What I learnt about time management or didn’t learn!

ooo, writing on the web :-) that'll be fun! :-)

so had to write a reflected report for uni today, all about time management. so thought that would be my first post, so here goes:

What I learnt about time management or didn’t learn!

We all have all the time that is available.

“Time is the wisest counselor of all.” Pericles

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” Theophrastus

“Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late.” William Shakespeare

“The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time.” Leo Kennedy

It is not the first time I have encountered time management studies. So it was with open mind and genuine excitement that I sat down this evenings lecture. Among the many things I had forgotten about effective time management is in that is doesn’t half make life simple. The list of benefits listed in the presentation, makes realise how ineffectively I use my time on many occasions. From this list and the accompanying talk I realise that I have to learn to read effectively and efficiently to aid in my management of time; this means picking up the pace of my reading as well as my ability to retain the knowledge and wisdom of these written words.

The talk and presentation moved on to discuss a time management tool known as PQRST:

Figure 1 PQRST method of time management

This is a technique that I am unfamiliar with but will put to good use in preparations for talk, essays exams and dissertations; in a nutshell, one: previews ones knowledge and learning on a given topic; formulate questions that you would like to be able to answer; read on the subject; summarise your reading and knowledge then test your learning.

Our talk moved into more familiar territory with the reintroduction of the time management grid: a simple matter of placing tasks or management requirements into one of four categories, it is this style of time management that I am keen to extend my knowledge about and practice of. Something I regularly use was also discussed in the form of a timetable or schedule of activities.

One key thing I learnt this evening is credit! A man has actually managed to become the founder of an eons old concept. Pareto's Principle is the 80/20 rule, in that 80% of what you want to achieve is a result of the 20% of effort. Although he applied this to: organisations, profit and productivity. It is the natural law of things and a fantastic time management tool. You have to accept that 80% of the time you are going to be unproductive and procrastinate about your tasks or challenges at hand; it’s the 20% of creativity and application that makes all the difference; and this difference that needs to be encouraged, nurtured and trained.

So in the words of Sean Connery it’s all about “B.A.L.A.N.C.E” (Widen, 1986), this is the stage where the platitudes are just bursting to get out; it’s a Ying/Yang concept or a natural way of things, for what is time? It is: but an arbitrary measurement unit for the passage of one moment to the next. It started, like most things, back in the day when men were still throwing sticks at critters in the undergrowth; first came: the changes: then the patterns were discerned: then the delineation and demarcation of these patterns into calendars, which after a good long while: today, gives us time as we know it. This time, which, has its’ own units of measurement typically starting with the immediate: minuets or seconds, then moves into short term: hours and days then medium terms of: months and quarters, then into long terms: year, decades and centuries, but the key thing to note is that time only flows in one direction, forwards! We can do nothing to slow this passage of time, only affect it. It is how we choose to affect time that gives us the discipline of time management.

So things I did not learn today: how to plan time or use time constructively and effectively, nor did I learn how to prioritise. One point I do disagree strongly with, from the presentation by Maggie Boyle, is the mantra “easy things first…” it should always be hard things first easy things second, remember the 80/20 rule? The hard things will take 80% of the allotted time for task regardless of when it is started, so get it done first! I have to admit that I am a great believer in the 80/20 rule, together with first things first. It allows me to avoid distraction and does not allow for procrastination, as the adage goes “time and tide wait for no man”.

So my top tips for time management would be:

1. 1.       Make a giant list with everything you have to or want to do.
2. 2.       On a separate post-it note, generate a: to do list, which is: a list composed of the first five most urgent and important things that need doing on the giant list.
3. 3.       Divide your week in two parts: professional and social. Of this time, divide each into 80/20 and decide which portion is doing and which portion is doing nothing, (productive/non-productive).
4. 4.       Set out the time to achieve your five things to do list.
5. 5.       Do them and repeat steps 2 through 4 until the giant list is depleted of tasks, then repeat step 1.

As Aleksandr Orlov the meerkat in the TV adverts says: “simples”.

 “         Calvin: I'm being educated against my will! My rights are being trampled!

Hobbes: Is it a right to remain ignorant?

Calvin: I don't know, but I refuse to find out!          ”

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat p41 (Watterstone, 1994)

Bibliography

Cook Counseling Center, VirginiaTech. (2000). Time Management Strategies for Improving Academic Performance. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from VirginiaTech student Affairs: http://www.ucc.vt.edu/lynch/timemanagement.htm

Leeds University. (2012, 10 10). Time Management: Doing More with Less Effort. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Skills Management: http://www.lts.leeds.ac.uk/skills/time_management/presentation.html

Mind Tools. (2012, 10 10). Time Management. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm

Saeed, M. (2012, 10 9). Managing Time and Coping with Pressure. (M. Saeed, Performer) Binks 104, University of Chester, Chester, Cheshire, UK.

Study Guides and Strategies. (2012, 10 10). Time Management. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Study Guides and Strategies: http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm

Trunk, P. (2006, 12 10). 10 tips for time management in a multitasking world. Retrieved 10 10, 2012, from Penelope Trunk: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/12/10/10-tips-for-time-management-in-a-multitasking-world/

Watterstone, W. B. (1994). Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat (First ed.). Riverside, New Jersey, USA: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.

Widen, G. (Writer), & Mulcahy, R. (Director). (1986). Highlander [Motion Picture]. UK: Thorn EMI.

 that was easier than expected, just need to sort out the diagram :-)