Developing A Time Investment Strategy - Project Report

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WARMING UP TO THE CONCEPT OF TIME
“Now go on and enjoy yourself, dance to your heart’s content and win the Prince’s
heart. But remember, you have to be back before the clock strikes twelve at
midnight.”
We all are familiar with the words of the Fairy God Mother in the evergreen fairy tale
‘Cinderella’. It’s these words that probably made us aware-for the first time in our
lives-of the value of time. We all sympathized with Cinderella when all her splendid
gown and other finery turned to rags at the stroke of midnight. Our first acquaintance
with the villainous Time!
But then, is time such a villain, who should always be painted in black? We have
heard the proverb that says “there are no wounds that time cannot heal.” Here of
course we get the image of a wizened old woman who comes hobbling up to us with a
pitcher full of balm and gentle fingers that soothe away all our pains and sorrows.
But that’s enough! This project was not made to sing the praises of time. There is no
need of the romance of Cinderella or the soothing finger of an old lady when we are
talking about time. And do you know why? It’s because we do not have the time for it.
We are going to try and understand time in its many faces. No, I was not referring to
the faces of watches or clocks. I was referring to the many meanings that time has. Oh
yes it does! You thought that time meant the same to everyone. Well think again; or
maybe you could try to explain the logic behind the following cases.
Picture a farmer who plants a sapling of a tree that would probably take ten to twelve
years to reach the stage when it would start to bear fruit, by then the farmer would in
likelihood be under the soil himself.
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Picture a jailbird in bird counting on the bars of his cell waiting for the seconds,
minutes, and hours, days, weeks, months and years to go by before he can be free
again.
Now picture a young couple madly in love with each other cherishing the few minutes
they get to spend with each other every day, cursing time because it flies so fast when
they are together and never the other way round.
So what does time mean to you? When was the last time that you realized the value of
time?
The answer is probably the last time you watched one of those Bollywood thrillers in
which the hero is driving a car in which a time-bomb has been planted and the hero is
unaware of this. But we being the getting-to-see-it-all audience watch with bated
breath as the tiny needle of the timer ticks towards the point at which the explosion is
sure to occur.
But just before that, the hero hits the brakes screeches to a halt to avoid hitting that old
lady crossing the road. And when he jumps out to help her cross the road the needle
reaches the point and the bomb is exploded. And our hero is safe. It’s funny how the
hero always escapes without a scratch in these movies. But I expect that’s why they
call them heroes.
Now we are really transgressing aren’t we? So back to our subject that is Time
Management. Do you know what is interesting about the concept of Time? It is
absolutely uncontrollable.
Personally I believe that there is something very humbling about this concept. Just
imagine a man with all his power is just like a helpless babe before time. There it is
Time stands tall and strong before man and man remains vulnerable and weak before
it. Man, the big strong man who tamed rivers and seas, who reached out to the skies
and beyond, who harnessed wind and water and dug up the bowels of the earth is but a
worm before Time.
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The best he can do to win the battle against time is die is hair and use some anti-
wrinkle cream on his face. In fact, the closest that man has got towards conquering
time is those many history books that have been penned; they are of course chronicles
of events that happened long ago and that is certainly not much to boast about.
And so now we come to our subject that is time management because after all the
illustrations given above, I hope that I have made one point clear, that is that Time
cannot be controlled, it can only be managed. And that is what we are going to do. We
are going to learn the art of time management. I don’t want you to have an air of
helplessness. You might begin to feel that if the battle cannot be won, then what is
point in putting up a struggle? Ah, but there you are missing out on a very important
point. In all the illustrations that I used above, I was referring to man in general and
not to one particular Tom, Dick or Harry.
So you can see that this aspect of time is applicable to every human being and there is
no running away from it. Every person has only twenty four hours in a day and no
force on earth can alter that. So in order to get the cutting edge what you have to do is
to be able to manage your time in the most effective way possible. And that is what
Time management is all about. It’s about managing your time effectively and if I may
I would like to add the word efficiently too.
Now, when we talk about our resources, everyone knows that we are referring to the
resources like fossil fuels, forests, mineral wealth, and water bodies and so on. But
surprisingly time is never included in this list. When we talk about non-renewable
resources, fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas top the list. But what about
time? A point that most people tend to forget is that time is the most valuable resource
that we have, and time once lost, is lost forever. We can think about alternate sources
of energy for fossil fuels like electricity, fuel cells, solar energy and the research goes
on. But is there any alternative for time that is lost.
Again I stress on the point that time once lost, is lost forever. And hence we have the
proverb, “time and tide waits for no man.”
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HISTORY OF TIME MANAGEMENT
The idea of time management has been in existence for more than 100 years.
Unfortunately, the term "time management" creates a false impression of what a
person is able to do. Time can neither be managed, nor controlled. We can only
manage ourselves and our use of time.
History of time management dates back to the 6th century AD with the St.
Benedictine Monks who "emphasized and encouraged scheduled activities at all
times." The concept of time efficiency was introduced by Scottish Economist Adam
Smith who developed an assembly line system for factory workers. Benjamin Franklin
is considered by many to be the father of modern time management. He mostly
emphasized on the effective use of time. Franklin carried around a "little black book"
wherever he went, and within it, he wrote about his thirteen virtues. Each night he
would reflect upon the day's activities to judge whether he had lived up to these core
values.
These values were as follows:
• Temperance
• Silence
• Order
• Resolution
• Frugality
• Industry
• Sincerity
• Justice
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• Moderation
• Cleanliness
• Tranquility
• Chastity
• Humility
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UNDERSTANDING TIME MANAGEMENT
“We all have time to either spend or waste and it is our decision what to do with it. But once
passed, it is gone forever.”
- Bruce Lee (“Zen in the Martial Arts” by Joe Hyams)
Every individual on earth has the same amount of time - 60 seconds in a minute; 60
minutes in an hour; 1,440 minutes in a day; and 525,600 minutes in a year. While a
vast majority of people confesses faltering to come to grips with it, extremely few can
claim to have made the most of it. How is it that they have got it all done? It’s because
they have managed a way to figure out how to manage their time effectively.
Time Management is more than just managing time. It is about controlling the use of
the most valuable - and undervalued - resource. It is managing oneself in relation to
time. It is setting priorities and taking charge of the situation and time utilization. It
means changing those habits or activities that cause waste of time. It is being willing
to adopt habits and methods to make maximum use of time.
With good time management skills one is in control of one’s time, stress and energy
levels. One can maintain balance between one’s work and personal life. One finds
enough flexibility to respond to surprises or new opportunities. It is not how much
time one has, but rather the way one uses it. The bottom line is how well one manages
time.
Internationally known authority on time management Dr. Alec Mackenzie in his book
The Time Trap argues that the very idea of time management is a misnomer because
one really cannot manage time in the way other resources can be managed: financial
capital, physical capital, human capital, information and time. While each of the first
four can be augmented, reduced, transferred or otherwise controlled, Time cannot be
manipulated.
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Dr. Mackenzie contends that when it comes to time, one can only manage oneself in
relation to it. One cannot control time as one can control other resources – one can
only control how one uses it. In the world in which we live, time cannot be replaced or
re-created. It is therefore not for us to choose whether we spend or save time but to
choose only how we spend it.
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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TIME
There are several misconceptions which we all have about time. They affect everyone
including those persons who may be considered quite successful and effective. Here
are some of the misconceptions identified by Dr. Mackenzie:
• Time management is simple - all it requires is common sense. While it is

