Models of Time Management

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
Models of Time Management
MODELS OF TIME
MANAGEMENT
What’s your relationship with time?

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Attribution: All images are from sources where a Creative Commons license exists for commercial use. All icons are on subscription
from thenounproject. All clipart is from free sources. The MTL Professional Development Programme is copyright of Manage Train
Learn.
Models of Time
Management
Introduction: Many of us don't have any idea how to use the time we have. We let
others decide what we do; we fill our time with trivia; we drift; or we waste time.
Having a model of how to spend our time, whether this means taking time to plan,
having daily targets or doing as much as we can, is a starting point for using time
better. In this topic, we’ll look at 7 models of time management.

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1. TIME
ROBBERS:
OTHERS
Alec McKenzie writes of the experience of 40
chief executives of electrical contracting
businesses who, at the start of a time
management seminar listed their major time
robbers. Top of the list was incomplete
information from others, employees interrupting
them with problems. and the persistent
demands of the telephone. Also on their list
were: routine tasks, unnecessary and long
meetings; and having to manage crises for other
people. Most of their time robbers were caused
by others.
The phone is one of the biggest time robbers of our age
Flickr attribution: /renneville/3100561582/

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WhatAre Your Time Robbers and Is It
Your Fault?
Time Robbers are those things which we blame for
wasting our time, from the petty little interruptions
of other people to the larger problems of doing
jobs that we don't find effective.
1. A time robber is an activity at which you spend
more time than you get back in return in
benefit or value
2. A time robber steals time from you and
therefore makes you less efficient than you
could be
3. A time robber keeps you from doing things
which would otherwise be of more value to
you.
4. A time robber steals time from you and
therefore robs you of money.
We tend to blame others for robbing us of time
until we realise that much of the blame belongs to
us.

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2. TIME
ROBBERS:
OURSELVES
At the end of his seminar with 40 chief
executives who believed that their main time
robbers were other people, Alec McKenzie asked
his audience to re-evaluate their time robbers.
This time, they found that most of the time
robbers were caused by them. Top of the list was
attempting to do too much at once, followed by
unrealistic time estimates, and procrastination.
Also on the list were not listening; not saying
"No“; and doing things themselves that they
could delegate to others.
Trudging home after a late night at work
Flickr attribution: /evanblaser/5984652456/

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Why Do You
Procrastinate?
Reasons why we procrastinate:
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3
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Indecision: I haven't got enough information yet.
Unclear goals: let's have a coffee first.
Wheel-reinventing: I just need to go over things first
Too much on our plate: I will get round to it, when...
Fear of failing: I don't know whether it'll work.
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Lack of authority: does Bill think it'sOK?
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7 Distraction: just got to see Phil first...
Laziness: it'll get done, don't worry.
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Lack of commitment: do I really have to?
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We are all prey to procrastination: the temptation to put off action "until
tomorrow or later". The Procrastination Index lists the most common
reasons for delaying.
"There are only three types of people: those who make things happen; those who watch things
happen; and those who say: "What happened?"" (Ann Landers)

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3. EFFICIENT
OR
EFFECTIVE?
Many people fail to make the best use of their
time because they fail to see the difference
between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency
is doing things according to rules and
procedures. Efficient people think they are good
time managers because they do a lot. However,
they often fail to see that the job may not need
to be done at all. Effectiveness means only doing
things that will lead to results. Effective working
is smart work, not necessarily hard work.
Doing it well and doing it right
Flickr attribution: /worldskillsteamuk/20006303064/

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4. THE
PARETO
PRINCIPLE
When you need to decide, "what is the best use
of my time right now?", one answer lies in the
Pareto Principle. The principle is named after
Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who, in
1906, discovered that 20% of the people in his
homeland controlled 80% of the country's
wealth. So, in the Pareto time management
principle, 20% of your tasks will normally require
80% of your time; 80% of your results will
normally come from 20% of your actions; and
80% of your time will normally be spent with
20% of your contacts.
Vilfredo Pareto’s paradox
(Att: Wikipedia)

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5. TIME
PARADIGMS
The way we see time is our own time paradigm
and it is determined by our work personalities.
For example, planners like to be busy; team
workers value time with others; achievers like to
see results; creative people like to work on
something special; active people like to have
something new on the horizon; dominating
people like to burn the candle at both ends; and
relaxed people set high score by doing as little as
they can.
How do you see time?
Flickr attribution: /lucaboldrini69/11519089085/

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6. THE HARE
AND THE
TORTOISE
“The Hare and the Tortoise” is a fable by Aesop
that shows two contrasting types of time
personality. The story tells how a hare boasted to
a tortoise that she could beat the tortoise over
any distance. So the tortoise agreed to a race of
five miles for a bet. At the start of the race, the
hare sped ahead and, being sure of victory,
decided to stop and take a nap. Meanwhile, the
tortoise made slow but steady progress. When
she reached the sleeping hare, she carried on
past and crossed the finishing line first to win the
bet.
Are you a hurrier or a plodder?
http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/55093-large.jpg. Licensed under
Public Domain via Commons

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7. BALANCING
EACH DAY
Balancing each day's activities is not simply a
healthy way of working; it is also the most
productive and enjoyable. To follow an intense
period of brainwork with some time doing
physical work; then to follow that with some
time on a project, followed by time with friends,
is to create a rich and whole texture to the day.
By seeking to create a balance of the different
types of tasks that we must carry out each day,
we are able to have order with spontaneity, the
challenging with the practical; routine with
innovation; and introspection with the pleasure
of others.
Vary your tasks to balance your life
Flickr attribution: /lindyy/3245573770/

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This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
AFinal
Word
None of us is a perfect time manager because none of us has ever led a perfect life where every
second and every minute is always well-used. However, by thinking about time management
models and trying them out, we can find a way of living and working that suits our situations and
natures and so makes life that little bit more enjoyable and productive.

Models of Time Management

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