Explore: The difference between “important” and “urgent”, and how to deal with each The “time stealers” – what they are and how to avoid them What is “quality time” and how you can create it Dealing with the e-mail mountain – the 4 Ds

1. Planning, prioritising and
efficiency
Facilitated by Ian J Seath
V2

2. Today’s workshop…
Learning objectives:
• To enable participants to become more proactive and use a
range of techniques to prioritise, plan and control workloads
more effectively
• To commit to a personal improvement action plan
Explore:
• The difference between “important” and “urgent”, and how to
deal with each
• The “time stealers” – what they are and how to avoid them
• What is “quality time” and how you can create it
• Dealing with the e-mail mountain – the 4 Ds

3. Let’s talk about time…
 The Earth has been
in existence ~4.54
billion years.
 The Human Race
(as we know it) has
existed for about 5
million years
 If one hour
represents the
earth‟s existence,
we have been
around for 6
seconds!

4. Let’s talk about time…
 A year on Pluto lasts
247.7 earth years
 An Earth year lasts
365.26 days
 An Earth day lasts
23 hours, 56
minutes, 4091
seconds
 How long is a working
day?
 How effectively do we
use our working day?
 Could we use our
working time better by
working smarter?

5. Think small and the results could be big
A 10% improvement in your use of time could free 6
minutes in every hour…
= 45 minutes a day
= 3.75 hours or
half a day per week
45 MINUTES PER DAY 3.75 HOURS A WEEK

6. A minute of your time costs…
 9 pence per £10k of salary (excluding
NI/PAYE)
 Assuming 37.5 hours/week and
 48 weeks per year

7. Time to be honest?
 Do you waste time?
 Do you waste other
people‟s time?
 Do you spend time
on the things you
should?
 Do you take time out
to reflect on how
you should spend
your time

8. Where are you starting from?

9. Time Management Self-Assessment
Step 1: By yourself, rate the 30 statements and calculate your score
Step 2: By yourself, identify 3 or 4 key issues arising
Step 3: In your group, share and prioritise the key issues
Step 4: Present your findings

10. Activity vs. Action
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
Perfection vs. Excellence
Urgency vs. Importance

11. Activity vs. Action
ACTIVITY
 Being busy
 Too many jobs at once
 Unplanned approach
 Helping everyone with
their problems
 Not delegating enough
ACTION
 Getting things done
 Completing jobs, even if it
means one job at a time and
finishing it
 Recognising priorities
 Able to say no
 Using others to get things done

12. Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
EFFICIENCY
 Doing things right
EFFECTIVENESS
 Doing the right things

13. Wrong things - Right things
 Wrong things
 Desire to make an
impression
 Involved in everything
 Blaming others
 Right things
 Wanting to achieve
results
 Delegating and not
interfering
 Working out how we
will collaborate and
work together

14. Perfection vs. Excellence
PERFECTION
 Work planning
preventing work
 Too much detail
 Too high standards
 Need to be seen to
suffer for the
organisation (arrive
early, stay late)
EXCELLENCE
 Enough planning to make
the best use of time
 Enough detail to achieve
objectives
 Time allocated for
priorities
 Need to work hard and
still have your own life

15. Urgency vs. Importance
HIGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPORTANCE
U
R
G
E
N
C
Y

16. List the priority of each quadrant
and decide what proportion of your time you should
allocate to each
HIGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPORTANCE
U
R
G
E
N
C
Y

17. The priority of each quadrant…
3
Distraction?
2
Plan
4
Waste!
1
Manage
HIGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
IMPORTANCE
U
R
G
E
N
C
Y

18. Exercise: Urgency vs. Importance
Identify 10-15 “things to do” from your
current work
Write each one on the Urgency/
Importance grid
…
Do them in the sequence you
suggested!

19. 4 Steps for Time Management
1. Record your use of time now
2. Analyse how you spend your time
3. Do something about it
4. Repeat your Time Log

20. For how long should you record
your time?
 One day?
 One week?
 Several weeks?
 One month?
 Several months?
 One year?Log your
activities as they
happen, not at
the end of each
day

21. Time Log Example:
DAY ____________________________ DATE __________________________________
Describe what happens in detail - the subject of meetings, phone calls, letters, reading, conversations. Note the
duration of each activity. Include any other relevant comments which will help your analysis.
Time Activity Duration Comments

22. Time Log Example:
Categorised by Results that have to be achieved
Project X
Project
Y
Task A Task B Task C
Staff
Comm
Staff
Devp.
etc. etc.
9.00
9.30
10.00
10.30
11.00
11.30
12.00
12.30
13.00
13.30
14.00
14.30
15.00
15.30
16.00
16.30
17.00
17.30

23. Time Log Example:
Categorised by types of work/activity done
Time Activity MTG 1-1s TRG TEL PS RDG WRT PC TRV OTH
KEY:
MTG = Meeting 1-1s = 1-1 Discussions TRG = Training
TEL = Telephone PS = Problem Solving RDG = Reading
WRT = Writing PC = Computer TRV = Travel
Oth = Other

24. Pareto Principle: The 80:20 Rule
20% of the time leads to 80% of the results
20% 80%
TIME RESULTS

25. How to analyse your Time Log
How much of your time was spent:
Activity Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Total %
Planning
In Meetings
Being
interrupted
Telephoning
Writing
Travelling

26. Time Log Analysis
Time Time
Invested
est. act.
Activity % Effectiveness
How can I handle it
more effectively
next time ?