true that the concept is simple, the self-discipline required to practice effective
time management is not easy.
• Work is best performed under pressure. Psychological studies show this to

be no more than an excuse for procrastination. One does not work well under
pressure - only does the best one can under the circumstances. Pressure and
challenge must not be confused. Lara’s performance when the West Indies Team is
in trouble has more to do with application and determination rather than pressure.
• I use a diary, a to-do list and have a secretary to keep me organized. One
has to keep oneself organized - no one can do it for others. The trouble with the
disorganized person is that he hardly has time to listen to his secretary or look at
his diary.
• I do not have the time. The effective worker or manager often gets more work
done in the earlier hours of the morning than most laggards get done in the whole
day. He then no longer has to work against tight deadlines and under stress which
contributes to heart problems and not unusually the ultimate reduction of time on
this earth.
• Time management might be good for some kinds of work but my job is
creative. Time management is not about routine: it is about self-discipline. Lack of
discipline prevents one from being great instead of simply good.
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Time management takes away the fun and freedom of spontaneity. Is working
under stress, forgetting appointments, making constant excuses and apologies to be
fun? Would it not be much more fun if by better organization one had one or two
more hours every day to spend with the family, to play games, read a good book, plan
for tomorrow and the day and week after or just relax?
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WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT SO IMPORTANT?
Time management is a common problem faced by most of us. Oftentimes, when you
are swarmed with multiple tasks at once, it becomes extremely difficult to identify
which ones you must complete first. Too often, people eat up what is supposed to be
their free time to be able to accomplish all pending tasks in time. It takes a considerate
amount of skill in order to manage your time properly. If you are one of these people,
you are usually able to control your time efficiently that you can even finish tasks
ahead of time. Let’s try to analyze the importance of Time Management in different
fields.
Time Management in School/College: Due to more freedom merited to college

students, it can become quite challenging for new (freshman) students to cope with
time management. The liberty to choose your own schedule readily creates a false
notion that they can do whatever they want. On the other hand, it reflects one's
priorities and how you are able to properly appropriate them into your schedule. With
lack of proper time management, a student will have trouble coping up with deadlines
set by professors. Most students would tend to slack off during vacant hours that they
end up accomplishing nothing. If a student has prepared his or her own list of work for
the day, he or she will be able to properly allocate the time spent for extracurricular
activities and assignments.
Time Management at Work: When it comes to your job, proper usage of your time is
more particular. This is because you are paid for the hours of service you render to the
firm. Hence, companies will try to ensure that each hour you spend at the office is
utilized effectively for work. Despite of this, employees still seek out ways to have a
break. If time is not properly managed, employees could easily eat up more time for
their “breaks” than what is actually spent on actual work. Hence, the company ends up
requiring the employee to do overtime work just to finish a project. If the overtime
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rendered is reflected on your paycheck, then good for you. But if not, then you reap
the unpleasant effects of poor time management.
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SYMPTOMS OF POOR TIME MANAGEMENT
Poor time management shows up by way of one or a combination of typical

perceptible symptoms. Managers would do well to look for and reflect on whether
they are subject to any of those symptoms with a view to take necessary corrective
actions.
The following are some of the indicators of poor time management:
• Constant rushing (e.g. between meetings or tasks)
• Frequent delays (e.g. in attending meetings, meeting deadlines)
• Low productivity, energy and motivation (e.g. ‘I can’t seem to get worked
up about anything’)
• Frustration (e.g. ‘Oh, things just don’t move ahead)
• Impatience (e.g. ‘where the hell is that information I’ve asked him for?’)
• Chronic vacillation between alternatives (e.g. ‘whichever option I choose it

is going to put me at a big disadvantage. I don’t know which way to jump’)
• Difficulty setting and achieving goals (e.g. ‘I’m not sure what is expected of
me’)
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WHERE DOES ALL THE TIME GO?
It is quite surprising when you sit and think about where all the time in one day goes.
Twenty four hours is really a lot of time. But on most days it scarcely seems enough.
But this is because of certain misconceptions about time. Let us proceed to carefully
examine where all that time goes and find out if twenty four hours really is. For that I
have listed out certain points which will help you to get a realistic view about how
much time you really have in a day.
Point 1
We do not really get twenty four hours in a day. Maybe it’s because we always talk
about the twenty four hours in a day, we get the feeling that we really do have twenty
four hours to finish our daily business and the fact is that we do not. Assuming that
you hit the sack at least by twelve in the night and taking for granted the fact that you
need at least seven hours of sleep; let me fix your waking time at seven in the
morning.
That means that you have already lost seven hours, which we can deduct from twenty
four, giving us only seventeen waking hours. Waking hours does not mean the hours
you take to wakeup but the hours that you are awake. So let us get that straight, we
have only 17 hours in a day. Now if you think that all those seventeen hours can be
used for productive work, you are wrong again. For this come to the next point.
Point 2
The seventeen waking hours cannot be used completely for productive work. There
are many things that a human being should do in order to continue to live like a
human being and some of these things do take up a lot of time. Now the following list
that I have drawn up is sure to vary from person to person. But I have taken the times
for each action on what I felt to e reasonable times as far as any normal human being
is concerned.
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 Taking a shower.
Most of us take a shower at least once in a day and the time I think we can put down
for that is ten minutes. For those of you cleaner ones who shower twice a day put that
as twenty minutes.
 Answering the call of nature
Oh yes, we are all very cultured people who have the best of manners and upbringing.
We dress ourselves properly and conduct ourselves with the utmost poise. But there
are several times in a day when we have to go back to nature and summing up all
those things we do in the bath room I think a good half hour should be enough.
 Getting ready and tidying ourselves
When we move about in society definitely we have to look our best and adding up all
the minutes that we spend in front of that mirror, we get another ten minutes. For
some people of course, this figure comes up to half an hour. But I think ten minutes is
good enough.
 Eating
We need to eat to live and though I accept the fact that people have different eating
habits and times, I think that and I’m sure doctors will agree with me that a person
needs three meals a day and should take at least ten minutes to ingest a meal and not
just gobble it down. So that makes it 30 minutes for food.
 Time to relax
Please do not raise an argument now. I promise to deal with this bit later on. But right
now I would like to put down one hour as the time to relax, and this includes the time
that you get to yourself for prayer or meditation or just to stare out of your window or
perhaps the few extra minutes that you spend in your bed after waking up, waiting for
the last traces of sleep to go away.
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 Time with family and friends
Please we are human beings, aren’t we? And we certainly cannot get along with our
business of life without chatting a few minutes every now and then with our friends
and the family too. So with your permission, I would like to deduct another hour from
your waking time.
So now what do we have left?
We started off with 17 hours of waking time. And we proceed to add up all the time
that we accounted for in the above mentioned points; let us see how much time we
have left for productive work provided we still want to exist as human beings.
The activities mentioned above would take when put together a good three hours and
twenty minutes. That is 3 hours and 20 minutes. I put it down in both numerals and
words so that you can get a real taste of the figure. Now if we proceed to subtract this
figure from our 17 hours of waking time, what do we get? We are left with just
thirteen hours forty minutes. In figures that is 13 hours 40 minutes. And that is a fact.
That is all that we get. So from now on don’t you think that it would be more realistic
to say that we have just thirteen hours and forty minutes to accomplish a day’s work
and not twenty-four hours. For if we continue to believe that we have twenty four
hours, and then we are in effect deceiving ourselves. But wait there is more to this
story than meets the eye. These crucial hours that we have painstakingly added up are
not really put to constructive use. There are certain things called time waster which
you have to look out for and that is what we are going to deal within our next chapter.
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‘Time Killers’
Till now, we have been harping about how valuable time is and how time lost is time
lost forever and so on. But now we come to a strange concept and that is ‘Time
Killers’. The very word sound like sacrilege doesn’t it? How can one talk about killing
such a valuable resource. But that’s the way the story goes. Thee are a lot of time
killers in this world and what you have to do is that you have to identify these time
killers, look out for them and stay wary of tem. Only then can you put your available
time to the maximum possible use.
The time killers that I have listed below are more or less general. They are things that
most of us encounter. But apart from these, each one of us may have unique time
killers that are particular to our style of living and way of work. Be smart and identify
these killers. When I talk about killers, do not get the impression of masked men
lurking in shadows brandishing guns and knives. The killers that I am referring to are
quite ordinary every day things that we see and use in our lives but often do not
realize how much of our time they take away.
Seven terrible Time Killers

