their cultures and cultural norms

Time can’t be stored or brought back, yet it can be ‘earmarked’ and juggled around, to fit things in

And time is ‘costly’, as the actual cost of an hour of an employee’s time far exceeds the hourly wage or salary rate paid to them Per employee, an employer pays more money for their annual leave, sick leave and bereavement leave; pays accident

compensation levies, training and development costs, a subsidised superannuation scheme or car park entitlements, and administrative time to process wages, income tax and superannuation savings Moreover, there are the direct and indirect costs

associated with business premises (electricity, insurances and the like), plant and equipment

Also, a typical 40 hour working week doesn’t necessarily mean a 40 hour working week An 8 hour working day gives employees 480 minutes per day to use If we deducted the typical morning and afternoon tea breaks (say, ¼ hour each) and lunch breaks (say, ½ hour), the 480 minutes is reduced to 420 minutes If we factored in the time wasted by a lack of efficient and effective systems, interruptions, unnecessary or unproductive meetings and our own (and others’) time-wasting habits, the 420 minutes could be reduced another 60 minutes, to 360 minutes – that’s about 6 hours’

productive time each day – and a 30 hour productive week, to work within

Time management techniques are really self-management techniques If we don’t learn

to manage ourselves first, and if we don’t use proven time management techniques to work smarter, not harder, then we won’t be efficient or effective in the workplace We may be busy, to be sure, but we may not be the least bit productive

Time is best utilised by:

Thinking, then planning

Time spent thinking about what is required of us and planning how we will do our work before launching ourselves headlong into it, is time well spent The old saying 'more haste, less speed' (the faster we try to do something increases the likelihood we’ll make mistakes, which may then take longer to rectify, than if we’d planned the piece of work in the first place) could refer to time and self management Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who thought about distribution issues in the early 1900s, observed that 80% of the land owned in Italy was owned by just 20% of the

population His distribution concepts were expanded and adapted to different settings, for example, 80% of profits come from 20% of our customers; or, 80% of our sales come from 20% of our salespeople The point is, we need to focus our effort on the

allocation, time and resources, on this

Doing the right thing, versus doing things right

There’s a world of difference between doing the right thing and doing things right If our focus isn’t on the right task, at the right time, we’re in difficulty We can spent an

inordinate amount of time on doing things right, but if we’re not doing things right on the right task, at the right time, it is simply a waste of time, money and effort.

Developing plans

Any planning sessions should be followed by documented action plans to record what needs to happen, what resources are required, when the actions are required by, how progress will be monitored and who will be responsible for particular pieces of work

Plans can be for the short, medium and long term, and a simple action plan format will

suffice for small to medium sized plans Documented plans provide focus, direction and the identification of any constraints that may need to be accommodated in their execution

Focusing on the important

Everything we do for our job is important, and yet some things may be more important than others, in the bigger scheme of things This means we need to constantly prioritise our work in terms of the important and the urgent Minor issues, if left long enough, have the potential to become really important, then urgent The key is to ensure

everything gets done efficiently and effectively in a timely fashion There can be no

'too hard baskets' left in the corner of the office, anywhere, ever

Using systems

The way to avoid wasted time, money and effort is to develop and use effective,

efficient systems These include systems for filing, handling email, reminders of unfinished work (bring-ups), the management of customer relationships, purchasing supplies, regular maintenance and anything else you can think of If it takes ages to find information, files, products or resources because you don’t have everything at your fingertips, it’s time to review and redevelop your existing systems so you do have everything you need, close at hand Systems need to be used consistently and if you don’t do this – if you prefer a random, come-what-may approach – you will set

yourself up (and possibly those around you) for ongoing problems

Eliminating time thieves

Time thieves can be eliminated if:

* people have a genuine desire to work smarter, not harder

* there are good systems in place and they’re used consistently

* people can change their beliefs, thoughts, words and actions around how things are typically done Changing long-established habits can be challenging, so genuine intent and consistent action is needed

Being gracious with people, 'mean' with your time

It is good manners and professional to be gracious with people This can be done at the same time as being mindful of your daily schedule, the appointments you have to attend and the work you need to do in-between times ‘Being mean with our time’ requires us to use a number of different communication techniques to keep a clear focus, redirect straying conversation topics and stop conversations after a pre-

determined period of time.

