Participate in a Team to Achieve Organizational Goal

Establish own work schedule Element 1 Establish own work schedule

LEARNING OUTCOMES Identify work to be completed. Prioritize work according to organization guidelines. Prioritize urgent requests and act on them according to organizational guidelines.

ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS All organizations have goals. Goals give an organization purpose and direction to move towards the entire year. Goals - statements describing what an organization or individual wishes to accomplish.

Goals are the ends toward which your efforts will be directed, and often change from term to term or year to year, depending on the nature of the organization. Typically, an organization sets goals each year and from these corporate goals team and individual objectives are set.

Objectives -- descriptions of exactly what is to be done derived from the goals. Objectives are clear, specific statements of measurable tasks that will be accomplished as steps toward reaching your goals. They are short term and have deadlines. If you work in the information and technology department of a large firm for example, your department or team would have been given specific objectives from which your individual objectives would then have been derived. As an individual and as a member of the larger team you have key roles to play.

Example of an organization Corporate plan http://www.ecu.edu.au/fas/organisation_goals.html

IDENTIFY WORK TO BE COMPLETED Once you have been given your objectives, your first task is to clearly identify the work to be completed and the time line for completing tasks and goals. Spend time analyzing the work you have been assigned so that you will be able to break down the tasks into component parts which will leave you in a better position to do something that few people have mastered – the ability to manage your time!

The key to effective time management is knowing what you need to accomplish on a daily basis and focusing on the tasks that are most important. This requires you to: Set clear objectives. Identify goals and assign priorities so that you can plan the best way to use your time.

You must ensure that you have a workable schedule for actions and activities that enables you to accomplish tasks such as: Job duties/functions Meetings Phone calls Mail

One way to plan daily activities is to make a “to-do-list” for the day and assign priorities and timelines for each activity. In beginning your day you should review your daily “to-do-list’ to map out your day’s activities and at the end of the day you should prepare a new list for the following day reviewing: Master action list Appointment calendar Project deadlines Phone calls and/or follow-ups Lists of items not done that day www.organized-living.com/articles/timemgmt.html

PRIORITIZE WORK How do you prioritize? You’ve identified the work to be completed clearly, you’ve identified your goals and generated a “to do” list and some due dates. Now you have to decide which tasks to do first. How do you prioritize? Prioritizing is the key to mastering the use of time. But how do you prioritize? Sometimes it is easy because the tasks fall into a logical order.

Other times it’s harder especially when: The task is complex. You are working on multiple goals at the same time. You are trying to balance work and family responsibilities.

There are several things you can do to help you use your time more effectively. One way is to break down assignments into smaller component tasks. You should then rate each task according to its level of importance based on organizational guidelines. These guidelines include: Organization charts and work flow guides. Timeline for tasks and goals. The important tasks would then be those that help you accomplish your organization’s goals and should therefore be the ones that you tackle first.

PRIORITIZE URGENT REQUESTS When you are clear about organizational guidelines regarding the goals of your project or team, it will help you to manage your job and assist you to make choices about how to prioritize urgent requests.

Strategies for Prioritizing The 80/20 Rule The 80/20 rule can be a very useful tool to help you manage your work effectively. The rule states that the relationship between input and output is rarely, if ever, balanced. When applied to work, it means that approximately 20 percent of your efforts produce 80 percent of the results. Learning to recognize and then focus on that 20 percent that really matter is the key to making the most effective use of your time. If something in your work schedule has to slip, if something isn’t going to get done, make sure it is not part of that 20 percent.

Strategies for Prioritizing(cont’d) The urgent and important method This method requires you to sort tasks into the following categories and rate them according to the level of priority: 1 = important and urgent 2= important and not urgent 3= not important but urgent 4= not important and not urgent When you are practising good time management, most of your tasks will fall in category 2. This would mean that you are not constantly working on important tasks at the last minute.

If you find that you are spending a lot of time on tasks rated 4 at the expense of those rated 1, 2 or 3, you have a problem. Ask yourself these questions: Are you being distracted Are you procrastinating? Are you forgetting to plan and prioritize? Are there other reasons? Take action now, because your job may depend on it.

Strategies for Prioritizing(cont’d) The ABC Method This method requires you to rank each task according to whether it’s something you: - must do - should do - could do Procedure Identify the tasks you need to accomplish over a given period (day, week, month or year). Place ‘A’ after the items you MUST do. These are top priority. Place ‘B’ next to the items you SHOULD do. These are important, but not as high a priority as those rated ‘A’. Place ‘C’ next to items you COULD do – if you had the time and resources. These are a much lower priority.

NOTE: How you rank each item will depend on organizational guidelines NOTE: How you rank each item will depend on organizational guidelines. Flexibility is essential as organizational priorities may change from time to time.

Tips for Successful Time Management Clarify your goals in writing Focus on goals then activities. Your most important activities are those that accomplish your most important goals. Set and achieve at least one major objective each day. Analyze your use of time periodically by keeping a log. Evaluate and address the problem areas – especially the time wasters and distractions. Analyze what you do, when and why. What would happen if you didn’t do a particular task? If the answer is nothing, then stop doing it! Plan your time. Write a plan for each week that identifies what you hope to accomplish by the end of the week and what you will need to do to achieve this

Tips for Successful Time Management(cont’d) Make a things-to-do list everyday. Include tasks, priorities and time estimates not just random activities. Include time for yourself – time to dream, relax and live. Do first things first. Schedule blocks of uninterrupted time for your most important tasks. Allow some leniency for the unexpected. Make the first hour of your day productive. Do it right first time – you won’t have to waste time doing it again.

Tips for Successful Time Management(cont’d) Eliminate recurring crisis: Find out why things keep going wrong and do something to address this. Learn to be PROACTIVE (acting to prevent problems) instead of REACTIVE (acting in response to problems). Finish what you start. Don’t jump from one thing to another, leaving a string of unfinished tasks behind you. Conquer procrastination. Make a start on difficult tasks even if it is just a small step