• Telephone calls
• Chatter boxes
• Traffic jams
• Finding parking spaces
• Meetings
• Bad machinery
• Long queues
The list could of course go on. But before we keep adding to the list, I would like to
elaborate on certain of the items listed above.
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How to handle Time Killers
• The funny thing about telephone calls is that these instruments are indeed great
time savers. In fact the amount of time that people get to save thanks to telephones is
stupendous. The problem arises when telephones are not used properly. Most people
do not understand and even if they do they forget that telephones are not to be used for
lengthy conversations. For one thing, another person may be trying to reach you and
there is nothing as exasperating as trying to reach a person over the telephone and
being confronted with a busy tone. So the first thing about a telephone conversation is
that it should be brief.
Another thing about telephones is that most people do not know how to use a
telephone properly. In stead of immediately identifying themselves and asking directly
for the person they want, some people go on playing a lot of “who is speaking” games
once they make a call or answer the telephone.
Now coming to mobile phones there is a lot to be said and done. What should be done
is turn off your cell phone when you are having a conversation or a discussion with
more than one person. As soon as you get a call, you may ask the people you were
talking to excuse yourself but you leave them waiting while you chuckle and giggle
over your phone. Often we tend to give ore importance to the caller than to the person
we were having the discussion with. Again the same rule applies here. Be brief. A
mobile phone is to be used to get an important message across to a person who you
were not able to reach on the land line.
• The next point is about those chatter boxes. Haven’t we all met them?
They simply love the sound of their own voices and once they open their
mouths, there is no stopping them. They waste not only your time but
their time as well. Steer clear of such people. Believe me, it is much
easier to avoid such people than to tell them to shut up and if you get a
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telephone call from such a person, use a caller ID facility or ask your
secretary to divert the call.
• Traffic jams and finding parking spaces. Any one who has lived in the city for at
least a day will know what I am talking about. There is no getting past a traffic jam at
the rush hour. And will someone tell me whit is called the rush hour when that is the
time when the traffic is the slowest.
The only thing you can do is anticipate the traffic jam and leave your home a half hour
or one hour early. But that does not really keep the time killer at bay. It just helps you
to avoid being late. In this respect you have two options. Either you could find
something constructive to do while you wait for the traffic to move along or the traffic
light to change or a better option would be to take subway and walk the rest of the
way. You can get a long a lot faster on your feet and it is a lot better for your health as
well. By doing so, you can also get rid of the headache of finding a parking space.
• Not surprisingly lengthy meetings and discussions can prove to be awful time
killers particularly if the meeting does not have a clear agenda and if there are people
who love top talk among the group. It has been found that most middle and senior
level mangers spend nearly 70% of their work time talking. And in most
organizations, parleying has been made into a fine art.
• Bad machinery is a time waster. How many of us have wanted to
sit and scream and bang the daylights out of a pc that does not
give us the required data or information. A computer that takes
a long time to start up, a photocopier that gives shamefully faint
photocopies, even a leaky faucet or a stubborn drawer or door
knob can waste a lot of time and send us up the wall. If you
have such equipment or machinery, get it changed at the earliest
possible date. It is worth the amount of time and energy that
you waste on it every day.
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• Long queues certainly waste a lot of time. That does not mean that you have to
jump the queue. If you can get the job done over the telephone or can reserve your
ticket in advance, do it, even if it means a few extra dollars, it is worth the time you
may have to spend waiting.
Apart from these each person may have particular time wasters, like for instance, a car
that refuses to start in the morning, difficult hair that insists on looking like Medusas
head on a bad snake day, an elevator that takes forever to reach your floor. Use your
common sense and try to find alternate methods or even better, if you cannot find an
alternate method, you could put the time to some use like read your morning paper in
the elevator.
You will get a better idea of how to get over time killers once we handle the section
called the time savers.
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Lining Up Your Ducks: Prioritize!
“Lining up your ducks” is a familiar and charming phrase. It derives from the
tendency of baby ducklings to swim in a perfectly straight line behind their mother. If
the ducklings begin to stray too far, the mother duck will invariably “shepherd” them
back into line—thus, “getting her ducks in a row.”
The application of this phrase to time management is clear. If you deal with things in a
logical, orderly sequence, you’re sure to bring efficiency and results to your efforts.
When your “ducks” begin to stray too far afield, danger is lurking—for them and for
you.
Let’s face it. 24 hours in a day is not enough time for many people to do everything in
their schedule. It is therefore imperative that people perform their activities in the
order of priority. Time management experts like Stephen Covey S R (The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People; Simon & Schuster) have developed a model called
a time management matrix.
This model enables managers to prioritize their activities and use their time more
effectively. With the help of the model, they can evaluate their activities in terms of
importance and urgency.
The art of prioritizing covers 4 major task groups:
1. Important and Urgent
2. Not Important but Urgent
3. Not Urgent but Important
4. Not Important and Not Urgent
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TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX
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Important and Urgent
Quadrant 1 represents things which are both urgent and important – labeled
“firefighting”. The activities need to be dealt with immediately, and they are
important.
These tasks are the ones that must be done right away, or consequences may result.
An example would be bills that are due today. If you don’t pay your bills on time, you
would incur additional charges or they might cut off their services to you. Activities
belonging to this category need to be acted upon without delay. You should give them
the highest priority.
Important but Not Urgent
Quadrant 2 represents things which are important, but not urgent - labelled “Quality
Time”. Although the activities here are important, and contribute to achieving the
goals and priorities - they do not have to be done right now. As a result, they can be
scheduled when they can be given quality thought to them.
A good example would be the preparation of an important talk, or mentoring a key

individual. Prayer time, family time and personal relaxation/recreation are also part of
Quadrant 2.
Urgent but Not Important
Quadrant 3 represents distractions. They must be dealt with right now, but frankly, are
not important. For example, when a person answers an unwanted phone call, - he/she
has had to interrupt whatever he/she is doing to answer it.
Not Important and Not Urgent
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Quadrant 4 represents Time Wasting. You might think activities in this section are not
worth people’s time, so they won’t engage in these activities much. You would be
surprised to know that people spend most of their time doing things that are both
unimportant and non-urgent, such as watching TV and movies, playing video games,
senseless chatting for hours on the phone, shopping for new clothes, etc.
Of course, it is essential for people to relax and unwind once in a while.
”All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” as they say. But you should be strict in
limiting your time for these activities; that is, if you really want to accomplish a lot in
your life.
Treat activities belonging to this section with the lowest priority. If you really want to
succeed, strictly limit your time in doing these activities or don’t do them at all. Focus
on those that will bring you fruitful results.
Numbered Priority Tactic
Here’s one of the most powerful techniques that you can use to manage your time
efficiently – the Numbered Priority Tactic.
Buy a very small notebook that you can put in your pocket. You should be able to
bring it anywhere you go. At the front page of the notebook, put the title: Important
and Urgent. At the back page, put the title: Important but Not Urgent.
If an idea or event you encounter is Urgent but Not Important, then forget it. You
want to utilize your time well, won’t you? If you think it’s significant in some way,
then you may put it under Important and Urgent. Ignore Not Important and Not
Urgent tasks.
Every time something comes up during your daily work or on your mind, put it in the
appropriate page of your little notebook. So let’s say your boss told you to submit a
report due tomorrow. Write it down on your notebook under Important and Urgent.
Then your friend told you that there’s a big 2-day sale at the downtown furniture store.
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You may put it under Important and Urgent if you simply must have that furniture
you’re drooling for months. But if you think your house would do fine without it, then
don’t write it anymore. As you’re walking down the street you suddenly thought of a
great new idea for your part-time business. You may put it under Important but Not
Urgent.
As the day goes on, write down each and every idea, thought, or event that comes to
your mind. As the list increases in each category, examine each of them carefully and
start numbering each item in the order of priority - with 1 being the highest priority.
Start working on Number 1, and never go to Number 2 until you’re done with Number
1 for each category. If distractions come about, you may take care of them first but
always come back to your numbered list when you’re done.
Because priorities may change, you may switch or change the numbers of the items in
the list. You may also transfer one item from Important and Urgent to Important
but Not Urgent, and vice-versa. When you do any changes, make sure your notebook
stays clean. Transfer your writings to a new page when you see that it’s getting untidy.
Start off with a new page every day.
This method can enable you to achieve more in one week than what most people can
accomplish in a month. The important thing you must do is to buy that little notebook
and to start doing this super tactic right now! Time is running fast.
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Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Rule
It was developed in the 19th century. The principle states that 80 percent of our
unfocused effort generates only 20 percent of our end results, and that 80 percent of
our results are achieved from 20 percent of the overall energy expended. Many
students and professionals spend the day in a frenzy of activity, but achieve very little
of their desired results because they are not concentrating on the right things. In the
1950s, the focus was on the manager and his organization skills. Later in that decade,
James McKay authored the first book on time management.
Stephen R. Covey describes the first generation of modern time management

techniques as notes and checklist reminders. The second generation focused on
planning and preparation through the use of calendars and appointment books. The
third generation was committed to "planning, prioritizing and controlling." Once
again, these techniques were not working. Covey describes several myth of third
generation time management and its ideals of the following:
• Planning for efficiency
• Personal values' prioritization
• Controlling other people
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ABC System
Alan Lakein developed the “ABC technique.” This approach uses letters to prioritize
what is truly important to the individual. In labeling a task as A, B or C, the individual
is actually categorizing these tasks as short-term, intermediate or long-range goals.
This system can be taken one step further by assigning numerical rank to each task.
For example, A-1 is the most important task and A-2 is secondary to A-1. The ABC
technique of prioritization was limited because "A" list priorities may be confused
with urgency more often than true importance. Some "B" and "C" ranked priorities
may actually be more important, but not as urgent.
Covey has developed another prioritization technique that deals with the problem of
importance versus urgency. In the later half of this century, time management
instruments and instruction has blossomed into a sophisticated business. The
professional is left to a personal search for those instruments that will be the most
effective and efficient for his or her lifestyle. The professional who does not use time
management skills may risk missing appointments and due dates of assignments. No
good excuses can be given for being lazy in this area, as the professional is expected
to be organized, finish tasks at assigned times, and be able to use time management
principles to lead others.
Setting goals with balance in mind, planning ahead, and working on tasks that are
important but not urgent can help alleviate many crises of life that the professional
may otherwise encounter.
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Time Savers
Everything in this world has something to balance its existence. If there is white, there
is black; if there is darkness there is light, if there are time wasters, there are time
savers. So now let us focus our attention towards those time savers because they are
our best friends when we talk about Time Management. These are hereby few general
examples of time savers. They are by no means the only time savers in the world.
The Top Ten Time Savers
• Telephones
• Computers
• Elevators
• Fax Machines
• The Internet
• Coffee Machines
• Bulletin or Notice Boards
• Photo Copiers
• Efficient Filing Systems
• Good Secretaries and Junior Staff
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Let’s take a quick look at all these.
• Telephones.
Surprise! Surprise! I had included telephones under the list of time killers but
telephones are in fact one of the best time savers that man has invented. Just imagine
the amount of time you get to save by just making a telephone call!
Suppose you are to have a business lunch (sometimes called a working lunch) with an
important client. Obviously you have to reserve a table in your favorite restaurant.
Now, imagine you have to go there in person and get things done directly. The task
would easily take away at least two or three hours of your time when you take into
account the journey, the traffic and all that. On the other hand, this is something you
can easily do over the telephone while you are comfortably seated in your office.
So telephones are certainly one of the best time savers in this world. But of course, it
all depends on how you use the telephone.
• Computers
I don’t think that enough can be said about the time saving roles of the computer. But
then I don’t think that I have to say much. I suppose every one will agree that
computers are indeed time-saving machines.
• Elevators
Next we come to elevators and elevators too we know save a lot of time that we would
other wise have to spend plodding up flights and flights of steps. Elevators save not
just time but energy as well. But one annoying thing about elevators is that sometimes
even f we punch the button repeatedly, the elevator takes for ever to reach or floor.
Now, if you just have to go two or three floors up or down in such cases it is always
better to take the stairs instead of waiting ten or fifteen minutes for the elevator to
come to your floor. It’s better for your health too, top climb a few stairs every day.
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• Fax machines
Like telephones, fax machines too save a lot of time by enabling us to send important
documents across continents if needed and that too within a few seconds.
• The Internet
It goes without saying that the internet has revolutionized our concept of time itself.
With facilities like email, scanners, voicemail and video conferencing, even the fax
machine has become outdated. Talk about fast…
• Coffee machines.
I did it on purpose. When people see that a coffee machine has been included among
the list of time savers, they tend to screw up their noses and raise their eyebrows. But
would you believe that earlier, before coffee machines had made their presence felt in
offices, people used to take coffee breaks that lasted up to half an hour?
• Bulletin or Notice Boards

