The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Time on Progress Work".

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Time on Progress Work
Time Management
MTL Course Topics
Time on Progress Work
TIME MANAGEMENT

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Time on Progress Work
Time Management
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
trainer, they are perfect for adding to your classroom courses and online learning plans.
COURSE TOPICS FROM MTL
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Copyright Manage Train Learn 2020
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ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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INTRODUCTION
Progress work is represented by the metaphor of "fire". Fire
is dynamic, creative, productive and powerful. So too is the
work we do that breaks new ground, innovates,
experiments and takes us forward. This module shows the
steps we need to take when we decide to spend time on
creative tasks. They range from purposes to goals to
objectives to to-do lists. As one of the four time zones, we
should aim to spend up to a quarter of our time each day on
progress work.

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FIRE IS PROGRESS WORK
The element of fire represents the creative spark in us.
When this spark is lit, it can produce something uniquely
special that adds to our lives and those of others.
The qualities of fire: creative; productive; enthusiastic;
dynamic; spontaneous; life-giving; unique; warmth-giving;
optimistic; unpredictable; inspirational; powerful.
Fire tasks:
1. new ideas
2. projects
3. experiments
4. innovations
5. once-off tasks
6. risks.
How we connect with fire: Fire is traditionally felt in the
breast. Fire tasks require courage which comes from the
heart and intuition which comes from the belly.

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KNOW YOUR DESTINATION
It is now common practice for organisations to write out
what their purpose is in a Mission, or Purpose, Statement.
The Mission Statement is based on:
1. knowledge of our unique gifts, talents and strengths
either individually or as a group
2. how these gifts can be used in the service of others
3. the unchanging values which the purpose will realise
4. the big dreams of what we can achieve
5. making use of opportunities which could come along to
help us in the purpose
6. belief in our ability to deliver
7. a determination to succeed.
As well as writing a mission statement for the organisation,
you can write one for each sphere of your personal life:
work; social; home and spiritual life.

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AN INDIVIDUAL WITH PRINCIPLES
These are Erik Blumenthal's principles of living as expressed
in his book "To Understand and Be Understood":
1. decide more consciously
2. believe more strongly
3. act, do not react
4. leave the past behind
5. look beneath the surface
6. distinguish between the doer and the deed
7. turn big mistakes into little ones
8. do not expect a reward for good deeds
9. do instead of try.
"A personal mission statement focuses on what you want to
be (character), and to do (contributions and achievements)
and on the values and principles upon which being and
doing are based." (Stephen Covey).

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A BUSINESS WITH PRINCIPLES
These are the business principles of investment company,
Goldman Sachs International:
1. client's interests come first
2. the assets of the company are the people, capital and
reputation
3. the company goal is to provide the best return to our
shareholders
4. the company has an uncompromising determination to
achieve excellence
5. creativity and imagination are the key skills of our staff
6. although company activities are measured in billions of
dollars, we select people one-to-one
7. staff advancement depends solely on ability, performance
and contribution to success
8. teamwork is stressed
9. therefore, the company has no room for people who put
personal interests first.

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YOUR MISSION HAS A LONG LENS
Achieving a purpose in life is no easy undertaking. Mission
or Purpose Statements often express high and noble ideals
which it is easy to write about but often hard to achieve.
They also take much longer to reach - if we reach them at all
- than the less worthy aims we sometimes prefer to
substitute. To achieve purpose requires a long-lens in our
viewers and the self-belief to keep on course when things
get tough.
A belief that you will achieve your purpose is summed up in
the Coda of Julian of Norwich:
"All will be well and all manner of things will be well." It also
requires blind faith:
"We do not always see the way ahead;
We do not know which way to tread.
This is the point at which to light,
The lamp of Faith to take us through the night."

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TO SUCCEED, YOU NEED GOALS
Giving ourselves goals is what progress work is all about.
Goals are the way we put our personal principles (or
mission) into practice. They are our dreams coming true.
Because they are the things we aspire to, goals motivate us
far more than the rewards or the fear of not achieving
them. We need to keep our goals in front of our eyes
whenever we are engaged in progress work: they help us
when we are bogged down in difficulties (which are
inevitable), in detail and in slow progress.
"My goal is to publish my first book by the time I'm 25."
"Our goal is to be recognized as the best sales team in the
organisation."
"Our goal is to turn over £1 million in business this year.“
"Do not be afraid of going slowly; only of standing still."
(Chinese proverb)

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THE TEN RULES OF GOAL-
SETTING
There are ten golden rules which will help you achieve your
goals:
1. Goals must be clear and well-defined
2. Goals must be realistic
3. Goals must be based on our strengths
4. Goals must be based on correct information
5. Goals must be owned
6. Goals must appeal to our thoughts and our emotions
7. Goals must be constantly kept in mind
8. Goals must concern us with the future
9. Goals must benefit others as well as ourselves
10. Goals must lead to a plan of immediate action.
"What we love to do, we find time to do." (John Spalding)

