Tips and Tricks for Successful Time Management Learn  Act  Grow

Page 2 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Agenda  What are your Time Management Issues?  Reasons for Time Management Issues  How are you spending your time?  10 Easy Time Management Tips  When Chaos Ensues

Page 3 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Time Management Quick Quiz 1. Do you spend 5 minutes or more looking for an or document? 2. Are month old papers on your desk? 3. Do you have trouble finding an item in your desk that you use frequently? 4. Do you feel that you could be more organized if you had more space? 5. Do you have piles of magazines and journals you haven’t been able to read? 6. Did you ever find something at the bottom of a pile that you didn’t know was there? 7. Do you have hundreds of s accumulating in your inbox?

Page 4 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Time Management Quick Quiz  Did you answer yes to any of these questions?  Great!!! Hopefully these tips will help!  Did you answer no to all of these questions?  Don’t leave yet!!! It’s always good to brush up on your skills!

Page 5 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Reasons For Time Management Issues  If you already know how you should be managing your time, but you still don’t do it, don’t give up  You may be over-looking the psychological side of your time management skills, psychological obstacles hidden in your personality Procrastination Trouble saying no Difficulties delegating work Unable to quickly make decisions Need help prioritizing

Page 6 LeasePlan Academy 2009 How Are You Spending Your Time?  The first step before being able to improve on your time management skills is to see where you’re currently spending your time  Creating a time log is a very effective tool to help eliminate much of your wasted time and help you reach balance  One of the most common problems in personal time management is underestimating the time needed for each specific activity

Page 7 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Creating Your Time Log

Page 8 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Creating Your Time Log  You don’t need to do this permanently  Try it for 3-7 days, and repeat the process time after time  When you write the log, make sure you don’t miss ANY even minor activity  Don’t let your time wasters hide!

Page 9 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Creating Your Time Log  Take a sheet of paper divided into the following columns Time Activities Scheduled Interrupted Urgent People (involved)  Then continue with the activities you would normally do that day  During the time – continue to update the log

Page 10 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Creating Your Time Log  Add entries to either the “Time” or “Activities” column every time you switch to a new activity or at short time intervals (10-20 minutes)  Try to put marks like “Yes” or “No” in the “Scheduled”, “Interrupted”, and “Urgent” columns as you are completing these activities  Where relevant, make short notes on what people you spend time with in the “People (involved with)” column

Page 11 LeasePlan Academy 2009 What Does Your Log Tell You?  Review your records and try to get answers to the following questions  What percentage of your time is spent in each of different areas of your life? How is it divided between Work, Business, Family, Recreational, Spiritual, Health?  What percentage of your activities are important?  Are urgent?  What people you spend more time with?  What percentage of your activities go as planned?  What are main interruptions?

Page 12 LeasePlan Academy 2009 What Does Your Log Tell You?  Then think of possible adjustments and action steps. For example:  Are there any activities you can cut back on?  Is there anything you can delegate or simplify?  Can you save time by grouping related tasks?

Page 13 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  1. Focus  On a sticky note, write the important things in your life you need to focus on today. At home, attach it to your refrigerator. At work, stick it on your computer monitor.  As projects come and go, you’ll need to modify the list.

Page 14 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  2. Write it down.  If your head is full of clutter, or too much data floating around in your head, you won’t be able to get as much done. Keep a spiral notebook, and write down everything you need to do If you’re working on a task and something else pops into your head, write it down in the notebook

Page 15 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  3. Keep a daily to-do list.  Write down the 12 most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow Cross them off as you complete the tasks As new ones come to mind, add them to the list

Page 16 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  4. Make a daily schedule.  Look at tomorrow’s appointments and meetings Mark those beginning to end times in your calendar Then review your to-do list and schedule time on your calendar for your to-do’s  Remember, only schedule 70% of your day The other 30% will be filled with interruptions and emergencies

Page 17 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  5. Delegate.  This is the most underused time management tool today  Look at your to-do list after you write it and ask yourself what can you delegate?  Enlist help from your team if possible

Page 18 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  6. Multi-task the details.  While its important to focus on projects, it’s also efficient to take care of simple tasks simultaneously Bunch your work – Rather than checking your every time one comes in, schedule times to check it like morning, mid-day, and evening Keep in mind that there is a difference between multi-tasking and distractions – Stay productive!

Page 19 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  7. Group like activities.  Keep a running list of errands and take care of them all at once  Return phone calls during a certain time period  It takes time to switch tasks so you’ll save time by doing like activities together

Page 20 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  8. Organize your surroundings.  The Wall Street Journal once reported that the average executive loses up to an hour per day looking for misplaced papers  You’ll save time if you don’t have to step over and look through clutter  Create a filing system for your s, and documents that you need to keep on hand

Page 21 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  9. Analyze everything you do for the next week.  Try to find a quicker, more efficient way to do things.  Briefly work with a friend or co-worker to come up with ideas

Page 22 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Ten Easy Time Management Tips  10. Don’t be a perfectionist.  Trying to be a perfect person sets you up for defeat.  Difficult tasks usually result in avoidance and procrastination.  You need to set achievable goals, but they should be challenging.  There will always be people both weaker and stronger than you.

Page 23 LeasePlan Academy 2009 What To Do When Chaos Ensues  In 1897, Vilfredo Pareto discovered a key relationship between effort and result  This relationship is known as the Paretos Principle, or more commonly known as the 80/20 rule  This rule states that 80% of what someone achieves is based on 20% of time the individual expends  On the other hand, 20% of your organizing efforts will yield 80% of the desired effect

Page 24 LeasePlan Academy 2009 What To Do When Chaos Ensues  By taking time to prepare for your day, you will be better equipped to handle chaos when it does arise  The ability to prioritize is key when your plan changes  Prioritization is about making choices  Great prioritization skills allow you to finish the urgent tasks as soon as possible, freeing up time to handle the more important tasks in the long run

Page 25 LeasePlan Academy 2009 What To Do When Chaos Ensues  3 Tips for Prioritizing Wisely  1. A tired, emotional brain is not best placed to make decisions Good decisions are made by alert, objective minds Make an effort to keep your energy levels high and your stress levels down  2. Know what’s important. Ask yourself what’s important, and what’s urgent Create a list of questions to ask yourself when deciding what you should be doing and when  3. Ask for help Help can come from anywhere – Managers, your peers, friends Someone with clearer sight and experience to provide insight and objectivity

Page 26 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Time Management Quick Quiz - Replay 1. Do you spend 5 minutes or more looking for an or document? It doesn’t take that long to find one simple sheet of paper. If you can’t find it, you can’t find it, and you certainly can’t benefit from it. 2. Are month old papers on your desk? A desk is not a file cabinet. 3. Do you have trouble finding an item in your desk that you use frequently? Maybe it’s best left on top of your desk. 4. Do you feel that you could be more organized if you had more space? More space is seldom the answer; filing, throwing away, or deleting the nonessential is the best solution.

Page 27 LeasePlan Academy 2009 Time Management Quick Quiz - Replay 5. Do you have piles of magazines and journals you haven’t been able to read? If you’re thinking of reading these issues cover to cover, good luck. How about extracting those that are most intriguing and letting ago of the rest. 6. Did you ever find something at the bottom of a pile that you didn’t know was there? Condense your piles by eliminating old papers and filing away important ones. 7. Do you have hundreds of s accumulating in your inbox? Handle s as soon as they arrive, then assign them to the appropriate folder or delete them. Never let them build up in your inbox.

Learn  Act  Grow February 2009