Bulletin and Notice Boards are very time effective way of reaching out to a large
number of people. Instead of conducting one of those long meetings in which every
one gets a chance to go on and on, it’s is bets to convey messages with the help of
notice boards and bulletins which can be displayed at a place accessible to all. Oh yes,
then comes the question of how to make sure that the message is read by all those
concerned.
Simple, include space on the notice where the concerned people can put down their
initials as proof that they have read the message.
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• Photocopiers
Often we tend to underestimate the importance of photocopiers in an office. Those
machines just sit there and take copies of what is fed into them all day long. It does
seem like a job which does not require any brains. And that is why we do not give
these machines any credit. But once these machines fail, we understand their worth.
Of course we can take multiple prints using a printer, but cost wise and time wise a
photocopier is much better. It is really faster than a printer and it costs nothing to take
copies.
• Efficient Filing Systems

This had already been dealt with under office organization, but I just want to add that
a good system of filing definitely saves a lot of time. Being able to find an important
document or file should not be a matter of luck. There should be a proper place to
keep the files something which people call a cabinet. And the files should be kept in a
proper order with easy to read and intelligible name tags and labels. And in the files,
the documents should not be filed in a haphazard order but should have an order that
makes it easy to locate a paper.
The same thing applies to the files you have on your computer, you should name the
files properly and not use abbreviation that could stand for anything. People tend to
try and save time by using abbreviations which sound quite ridiculous once they
forget what it really stands for.
• Good Secretaries and Junior Staff