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KEY AREAS ARE KEY TO SUCCESS
To move towards our goals, we need to pick out the five or
six key areas that will take us to where we want to be.
The gap between dreaming a goal and choosing key areas is
filled by Knowledge. Knowledge of the territory informs us
just what we need to work on. If our goal is to publish a
book within a year, we need to have knowledge of the
market, knowledge of how to write, and knowledge of what
to write. Similarly we cannot expect to be the best sales
team in the organisation if we do not know what are the
important areas that will make all the difference to our
progress.
Whereas we should write our goals in clear and specific
terms of end results, we should write our key areas as one
or two-word headings. If, for example, our goal is to get fit,
we might choose the key areas of Exercise; Diet; Sleep;
Lifestyle; and Relaxation.

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BE A SMART OBJECTIVE-SETTER
When we have decided what our key areas are, the next
stage is to set objectives in each key area. If our goals are
long-term and not within our immediate reach, our
objectives will be either short-term or medium-term.
Objectives are more likely to be translated into action if we
define them using the mnemonic SMART. "Smart" objectives
stand for those which are:
S - specifically defined
M - measurable or observable when realised
A - achievable or possible
R - realistic
T - time-bounded in terms of finishing deadlines or time
they will take.
An example of a SMART objective might be to "lose 6lbs
from my current weight by the end of September."

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ARE YOU A PROCRASTINATOR?
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:
1. indecision: I haven't got enough information yet.
2. unclear goals: Let's have a coffee first.
3. too much on our plate: I will get round to it, when...
4. wheel-reinventing: I just need to go over things first
5. fear of failing: I don't know whether it'll work.
6. lack of authority: Does Bill think it's OK?
7. distraction: Just got to see Phil first...
8. laziness: It'll get done, don't worry.
9. lack of commitment: Do I really have to?
"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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DEAL WITH YOUR NASTY JOBS
Most jobs that we procrastinate over are important jobs
that can't be delegated and which become more important
the longer we delay. So here are 3 techniques to break the
procrastination curse:
1. If it's too big, treat it like an "elephant job" and start with
something small that you enjoy about it. Use the burst
technique of spending just 5 minutes on it.
2. Motivate yourself. If you're an "away" person, think of
the very worst that will happen if you don't do the job. If
you're a "toward" person, think of the rewards awaiting you
when the job is done.
3. Get into the habit of doing nasty jobs at the start of the
day before other more interesting jobs intervene. Use the
BANJO technique, ie Bang A Nasty Job Off. After that you'll
feel great all day.
Changing your perception of "nasty" jobs is the secret to
doing them. Just decide they'll be fun after all.

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LINK NOW TO LATER
Plans on your progress work are the ongoing plans that you
make each day and each week. They should occupy your
thoughts in response to each day's question: “What do I
need to do today to advance my progress tasks?“
The following six tips can help you make better daily plans:
1. Continually juggle and prioritise your plans according to
what is logical to do next, what is important to do next, and
what is urgent.
2. Be prepared to change your plans if an opportunity arises
to speed up your work.
3. Don't overlook what you enjoy doing.
4. Keep moving forward by building on each task.
5. Whereas routine jobs should be completed without loose
ends, you should leave loose ends on progress work, so that
you can pick them up again easily next time.
6. Keep in your mind a picture of yourself succeeding.

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SLAY YOUR ELEPHANT JOBS
Elephant jobs are the mammoth jobs that we need to do to
reach our goals. Attempting elephant jobs in one go is
almost certain to result in failure and frustration, but
breaking them down into manageable chunks and doing
them one bit at a time is certain to lead to success. This is
why it is so valuable to incorporate progress work into each
day's tasks rather than put them off until later.
The sum of many small achievements = major
achievements.
"We must not, in trying to think how we can make a big
difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make,
which, over time, add up to big differences which we cannot
foresee." (Marian Wrights Edelman)

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MAKE TO-DO LISTS A HABIT
When asked his advice on the single one activity which
would improve a person's time management, writer Alec
McKenzie advised that people should write out to-do lists
each evening for the following day's activities and post them
in a place where they could be seen first thing next morning.
Then, he suggested, you should just work through them one
at a time until they were done.
To-do lists don't have to be formalised; any scrap of paper
can list the jobs you have to do. Equally, the list can be
written anywhere at any time. It is a way of taking a
snapshot of the jobs you want to do, the jobs that need to
be done, and the opportunities that each day presents.
"Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of
time, which every day produces and which most men throw
away, but which nevertheless will make at the end of it no
small deduction from the life of a man." (Colton 1780-1832)

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A SYSTEM ON WHAT TO DO
NEXT
The ABCD system takes a To-Do list of tasks and prioritises
them into what is important and urgent. Here’s what you do.
1. Run through the list of tasks and allocate an A, B or C
according to whether they are urgent or important, A being
high and C being low.
2. Go through the B list and force yourself to place each task
into either the A pile or C pile.
3. Put all the C tasks in a file for your bottom drawer. This file
does not need to come out except when you can't do an A. It
is also the file you take with you when you know you may
have spare time and are unable to do an A job. Regularly clear
out your C file.
4. Now look at the A's and decide on their order of priority
based on your work plans: A1, A2, A3 etc.
5. This is the order to tackle your day's work. Now decide, D,
which you will do and which you will delegate.