Achieving, not doing

Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean we are achieving results (being productive) The

key to success is to do what’s required within known constraints and achieve what we

are tasked to do

Knowing what to do to improve our time management practices isn’t enough Lasting improvement requires:

1 knowledge of effective time and self management techniques

2 serious intent (to change one’s thinking, habits and daily practices)

3 undertaking specific actions

4 being consistent in applying specific techniques or taking specific actions

5 regularly reviewing one’s progress

6 fine-tuning one’s techniques, until you achieve mastery!

Chapter 2: Time Thief: Meetings

One of the biggest drains on people’s energy, patience, organisational resources and time, are meetings You can reduce meeting time thieves by adopting the following tips:

Preparation

* Develop meeting rules/protocols/etiquette to use at every meeting

* Ensure all meeting participants have a copy of the meeting rules/protocols/etiquette

* Train people to be effective and efficient chairpersons/facilitators

* Appoint a meeting chairperson/facilitator who can control and direct meetings

appropriately

* Ask that all participants come prepared and expect them to be prepared on the day

* Ensure meetings can’t be interrupted by putting a 'do not disturb' notice on the door

* Ask for agenda items several days before the meeting; have any 'other business' at the end of the agenda, not at the beginning

* Use a concise, realistic agenda and stick to it; put the most difficult or important (and time hungry) items first

* Set a time for each agenda item

* Set clear start and finish times for every meeting

* Ensure there are a workable number of participants, not more than the meeting warrants

* Ensure the venue is appropriate and conducive for a meeting

* Ensure the meeting is actually necessary, not simply a habit

* Only go to a meeting if it’s one you must attend

* Don’t cancel meetings unless it is essential to do so

* Eliminate all unnecessary meetings – don’t have them if they’re not absolutely necessary Conduct a review of all meetings and determine whether they are mission critical, nice-to-haves or historical habits

* Cost out how much meetings actually cost the organisation, per hour of meeting time To do this, take the number of people attending each meeting, and add the actual dollar cost of the attendees, per meeting hour (this includes their hourly rate and the dollar value of associated labour costs – i.e., annual leave, sick leave,

superannuation, professional development, car park, etc This could be about another 20-30%

* Schedule regular, standard meetings at the beginning of each year so they’re firmly established in everyone’s diaries, and so time isn’t wasted throughout the year getting large numbers of people to agree on meeting dates

* Ask any known quiet meeting participants to change their approach These are people who rarely speak/won’t contribute at all unless directly asked to say

something, and then may complain about all the dominant speakers Tell them you need their contribution because their views are important; that you need them to speak up and be counted; and offer to coach them so they develop confidence and the skills to do so

* Ask any known dominant meeting participants (those who have a great deal to say about everything and may rarely listen to others) to change their approach Tell them you need their contribution, however, you also need to hear others’ contributions as well Suggest their enthusiasm to contribute is inhibiting those less confident or vocal Ask them to participate in an exercise at the next meeting to note: the

dynamics around the meeting table (who does what, how often, etc.); the times they themselves speak or talk over others; the body language of the participants when they and others are speaking Debrief with the person after the meeting and discuss the findings from their perspective and your perspective Offer to coach them so they can contribute, without dominating meetings

Actual meetings

* Ask that all cell phones be turned off

* Ask people to be focused on the agenda items and to be ‘laser-like’ (to the point, not rambling) in their communications

* At the beginning of the meeting, identify its purpose and desired outcomes

* Start and finish meetings on time; don’t wait for late arrivals and don’t go over material latecomers have missed

* Stop participants who interrupt others when they’re speaking or who are dominating the conversation

* Record the meeting using a simple action plan format; i.e., decisions made, who’s doing what, by when, resources needed, what outcomes are required

* Challenge any poor timekeeping throughout the meeting

* Challenge any lack of focus in the discussions or when people stray off topic

* Ensure any tasks are allocated to individuals before the meeting ends and follow up

on the agreed actions at the next meeting

* Ensure the first agenda item on every agenda for every meeting, is to report back on the agreed actions since the previous meeting

* Ensure everyone around the table has a chance to speak

* Ask for clarification of issues, or refocus the meeting when needed

* Expect professional behaviours and challenge participants who don’t behave

appropriately

* At the end of a meeting, ask yourself (and the participants) if the outcome of the meeting was worth the time and the combined cost to the organisation For example, what did we achieve? What was the value of this meeting? Was it worth our time and the cost to the organisation? What other ways could we have achieved these outcomes?

Chapter 3: Time Thief: Telephones

Mobile phones, landlines and Skype means we can be available 24/7 But do we want to? Possibly not Should we have to? Not necessarily You can reduce telephone time thieves by adopting the following tips:

* Make personal calls in personal time, not company time

* Plan your telephone calls (the people, your purpose, the desired outcome) before you pick up the phone

* Cluster telephone calls – do them at a predetermined time through the day, e.g 10.15am, then again at 2.30pm

* Clear answerphones regularly – do it throughout the day, at set times, e.g 10.15am and 2.30pm Note who you need to contact and return the call at the predetermined time, or earlier if the call is urgent

* Divert your phone or turn on its answer service when you don’t want to be

interrupted from your work

* When leaving messages, tell callers the time you will be available to speak to them, should they wish to call you back

* Develop a cue card system (or the electronic version of the system), to take notes on the content of your calls This way you won’t forget what you’ve discussed or what you promised to do

* Regularly update your personal message options on your phone; i.e., stating when you are away from your office or are on annual leave

* Speak slowly when recording your voice messages (on your own and others’

telephones) and repeat your phone number and name twice

* Take personal chats with friends out of the work day, if you can; ask to call them back later on at a time that would be more suitable, or suggest catching up over lunch

* Take accurate messages and ask the same of others (name, date, subject and contact numbers)

* Develop and use message pads to help record important information

* Buy a headset if you spend a lot of time on the telephone; this leaves your hands free

to write notes while talking, and it saves getting a sore neck or sore hands from holding the phone at a particular angle for too long

* Never hold on when an operator asks if you’d like to wait; instead, leave a message with the best time for them to call you back

* Let callers know your time constraints; i.e., “I’ve only got 5 minutes to chat right now”

* Store often-used numbers in your phone and use speed dial when calling them

* Be assertively polite; keep your focus on every call

* Time limit each call you make or respond to, for example, 10 minutes maximum.

* Recognise that making and receiving calls will take up a great deal of time in a working day and plan for that reality The call that will ‘only take a minute’, rarely does

* Use caller ID to screen calls

* Learn conversation-finishing techniques, to control the duration of telephone calls For example, “I’ve got to finish this call now, I have a meeting to go to”, or, “To summarise then, you’re going to do X and Y and I’m going to do Z and we’ll talk again next Tuesday, correct? Great, thanks for your time, goodbye”, or, “Could you work on that problem, come up with three options for solving it and get back to me tomorrow morning at 10am and we can discuss it then? Ok, thanks for that, bye”, or,

“I’d love to chat further but I can’t, I’ve got to go now Bye”

*****

Chapter 4: Time Thief: Email

Email has transformed and improved the way we communicate However, it can also contribute to our downfall or be a source of much frustration You can reduce email time thieves by adopting the following tips:

* Shut off the incoming message audio alert – it’s a distraction you don’t need

* Clear emails at two or three set times (diaried times) throughout the day

* Prioritise the emails in terms of importance

* Don’t always respond immediately – respond at selected times during the day, and chunk the emails needing a response; then do them all in one hit

* Treat email correspondence like paper correspondence – know that reading, writing and clearing emails takes a lot of time – it’s rarely a 15 minute activity

* Discourage personal emails (jokes, chain mail) from colleagues

* Ask correspondents to fill in the subject line

* Don’t write and send emails when you’re angry; write a draft, save it, and review it the next day

* Don’t send emails about sensitive or easily misinterpreted matters: face-to-face communications or a telephone call is more appropriate

* Ensure the email technology is current so that the system supports your activities, not hinders them

* Limit the back-and-forth, back-and-forth email messages – use stopping phrases in your emails or speak to the person directly

* Establish email folders and put emails into them

* Model the email protocol that you want from others

* Don’t read jokes/junk mail Delete them immediately

* Adopt a ‘need to know’ approach to sending emails; don’t CC everyone into every email It’s profoundly irritating, is most often completely unnecessary, and clutters

up people’s inboxes

* If a topic needs more than two to three emails, use the telephone instead It’s faster and more effective

* Periodically deregister from group emails

* Don’t respond to emails that you don’t have to, for example, sending back a quick

‘thanks’

* Ask people to send personal emails to your personal email address

* Learn speed reading/scanning techniques, to quickly get the gist of email content

* Ask people to write in plain English if their writing style is too academic, difficult to interpret/decipher, or filled with jargon and confusing acronyms

* Use a spam filter

* Use the email system’s ‘rules’ function to perform routine responses, sort through irrelevant emails, and to bundle CCs and BCCs.

*****

Chapter 5: Time Thief: Interruptions

If we are interrupted doing a task, it will take our brain about 10-15 minutes to

reorientate itself back to the task once the interruption is over – depending on the length of the interruption and the complexity of the task Who can afford this amount

of wasted time in a day already filled with other demands? You can reduce interruption time thieves by adopting the following tips:

* Don’t welcome casual visitors to your work space

* Know your priorities, time frames and deadlines for the day, and stick to them

* Use a daily ‘to do’ list; and a weekly, monthly or yearly planner, to keep your focus

* Periodically, keep a daily activity log and distraction record, to see where your time

is really being spent

* Develop and use assertive 'stopping' phrases on people who interrupt you in your work, e.g “I’m unable to help you with that just now; I suggest you come back to

me at 3pm with some of your recommendations and we’ll have a quick chat then”

* Establish why people want to see you, before you set up a meeting time with them

* Whenever possible, suggest meetings in a person’s own office That way you can control the beginning and end of the meeting and leave when you need to

* Minimise eye contact with interrupters It signals you are busy and it’s not ok to be interrupted

* If people want to see you and it doesn’t suit, acknowledge their need, so they feel heard Then make a time with them for another day at a time that does suit; or

arrange to talk to them at break time

* Learn to say ‘No’ Or, “No, I can’t help you just now” Or, “No, I can’t help you today” Or, “No, I’m not the right person to ask” For such a small word, it’s known

to be incredibly difficult to get it out of our mouths

* Try to fix definite times when you do not want to be disturbed (short of an

emergency or catastrophic situation), and make the system work – i.e., put a sign on your door, divert your phone, go off-site and do some work at a café (preferably, one where you’re not likely to run into anyone you know!)

* Set time limits on your discussions

* Avoid engaging in endless small talk There’s a fine line between not enough, just enough and far too much

* If you can’t get people to leave your office or working space, leave the area yourself

* If you do get interrupted, restrict the amount of time you take to deal with it, for example, a minute or two – at the most

* Shut your door Be unavailable for decent sized chunks of time when doing

important work that requires concentration and thought The ‘open door’ policy, taken to extremes, sets people up for failure Some work requires peace, quiet and

no interruptions