Good secretaries are always an asset to an office. If your secretary is as dependable as
a screen saver, then half the battle is won. But on the other hand if your secretary is as
feather brained as a hen, then heaven help you! The advantage of having good
secretaries and junior staff is that you can delegate a lot of things to them.
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I told you earlier that it is not always necessary that you do everything by yourself.
You should be able to delegate a lot of things, but first of course you have to be sure
that the people you are delegating to do something are good enough.
Once you are able to share your work load with someone, you will have at least one
hand free, and I am sure you will be able to put that hand to some good use.
Now, over here I have just highlighted ten time savers. It would be a good idea for
you to look around and identify things that could save your time. Answering machines
for one save a lot of time. If you really are too busy to attend your calls, let the
machine do the talking for you.
In this context I think it would be appropriate to talk about one thing that most people
often go wrong with in their quest to save time, and that is trying to do two things at
the same time.
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ADVANTAGES OF TIME MANAGEMENT
Having a job can be a stressful activity. Most people lose a lot of time just trying to
think about their job. Too often, your job consumes you that it becomes a part of your
everyday life and you tend to lose priorities on other activities. However, all of these
are due to improper management of time. The problems without proper time
management, you could be facing a lot of stress. You have to remember that
productivity does not just mean doing several things. You need to create a balance in
these activities and make sure each is properly done. When you have so many things
to consider, you are very much likely going to fail in meeting your deadline or you
can schedule more than one meeting at the same time. This could lead to lower
efficiency and lots of time wasted. Although you might not lose your job in the
process, you could easily forsake other aspects of your life.
The remedy Time management can help prevent such events from happening. This is
because you won’t have to worry about things when you schedule your events
properly. You get a lot of stress relief and a lot of time to prioritize your life.
However, successful time management is quite tricky. You have to incorporate a little
self-discipline in order to set up your events properly. You also have to be more
flexible with your goals and priorities. These prerequisites are easy to attain. You just
have to learn the basic concepts in order to set things in motion.
Proper time management creates a few of the most powerful advantages within and
outside your job sphere. Since all these problems stem from stress, the main advantage
of time management is the reduction of stress. You probably have experienced
chasing deadlines or suddenly realizing that you set up two meetings on the same date.
You can prevent such scenario from happening if you practice clear time management
plan and a timetable for your activities. By having a clear plan, you give yourself the
chance to set up a great schedule that suits your planned activities both in and out of
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the job. Furthermore, you avoid compromising the most important aspect of all your
activities: your health.
Another good thing about having a successful time management program is having a
higher chance of completing everything on time. When you miss a deadline, you fall
out of favor with your boss. This leads to additional pressure to complete other tasks
and even to outdo your other officemates. This leads to a lot of unnecessary pressure
that may cause you to extend your work outside the office just to keep up. It might
even mean that you will bring your work to the dinner table. And the worse that could
happen, you get so stressed out that you pass on the stress to your family members.
The sooner you complete your tasks, the more you free yourself of all the stress.
The best thing about time management is that you get the chance to live your life on a
proper routine. Your working schedule is not swamped and so you can leave enough
time for relaxing and having fun. And despite of your hectic schedule, never forget to
take a break from time to time as it helps you become more productive.
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AVOID THE “KISS OF YES”
The idea might sound strange but avoiding the “kiss of yes” i.e. being able to say ‘no’
is fundamental to any scheme of Time Management.
Yes you have the master plan for time management, you have everything worked out,
you have a time table which you stick to religiously, and you have a ‘to do’ list as
well. But just when things are beginning to work out fine, a colleague or friend comes
your way and asks you to help them out by doing certain jobs which are really their
jobs.
The person smiles very sweetly at you and showers sugar coated words on you, and
before you even know what hit you, you have said yes and agreed to do the work for
the person. Now what is the relevance of your well thought out timetable? Where is
your scheme for time management? Your work is waiting in the pantry while you are
sweating over somebody else’s work. And it’s because of the simple reason that you
could not say no to the person. How many times have you had a similar experience?
I’m not saying that you should not be civil. If you find a colleague in distress and have
the time to spare, by all means help the person. Who knows, tomorrow you might be
in that persons position and you may need somebody’s help.
But that does not mean that you should let yourself be taken for a ride. If you are
going to help a person at the expense of your work and schedule, then you are going to
end up in hot water. It is human nature to shirk work and if word gets around that you
are a very helpful guy (read that as s-u-c-k-e-r) then before you know it, requests for
help will be coming from all sides.
Unless you want to take up from where Mother Theresa left off, you had better put
your foot down and say “sorry boss, but I just don’t have the time.” Behave like a
diplomat who is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a nice manner that you
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will actually start looking forward to the trip. One more definition is that a diplomat is
a person who can say the nastiest things in the nicest way.
So that is just what you have to do. Done the mask of the diplomat and the next time
someone approaches you with sugar coated requests to help them out, smile back at
them. Give them a sugary sickly sweet smile. So much that anyone in their normal
senses would want to throw up at the sight of your smile.
Then you could try telling them how much you love them. Extol at length what you
think of the person and your relationship with him or her. And then tell them that what
you are going to say is going to be a life long sorrow for you. It is something that will
plunge you into the depths of despair and all that. And then put it painfully across,
“no, I’m terribly sorry but N-O.”
And then when the person leaves your presence with a crest fallen face, wait till he or
she is out of hearing range and then you can start that war dance. Or if you want you
could try the hoola hoola.
Common face the facts, in today’s world of cut throat competition your very existence
may depend on your ability to say “no.”
And its miles better being a selfish pig than a sucker.
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PROCRASTINATION – THE ULTIMATE THIEF
Everyone does it. Everyone feels guilty when they do it and everyone resolves never
to do it again. But they do. Everyone procrastinates. Procrastination—the cat burglar
of time management—steals into your life and whisks away one of the most valuable
assets you possess.
Procrastination can be a thoroughly amusing concept, indeed. But, as with all things
humorous, there are some underlying deep and darker forces. At the root of
procrastination, argue psychologists, almost always lurks some hidden fear or conflict
that urges us to put things off. A person may be obliged to achieve certain results, but
a multitude of opposing emotions serves to short-circuit action. Although the
procrastinator may act as if the threat, fear, or conflict is gone, it’s till there—both in
the real world and in the person’s subconscious—where it generates stress and,
ultimately, corrodes success.
Time management experts have identified the eight most typical causes of
procrastination, shown in Figure
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Internal Forces
Note that four of the causes (those in the shaded boxes) are primarily inner rooted.
They arise, for the most part, from the procrastinator’s psyche. When we have certain
tendencies or personality traits, they can manifest themselves in very different
situations. If, for example, you tend to fear failure and you procrastinate largely for
that reason, you’ll procrastinate on any task at which you might fear that you’ll fail.
External Forces
Even if you usually don’t procrastinate, your environment can impose procrastination
on you. The above Figure gives, in the clear unshaded boxes, the four typical external
reasons for procrastination.
This is not to say that psychological reasons aren’t involved. There must be some. But
unpleasant or overwhelming tasks—and unclear goals or task flow—are enough to
make anyone want to postpone the inevitable.
Fighting the Forces
Internal causes for procrastination are more difficult to attack than external ones, but
once psychological obstacles are conquered, they’re conquered for all tasks. If you
procrastinate because of a fear of change, that fear will color many different kinds of
tasks. Once you conquer this fear, you’ll be able to approach most tasks with renewed
energy. While a single internal cause can make you procrastinate on many tasks,
external causes for procrastination tend to be task specific.
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So, if you’re putting off doing something for an external cause, you can cope with that
cause and stop procrastinating— but that victory probably won’t help you with other
external causes that are making you procrastinate on other tasks.
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TIME & STRESS MANAGEMENT
Most losses incurred by companies are due to a lack of sound time management
program. Then, it leads to high levels of stress in the work force because employees
are pressured and forced to extend working hours just to meet the company's quota.
Indeed, there is a need to chase deadlines and attend double meetings. However, there
is a way to remedy all that. There is no overnight solution to this type of problem.
What you need is a slow and steady approach until you have perfected your
scheduling needs until you are able to work free of any time-related stress.
Time management is a very important aspect of any business. In fact, most time
management procedures even entail stress management as these two usually goes
hand in hand. You might notice that levels of stress drop when you do not have to deal
with several meetings and deadlines. It also means that you will be able to live out
your life outside of the business sphere. Hence, it creates a more positive and holistic
outlook. Stress is crucial because it can tend to make things more complicated.
Productivity levels of employees are affected by their time management planning and
workload. Hence, if you are able to manage your time properly, you can allow your
employees to tend to stress relief activities. Aside from increasing their potential, it
allows for a tighter bond amongst fellow employees and superiors. That is how it can
impact team building factor.
Any successful time management training program begins with setting up a workable
timetable that you and your employees can work with. It comes in a very
comprehensive package that allows both manager and employee to meet halfway. Any
company that undergoes training will have the capacity to teach employees how to
manage time. This means that unnecessary distractions can be avoided. These efforts
extend far beyond ensuring a thriving business but also consider one of the most
important aspects in any venture, and that is your health. This kind of training focuses
on increasing the amount of control and focus the company has over its goals and
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methods. This means that when you allow improvements to go into the necessary
sectors of your business, you are able to increase your efficiency. Therefore, this kind
of training strengthens the employees' ability to assess the situation and pick out
assignments that can help them increase productivity levels. Delegation of tasks is
also addressed in such training. This is because managers sometimes think that
employees are better at handling manual activities such as photocopying and sending.
However, managers need to know that delegation of tasks is a huge risk. Some tasks
are better done by the manager rather than passing them down to subordinates. Aside
from being time-efficient, it saves a lot of energy and allows for a more productive
workplace. The problem one basic misconception about time management is that it
allows no time for break or relaxation. In fact, when you properly manage your time,
you get the exact opposite. It allows the individual more time to relax because he or
she will be able to set aside time for work and other activities. Hence, any problem
encountered in the workplace does not carry over to your personal lives. Therefore,
you have successfully kept your business and other aspects of your life separate, as
they should be.
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TIME MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS
In today's world, we face a lot of distractions every day. The case is especially tough
for a typical student who is struggling to create a balance between school and other
societal factors that contribute to becoming a holistic individual. Therefore, today's
young generation is slowly losing their sense of time management. The dilemma lies
in sifting through all these factors and setting their priorities. Without proper time
management, a student could indeed fall behind and live an imbalanced life.
1.) Balance between Work, Study and Life Contrary to popular belief, time
management works simply. However, the hard part is being able to practice it and
implant it within your subconscious to make it seem natural. For a student, he or she
must be able to classify time allotted for classes, working, studying, and partying. If
you do not have a clear sense of what to do with your time, it is easy to go along with
the flow and that is where poor time management all begins. A student must be able to
differentiate the various aspects of your student life, so there is always a separate time
for everything. For instance, you have an upcoming quiz or exam, you must learn to
cut down or eliminate partying from your schedule to allot more time for study.
Indeed, for this method to be a success one must need only common sense. However,
some people tend to overestimate their capacity to manage their time. Hence, they end
up consuming more time doing one task that they have none left for the other. Learn
how to adjust your schedule so you won't end up stressing out just trying to make up
for lost time. If you have to, write down your schedule so you can keep track of where
you need to be at a certain time.
2.) Time Portioning Students might initially find doing school assignments and work
projects boring and stressful. However, you can opt to divide the larger tasks into
small, more manageable, tasks. That way, you won't find yourself eating up several
hours of your time just trying to complete one task. Another benefit for doing this is
that you'd be able to allocate these smaller tasks into smaller time schedules that
would have a definite start and end. Once you have completed those smaller tasks, you
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can move on to other tasks. Hence, it eliminates the boring factor as you continually
alter your schedule instead of being stuck on one for hours.
3.) Reward For Managing Your Time When you manage your time as a student, you
can get some more free time to spare as rewards so you have more time to go to
parties or just have a bit of fun. Remember that all work and no play would make a
student very dull.
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TIME MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES FOR STUDENTS
As a student, there are some basic principles of time management that you can apply.
These are as follows:
1. Identify "Best Time" for Studying
Everyone has high and low periods of attention and concentration. Are you a
"morning person" or a "night person?" Use your power times to study while the down
times for routines such as laundry etc.
2. Study Difficult Subjects First
When you are fresh, you can process information more quickly and save time as a
result.
3. Use Distributed Learning and Practice
Study in shorter time blocks with short breaks between. This keeps you from getting
fatigued and "wasting time." This type of studying is efficient because while you are
taking a break, the brain is still processing the information.
4. Make Sure the Surroundings are Conducive to Studying
This will allow you to reduce distractions which can "waste time." If there are times in
the hostel halls or your apartment when you know there will be noise and commotion,
use that time for mindless tasks.
5. Make Room for Entertainment and Relaxation
College is more than studying. You need to have a social life. Yet, you also need to
have a balance in your life.
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6. Make Sure you have Time to Sleep and Eat Properly
Sleep is often an activity (or lack of activity) that students use as time management
"bank." When you need a few extra hours for studying or socializing, you withdraw a
few hours of sleep. Doing this makes the time you spend studying less effective
because you will need a couple hours of clock time to get an hour of productive time.
This is not a good way to manage you in relation to time.
7. Figure out where Time is hidden
These instances may include the following:
• Sitting in a waiting room
• Waiting to pick someone up
• Riding in the bus
• Stuck in traffic in the car/on your commute (listen to tapes you have made, foreign
language tapes, lectures etc)
• Waiting in line
• Doing laundry
• Between classes
Take advantage of quick breaks and hidden time in the following manner:
• Re-read directions/questions for your next paper or assignment
• Survey the next reading assignment
• Read one section of a reading assignment
• List the main points of what you just read, or of the lecture you just heard
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• List today's “to do” items
• Write out some questions to ask in class
Time management helps to avoid the following:
1. The syndrome of having several major tasks to do all in the same night, and failing
to do any of them.
2. Self-incarceration-- Do not be a prisoner to your own procrastination, inefficiency

or laziness.
3. Being chronically late-- Are you always the last one to class? How does this impact
your classroom experience? How are things different when you show up on time or
early for class?
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TIME MANAGEMENT FOR PARENTS
For new parents, they face a common dilemma of making that much needed
transition. If you do have work, you also need to juggle that along with your priorities
in the family. You can probably easily manage the time at the office but the real
challenge lies in organizing your household such as sending or picking the kids up at
school, preparing dinner, or cleaning up the house. If not managed well, these tasks
can prove stressful. When you have kids for the first time, it is only natural to suffer
from jitters especially with a new setup. However, the solution to this is simple. You
just have to cope with your situation since it is only through experience that you'd be
able to find a better approach to family life. But here are proven and trusted solutions
that any parent might find useful.
Setting Priorities
Learning how to properly set priorities is among the most important skill that every
parent, whether new or not, must practice especially for the working ones. The key
here is to recognize the difference in schedule as compared to when you were on your
own now that you have your kids as your main obligation. Then, you can make the
appropriate changes. You must be able to determine which your top priority is: is
it your kids or your work? You have to remember that your decisions have trade-offs,
therefore you would have to identify which of them has the least tradeoff.
An additional tip that you can employ, you can also try setting up a “to-do” list for
your set of activities within a day. That way, you can easily update what priorities you
need to focus one.
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Delegating other Duties
When it comes to work at home, it is usually the wives' responsibility to handle them.
However, wives must not carry the sole burden of looking after the entire house.
Instead, you can delegate other duties to your husband so you can have equal share of
the workload at home.
If your husband is not acquainted with domestic chores, this is the best time to get
him started. You can divide the chores at home such as washing the dishes, doing the
laundry, or cleaning up the house. If not, then you can have him take care of the kids
while you finish up on some chores.
More than being able to accomplish the chores faster, it forms a bond and creates a
healthier working relationship between both of you as parents. If your kids are old
enough, you can even ask them to help you out with the tasks at home. You can start
with training them to fix their beds or clean up their rooms, as well as putting their
dirty clothes into the laundry basket.
Aside from the help they can provide you in maintaining your home, it also teaches
them how to be responsible. Planning out in Advance what you have to do for
mothers, it is best to plan ahead what you have set out to do for the following day.
Among these things is creating a menu ahead of time. Therefore, when it is time to
prepare lunch or dinner for the family, you already have an idea what to cook for
them. By creating a weekly menu, you increase your efficiency. After all, who has the
time and energy to spend wondering about what to cook for dinner after an exhausting
day at the office? Delegate
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Proper Time for Shopping
When it comes to going out with your family, you need to also plan ahead your
itinerary. This will help you prepare the things you will bring with you ahead and
figure out if you have missed anything. Enough preparation will ensure that you will
have all the things you need for this day off with the family. As for shopping, there are
a few simple tips that any mother would find useful.
Shopping at the grocery usually takes a lot of time. Hence, you need to produce a list
of the essential items you need to pick up. Not only will this help make shopping
faster, but will also make sure that you do not forget anything. Or else you would eat
up more time since you have to return to get the items you've missed. For parents,
time management usually entails mere common sense. And when you have properly
set your priorities, you are good to go.
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TIME MANAGEMENT TRAINING
People nowadays need to get a lot of things done especially with regards to their job.
However, they tend to lose track of a lot of events and end up incurring losses in time.
The problem is that these losses are unnecessary and are therefore not advisable if you
have a job. At its core, the problem is in terms of poor time management.
How many times have you faced the dilemma of having too many meetings in one day
or trying to beat an impossible deadline? And the worse thing is, you get too stressed
out that it overflows into your personal life. You manage to rub off that stress onto
your family members and that is when it becomes unhealthy. The key to solving such
problems is a proper time management program. With it, you can help yourself avoid
unnecessary risks when it comes to your job. It may even help prevent losses outside
of the job. The program although it rests on a simple concept, time management is a
lot more complicated than it seem. There are special training programs that you have
to undergo in order to avail of the full benefits of proper time management. It is not
enough that you understand the basic concepts of time management. You also need to
know how to apply them so everything you've planned on doing won't end up a
disaster. If not, then you could easily wind up committing more mistakes as you don't
know the limitations of the basic concept. That is what time management training is
for. It allows you to have a better grasp with regards to time management. Then you
will know what kind of timetable you need to have in order to maximize productivity
levels within and outside of your job sphere.
Hence, there are trainings for time management. The benefits most people fail to
realize that the major cause of losses in terms of productivity and efficiency at work is
because of stress. On the other hand, stress is a result of the worries over matters
related to one's job. Therefore, stress is your biggest adversary in all of these. Time
management training gives you a chance to know what level of stress you are capable
of handling. Hence, it allows you to determine what type of job you should accept.
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When you are aware of all these, you will be able to stay within your optimum
productivity and efficiency levels without compromising your work schedule. Time
management training helps individuals manage stress. When you are able to manage
your level of stress, you will also be able to lessen whatever losses you might incur
during difficult times.
This is of utmost importance because in order to stay competitive, you have to keep
your productivity level at a maximum. This not only applies to your professional life
though but also with your personal life. When you undergo this training, you will have
a clearer idea on how to create an effective timetable and time management program
on your own.
Hence, you can determine whether to accept or defer calls for help from your
officemates. This will have its own implication in terms of the working relationship
within your workplace. This will allow each member of the team to boost their
efficiency levels with their individual tasks. Focus is one of the most important
lessons you will learn with the training program. It allows people to assess which part
of their lives to focus on at different times. This means that it allows individuals to
live a full and healthy life despite being in a stressful, or rather busy, job. The biggest
gain you can take away with you by undergoing this kind of training is the emphasis
on producing efficient work at your job. You cannot be efficient if you do not know
your own limitations. You can easily overwork yourself, but that does not
automatically mean you are being productive. Therefore, you need to practice such a
program in order to gain maximum benefit from your job.
Page | 50
CONCLUSION
Now that we have come towards the end of the project we have realized that how our
time gets wasted because we never thought of managing time in an effective manner.
It is said that time and tide waits for none so our attempts would be to make the best
use of time and prevent others from wasting our time too. This chapter winds up all
our observations on time management in this project. It summarizes as to what causes
us to waste our time and suggests solutions to save time as much as possible. It also
offers tips to make the best use of time. As with all the precious resources, time is a
scarce resource. The wisdom lies in making the most of it.
Page | 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books Referred
Time Trap (1997), Mackenzie R. Alec, AMACOM Books.
Time Management (2003), Marc Mancini, McGraw – Hill.
The 26 – Hour Day (2001), Vince Panella, Career Press
Time Investment Strategy, Dr. Terry Paulson
70 Minute Hour, Dr. Jim Henning
Personal Time Management, Marion Haynes, Course Technology
Time Management for Students (2003), Brian Poser
Websites Referred
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au
http://www.infarbor.com/timemanagement/
http://www.instantstressmanagement.com
http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/lsp
www.randypausch.com
http://HREra.com
www.citehr.com
http://www.scribd.com
Page | 52

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WARMING UP TO THE CONCEPT OF TIME

HISTORY OF TIME MANAGEMENT

These values were as follows:

UNDERSTANDING TIME MANAGEMENT

- Bruce Lee (“Zen in the Martial Arts” by Joe Hyams)

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TIME

• Time management is simple - all it requires is common sense. While it is

• Work is best performed under pressure. Psychological studies show this to

WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT SO IMPORTANT?

Time Management in School/College: Due to more freedom merited to college

SYMPTOMS OF POOR TIME MANAGEMENT

Poor time management shows up by way of one or a combination of typical

The following are some of the indicators of poor time management:

• Constant rushing (e.g. between meetings or tasks)

• Frequent delays (e.g. in attending meetings, meeting deadlines)

• Frustration (e.g. ‘Oh, things just don’t move ahead)

• Chronic vacillation between alternatives (e.g. ‘whichever option I choose it

WHERE DOES ALL THE TIME GO?

 Answering the call of nature

 Getting ready and tidying ourselves

 Time with family and friends

So now what do we have left?

Seven terrible Time Killers

How to handle Time Killers

• Bad machinery is a time waster. How many of us have wanted to

Lining Up Your Ducks: Prioritize!

The art of prioritizing covers 4 major task groups:

1. Important and Urgent

2. Not Important but Urgent

3. Not Urgent but Important

4. Not Important and Not Urgent

TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX

Important and Urgent

Important but Not Urgent

A good example would be the preparation of an important talk, or mentoring a key

Urgent but Not Important

Not Important and Not Urgent

Of course, it is essential for people to relax and unwind once in a while.

Numbered Priority Tactic

Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Rule

Stephen R. Covey describes the first generation of modern time management

• Planning for efficiency

• Personal values' prioritization

• Controlling other people

The Top Ten Time Savers

Let’s take a quick look at all these.

• Bulletin or Notice Boards

• Efficient Filing Systems

• Good Secretaries and Junior Staff

ADVANTAGES OF TIME MANAGEMENT

AVOID THE “KISS OF YES”

And its miles better being a selfish pig than a sucker.

PROCRASTINATION – THE ULTIMATE THIEF

Fighting the Forces

TIME & STRESS MANAGEMENT

TIME MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS

TIME MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES FOR STUDENTS

1. Identify "Best Time" for Studying

2. Study Difficult Subjects First

3. Use Distributed Learning and Practice

4. Make Sure the Surroundings are Conducive to Studying

5. Make Room for Entertainment and Relaxation