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PRIORITISE YOUR TO-DO LIST
You can prioritise a To-do list, or a set of tasks that have just
come in, by one of the following methods:
1. Focus on your goals and relate every task to how
important it is in terms of achieving your goals. If it is very
important, it receives top priority.
2. Assess whether there is a deadline on the task and what
would happen if you did not do the job before the deadline.
If it is not important in terms of your goals, dump it:
otherwise, it is a top priority item.
3. Use the following guidelines:
a) If it is very urgent and very important, do it at once
b) If it is very urgent but not important, delegate it
c) If it is very important, but not urgent, schedule it
d) If it is neither important, nor urgent, dump it.

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THE ROCKS IN THE JAR
A college lecturer noticed that his students were falling
behind with their assignments so he decided to give them a
lesson in managing their priorities.
In front of the class, he took a large empty jar and filled it
with rocks. He then asked the students if the jar was full and
they replied, "yes". He then picked up a box of pebbles and
emptied these into the jar. Again he asked if the jar was full
and they replied, "yes". Next, he picked up a box of sand
and tipped it into the jar. The sand filled the gaps around the
rocks and pebbles. Again he asked the students if the jar
was full and they replied, "yes".
This time he took a glass of water and poured it into the jar
which soaked up the sand and filled the gaps around the
stones. Finally, the lecturer poured salt into the jar and
asked if the jar was full and this time the students correctly
said, "yes".
Moral: First things first.

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ADD A FIFTH MORE TO TIMINGS
Previous experience should be our guide to how long jobs
should take. If we are doing new jobs, our estimates will
have a correspondingly greater element of "guestimating"
and we may need to improve our accuracy by using models,
run-throughs or rehearsals.
It is important to remember that most of us under-estimate
how long progress work is likely to take.
So, when you estimate or guestimate...
1. add on an amount of, say, 20% to your original figures
2. if you are agreeing time deadlines with others,
negotiate the latest time you possibly can. You can then
do it earlier and impress the other person!

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THE 60-20-20 METHOD
It is much better to schedule tasks than leave them to be
done when you feel like it. For example, exercising at set
times is much more likely to be done than if you wait for an
energetic moment to come along and inspire you.
One of the best scheduling systems is the 60-20-20 system:
1. 60% of the available time should be filled with your A
tasks starting with your A1 and moving on to your A2
and so on
2. 20% of the available time should be left unplanned and
filled as you come to it
3. 20% of the time should be left empty for emergencies,
contingencies, opportunities, things you like to do.
"If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get
done." (Anon)

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LOAD YOUR DIARY LIKE YOUR CAR
It is important to assess and re-assess your day's tasks in the
light of circumstances and changing needs.
One way to do this is to use the 3-star system. This allocates
one, two or three stars against each of your day's activities
based on the following scale...
*** = essential to do today
** = desirable to do today
* = nice to do today if we have time
When scheduling tasks into your daily diary, use the
luggage-hold method of largest items first. Just as luggage
should go into a car boot with the largest items first
followed by smaller pieces, so your diary should be filled by
large tasks first and then smaller items can plug the gaps.

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THE PINE TREE PLANNER
The pine tree is sometimes used as a symbolic way to
describe how different parts of the planning process fit
together.
1. Your mission statement is the grown pine.
2. The principles and values you believe in are the roots
which nourish and feed the tree.
3. Your goals are the growing trunk. As the trunk grows
upward so each goal leads on to the next.
4. Your key areas are the main branches. They support the
growing trunk.
5. Your medium-term objectives are the side. branches
which make up the key areas.
6. Your immediate plans are the twigs.
7. Your daily tasks are the pine needles.

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THE DARUMA DOLL
The Daruma Doll is a Japanese toy used by executives to
remind them of their achievement goals and show them
what progress they're making.
When goals are set, the doll's eyes are coloured white. They
remain white as a reminder that a goal has not been
reached. When the goal is achieved, an eye is coloured in.
The Daruma Doll is named after an Indian prince famous for
his self-discipline and positive outlook. It is also regarded as
a symbol of happiness since one known source of self-
fulfilment is the achievement of personal goals.

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THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn