TIME MANAGEMENT, PLANNING, AND PRIORITIZATION JUDITH A. SIESS INFORMATION BRIDGES INTERNATIONAL 4 November 2004 Wisconsin Library Association Lake Geneva

The "Three Ps" of Effective Time Management Developed by Andrew Berner Planning. Priorities. Procrastination. Planning: If you don’t have time for planning, you’d better find the time. Priorities: Not everything you do is of equal importance. Priorities are not constant, they must e re-evaluated. Procrastination: The anti-Nike – just don’t do it.

Ten Myths about Time Myth: Time can be managed. Myth: The longer or harder you work the more you accomplish. Myth: If you want something done right, do it yourself. Myth: You aren’t supposed to enjoy work. Myth: We should take pride in working hard. Only tasks can be managed. It’s better to work efficiently. You have to delegate. You can’t do it all. If you don’t enjoy it, find something else to do. We should take pride in working smart.

Ten Myths about Time Myth: You should try to do the most in the least amount of time. Myth: Technology will help you do it better, faster. Myth: Do one thing at a time. Myth: Handle paper only once. Myth: Get more done and you’ll be happier. 6. Do things right. 7.It may, but also encourages us to do things that don’t need doing. 8.Multitask. 9. Never pick up a piece of paper without doing something to get it off your desk. 10. No, you’ll only get more done.

Time Wasters Attempting too much. Not saying no. Incomplete information. Management by crisis, fire fighting. Interruptions.

Making the Best Use of Time Decide that you don’t have to please everyone. Let go–don’t be a perfectionist. Resist the temptation to do small, insignificant tasks too well. Outsource what you can.

Interruptions… If no one asked questions we wouldn't have jobs. Anticipate the most common questions. Try closing your door or arranging your office to discourage drop- ins. If all else fails, hide.

Why do we procrastinate? Don’t know where to start. To avoid an unpleasant task. We’re afraid to fail. Waiting for more information. You may think if you put it off someone else will do it. You’re over-committed.

To overcome procrastination: SWAP. You do not work best under pressure. List the things you have been avoiding. Prioritize them. Try to do at least one of them each day until you catch up.

Timing Knowing when not to work is as important as knowing when to work. Save the easiest tasks for the end of the day.

Get The Most Out Of the First Two Hours of the Day Don’t eat breakfast at work. Don’t schedule meetings for this time. Start with the most important work of the day. Do the things you don’t want to do first.

“Avoid meetings with time-wasting morons.” (Dilbert) Make sure it’s a working meeting. Don’t attend unless there is a set agenda. Can the problem be solved or decision reached without a meeting? Does the meeting have a set ending time?

Filing You can do only 4-1/2 things with any piece of information: T R Toss it. Redirect it. Act on it. File it. Read it.

“Logic-based disposal” Does it require action on my part? Does it exist elsewhere? Is it outdated? Will I really use it again? Are there tax or legal implications? What’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t have this info? Does anyone else need this info? Action? Then keep it. Elsewhere? Toss it. Outdated? Toss it. Use it again? File it. Tax? File it. Worst thing? If you can live with it, toss it. Anyone else? Send it to them.

Other Filing Tips Never file envelopes unless the postmark is significant. Write a keyword on the item when you read it. File according to how you’ll use it, not where it came from. Judy’s first law of filing… Keyword: will save fro reading it again when you file it. Judy’s law… If you spend much time looking for something, put it back where you found it. Or at least put a pointer there.

Managing Your To-Read Pile You will probably never be able to read everything you would like to read. Read with a pen in your hand. Scan. Share your reading with a friend. Keep a reading file. Can’t read everything? Accept it and get over it. A quick scan is better than a complete reading that you never get to do. Share: you each read some things, then get together and discuss them. Put everything you want to read in one file. Take it with you everywhere you may have to wait. Weed it occasionally—toss anything you haven’t read in 3 months—it’s out of date anyway.

Managing Your Email Check only once a day. Filter and triage. Don’t print out messages. Weed. One major exception: addresses. Or check it three times a day or, if really necessary, once an hour. Try Eudora Pro and its folders. Triage by subject line or author. Read it, print it or delete it. Put addresses in your rolodex, contact manager, or at least in a separate folder (mine is “addresses to save”).

PLANNING AND PRIORITIZATION

Why aren’t we organized? It takes too much time. You don’t know how. You want to do it “perfectly.” Time: being disorganized takes even more time. Know how: learn how or hire someone. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. Perfect is seldom justified.

The price of not being organized? Missed deadlines. Overlooked opportunities. Wasted time. Lost customers due to poor or slow service. Wasted money. Miss an opportunity because you misplace the information in the clutter. Waste time (yours and the customer’s) looking for things or doing things over. Waste money by misusing or losing resources or wasting time.

Using Your Calendar Add a meeting as soon as you know about it. Write dates for follow-up on calendar. Include personal deadlines. Have one master calendar. If you use an electronic calendar, back it up regularly. Pencil meetings in, you can always erase them. Followup: such as, call Mr. Jones re search. Write dates for filing, etc. You can have satellite calendars, but one must be the master.

Eliminating things from your to do list What’s the worst that can happen if don’t do this? Am I the only person who can do this? Must it be done now? Is there an easier way to do it? Worst? If you can live with it, don’t do it. You may find out that it wasn’t necessary anyway. If someone else can do it, let them. If it doesn’t need to be done now, it might go away. If you can find an easier way, do it that way.

STRATEGIC PLANNING “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there?” “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” Strategic planning solves these problems.

Why Plan? It is a valuable management tool. It is also about change management. It strengthens the role of the library in the organization. It can demonstrate the librarian’s competence and improves the image and visibility of the library. (St. Clair) It focuses your thinking on the future. It clarifies your goals and objectives. It will save time in the long run. It helps you avoid doing things that are not in your best interest. It helps you justify (to others) where you spend your time. It provides a framework for policy formulation and decision-making. It can help support your case for funding. It identifies critical issues and constraints. It can help keep you on course.

Is Strategic Planning the same as goals, or mission statements, or visions? Sort of…

A vision is… what you want your library to be future oriented un-achievable has a lifetime of 5, 10, or more years My vision… What’s yours? My vision: “To help one-person or solo librarians around the world by informing them and championing their cause”

A mission is… what the institution does, for whom it does it, how it does it, and why. My mission. What’s yours? My mission: “To bring the latest personal and institutional management information to small (especially solo or one-person) libraries around the world”

Then set your goals… must be concrete must be measurable must be in writing must be achievable Measurable—so you know when you’ve achieved them In writing—a goal not in writing is a dream

List your tasks… Steps required to achieve the goals. Prioritize. Set deadlines. List resources needed. Keep your eye on your goals.

How Do I Plan? Beckwith’s Three Cornerstones of Planning—Plus 1 1. Predicting the future. 2. Decide what you want your future to look like. 3. Analyze the results. 4. Implement the plan.

1. Predicting the future This is hard Look at the environment. What did last year’s strategic plan say? What does your boss or organization want? What do your users want? This is hard Look at the environment. Corporate culture. Competitors. Information needs of users. Mandates from the community (management, accrediting). Unmet market niches. What did last year’s strategic plan say? What does your boss or organization want? What do your users want?

2. Decide what you want your future to look like Write your vision statement. Share your vision with the participants. Then write the mission statement. Remember to plan for alternative futures.

3. Analyze the results Write the strategic plan to show how you will respond to and flesh out the mission statement. Figure out ways to make sure your future comes out the way you want.

4. Implement the plan The process is important, maybe as important as the product. BUT… the object of a plan is to change something—so it MUST be implemented.

PRIORITIZATION Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

Question Things What is the objective? How will I know if I’m successful? How will I be rewarded? Is this task something I want to do? Do I have the time to do it? What have I got to lose? Is there a better way to do it? Should it even be done at all? Will the world come to an end if? WIIFM What have I got to lose? Is there a better way to do it? Should it even be done at all? Can try to ignore it?

You Can—and Should, Say “No” Remember Ann Landers’s words: People take advantage of you only with your permission.

Be both efficient and effective Efficiency is… Effectiveness is… Too many businesses spend lots of time making sure they are doing things right and not enough determining if they are doing the right things. Efficiency: is completing a task with the least possible amount of wasted labor, cash, or time. Effectiveness is doing what will make the most difference. Too many businesses spend lots of time making sure they are doing things right and not enough determining if they are doing the right things. Doing the wrong things right is the epitome of wasted time.. Doing the right things right is the epitome of time management.

Other Prioritization Tips You don’t have to do everything everybody tells you to do. You don’t always have to do everything yourself. Yes, you have to please other people. But you also have to please yourself. You don’t have to do everything everybody tells you to do. Or the way other people tell you to do it. Or according to someone else’s time frame. You don’t always have to do everything yourself. Yes, you have to please other people. But you also have to please yourself.

Give Yourself Permission to Fail Failure is okay, if... If you have not failed, it means you have not risked, not challenged yourself. you learn from it. you failed because a higher priority task came up. you did not get the resources you needed (such as cooperation from someone else).

THANK YOU! For more help: Join the SOLOLIB-L list Call a colleague Email: listserv@silverplatter.com Message: subscribe SOLOLIB-L firstname lastname Call a colleague Contact me Email: jsiess@ibi-opl.com Phone: 1-216-486-7743