27. Put first things first
Schedule your priorities,
not prioritise your schedule
If something is really
important, make the time for it

28. Scenario – where are the time stealers?
 Ian gets into his office, starts his computer and logs on to
check his e-mails. After 10 minutes he has a quick look
through his Twitter stream and checks his Facebook
page. He then spends 30 minutes preparing the first
part of a report which is due tomorrow. After attending a
45 minute meeting he grabs a cup of coffee and chats
with some colleagues. Back at his desk he notices he
has 5 new e-mails which he decides to read and he
replies to 2 of them. Returning to his report he spends
10 minutes collecting his thoughts and another 30
minutes writing before deciding it‟s nearly time to break
for lunch. He makes a couple of quick „phone calls, then
goes off for lunch.

29. Time stealers
1. Procrastination/indecision
2. Ineffective meetings
3. Interruptions - visitors, telephone, e-mail
4. “Never say no”
5. Lack of delegation
6. Lack of planning before starting tasks
7. Waiting time - between meetings
8. Starting too many things and not finishing them
9. Changing priorities
10. Communication failures
11. Unclear responsibilities
12. Unnecessary Travelling
etc.

30. Dealing with your time stealers
• Step 1 - Individually, select the top 3 time stealers
that affect you, day-in and day-out
• Step 2 - Share your thoughts with the group
• Step 3 - As a group, identify and share some
possible solutions

31. What is “quality time”?
• A person‟s average
uninterrupted time at
work is usually less
than 10 minutes!
• Respect your
colleagues‟ quality
time by not
interrupting them
unnecessarily!

32. Creating quality time
How often do you…
Frequently
Occasionally
Seldom
Never
Have trouble finding things on your desk?
Procrastinate & delay tasks?
Get side-tracked with conversations with other people about
non-work topics?
Get side-tracked by reading „interesting‟ rather than
„important‟ information?
Catch yourself day-dreaming?
Jump from task to task without finishing anything?

33. If you have answered “YES” to any of
the questions, you are guilty of
interrupting “YOURSELF”

34. Dealing with the e-mail (or paperwork)
mountain
Is dependent on….
1.The number of items received
2.The number of times you pick up/shuffle
the same item without positive action

35. The four Ds…
Do it
Delegate it
Delay it
Dump it
Does it
require
action?
No
action?

36. The 2 minute rule
Less than 2 minutes?
 Do it
More than 2 minutes?
 Delegate it
 Delay it

37. Delegate it…
“Tell me what you want
me to do and why,
then let me get
on with it.
If I make a mess of it,
coach me so I know
where I went wrong.
But, don’t fuss !!!”
A Subordinate’s Prayer

38. Delegation - Brief those involved
• What is to be done?
• What has already been done?
• Why is it being done?
• When is it to be done by?
• What the output should be?
• What standards are expected?
…..and check back for understanding

39. If it doesn’t require you to DO
something…
Dump it File it
“I might need this later”

40. Exercise: Managing your time - ideas
Individually, identify which of the following
practical guidelines you would want to
subscribe to?
Place a tick against all of those you want to
do something about (hold these and any
other ideas for your personal action
planning)

41. Practical guidelines (1)
1. Think first, then act. It is always more effective to plan your time than to react to
events.
2. Make a “Flying Start” to the day - get going with a task you can accomplish.
3. Have a daily routine where you plan specific times for routine activities such as
meetings.
4. Have a daily “To Do” List. Prioritise items into “musts”, “shoulds” and “coulds”,
e.g. A, B, C. Don‟t overload your day. Build in some flexibility. Review your
achievements each day.
5. Do things which need most effort at times when you know you will be at your
best, mentally.
6. Don‟t procrastinate. Doing the unpleasant task will make you feel less stressed.
Tasks rarely get more pleasant by being postponed.
7. Have deadlines for your tasks and stick to them.
8. Try ignoring things which aren‟t important - many “urgent problems” may simply
disappear.
9. Analyse, plan and act to reduce your interruptions

42. Practical guidelines (2)
10. Do one thing at a time - finish jobs that you start, if possible.
11. Arrange “do not disturb” times for yourself.
12. Take regular breaks to ensure that you don‟t become stale or over-stressed.
13. Keep all your ideas, plans, appointments, etc. in one place. Don‟t become a
“Time Fanatic” who is a slave to forms and systems.
14. Say “no” if you can‟t do something or aren‟t the right person.
15. Don‟t take work home unless you definitely will do something with it.
16. Analyse your use of time regularly. Compare it with earlier time analyses.
17. Avoid interrupting colleagues by planning fixed meetings with them.
18. Plan your telephone calls for maximum effectiveness - group several calls
together.
19. Go for excellence, not perfection. Perfection takes too long !

43. PERSONAL ACTION PLANS

44. Say it, see it, write it…
 Identify from all of today‟s inputs and
colleagues‟ ideas, what you plan to do
differently
 Be specific and ensure the improvements are
measurable
 Be prepared to share your plan with the
group
Do it…

45. Facilitated by Ian J Seath
ian.seath@improvement-skills.co.uk
07850 728506
@ianjseath
uk.linkedin.com/in/ianjseath