GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING TIME AND COPING WITH DEMANDS

(Reporter: Hazel May N. Evangelista, RN)

DEFINITION: Time management refers to a range of skills, tools, and

techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and
goals. This set encompass a wide scope of activities, and these include planning,
allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring,
organizing, and scheduling. Initially time management referred to just business or
work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities
also. A time management system is a designed combination of processes, tools
and techniques

1. Understand the reasons for demands and constraints.

 Understand role expectations.
 Do not assume that everyone agrees with you.
 Try to discover the values and needs underlying a person’s opinions and
preferences.

2. Expand the range of choices.

 Do not focus that much on the demands and constraints.
 Give adequate opportunities to define the job in various ways.

3. Determine what you want to accomplish.

 Use time wisely. Set clear objectives.
 Prioritize your plans and know how to use time in its best way.

4. Analyze how to use your time

 Know how time is actually spent.
 Estimate how much time is spent on different activities.
 Keep a daily log of activities.
 Check if some activities need to be eliminated.

5. Plan daily and weekly activities.

 Make a “To do list” for the day and assign priorities to each activity.
 Use daily and weekly planner.
 Plan ahead. Use calendar of activities.
 Block similar activities.

6. Avoid unnecessary activities.

 Learn how to say “NO” modestly.

7. Conquer procastination.
 Avoid “Manana habit”
 Be confident with your job.
 Set deadlines.

8. Take advantage of reactive activities.

 Use as opportunities some “unscheduled” activities for chances of
discovering problems and information.

9. Make time for reflective planning.

 “Sit back and take a look at the entire picture.”
  Set private times for individual planning.

Characteristics of Absence of Personal Time Management:

 last minute rushes to meet dead-lines

 meetings which are either double booked or achieve nothing
 days which seem somehow to slip unproductively by
 crises which loom unexpected from nowhere. This sort of environment leads
to inordinate stress and degradation of performance
 Overconfidence: techniques which used to work with small projects and
workloads are simply reused with large ones.

Personal Time Management is a set of tools which allow you to:

 eliminate wastage
 be prepared for meetings
 refuse excessive workloads
 monitor project progress
 allocate resource (time) appropriate to a task's importance
 ensure that long term projects are not neglected
 plan each day efficiently
 plan each week effectively

Personal Time Management is a systematic application of common sense strategies.

It requires little effort, yet it promotes efficient work practices by highlighting
wastage and it leads to effective use of time by focusing it on your chosen activities.
Personal Time Management does not solve your problems; it reveals them, and
provides a structure to implement and monitor solutions. It enables you to take
control of your own time - how you use it is then up to you.

Time Management Theories

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs

This is a great theory since it is simple and easy to relate in our everyday life. There are five levels each
describing a state in life. The five levels are often thought of in a pyramid structure. Level 1 is built on level
2 is built on level 3 and so on. Level 5 then is the foundation level.
Maslow explains that you need to fulfill the needs in each level before you progress onto the next.

The pickle jar theory

You should imagine a jar, an empty pickle jar. Actually any type of jar will do but the theory says a pickle
jar. Now imagine placing three big rocks into the jar. The jar becomes full. These rocks represent the big
things that you have to do with your life at the moment. Perhaps they’ll be work, playing with the kid and
doing the garden. Whatever they are they’ll be what‘s taking up most of your time.
However you’ll notice that the jar isn’t really full. Instead there are a few holes between the big rocks. So
imagine now pouring in some smaller pebbles and shaking (carefully) the jar. The small pebbles now fit
between the big stones. These smaller pebbles represent the other smaller things you need to do in life.
They are those things that you need to get through but they don’t take the majority of your time. They
could include getting the kids to bed or making dinner. Each is still substantial but doesn’t take a huge
amount of time.
Next imagine adding sand and water. Again more and more of the gaps are filled. In fact now you’ve
added (well in your imagination) the water the jar should be full. The sand and the water represent all the
other little things that need done in life. These are things that will take only a short time.
The pickle jar now represents your life. The idea of thinking in this way is to ensure that you focus your life
correctly. You should start with the big things you have to do and then gradually move onto the smaller
things. Make sure you have prioritized in the right way.

This one of the time management theories is really about setting priorities. It’s saying that if you focus on
the big stuff the rest will sort itself out.