Regardless of the industry in which you work, there is likely some aspect of time management needed to be successful. This presentation provides an overview of common time wasters, tips for improving time management and ways to hold productive meetings. Learn more about Levelwing's Company Culture and Best Practices: http://ow.ly/jk9jd

1. TIME MANAGEMENT

2. 2
COMMON SENSE
is not so
COMMON

3. 3
AGENDA
- Self-Assessment
- Time Wasters
- Time Management Tips
- Effective Meetings
- Recap

4. 4
YOU WILL LEARN…
- How Am I Currently Wasting Time?
- How Planning + Organization Will
Increase Productivity
- How to Get a Handle on Email +
Paperwork
- How to Not Waste Time in Meetings

5. 5
SELF-ASSESSMENT

6. 6
SELF-ASSESSMENT
- 1. Each day, I set aside a small amount of time for planning + thinking
about my job.
- 2. I set specific, written goals + put deadlines on them.
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always

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SELF-ASSESSMENT
- 3. I make a daily ‘to do’ list, arrange items in order of importance + try
to get the important items done as soon as possible.
- 4. I’m aware of the 80 – 20 rule + use it in my job. (80% of
effectiveness will generally come from achieving only 20% of goals.)
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always

8. 8
SELF-ASSESSMENT
- 5. I keep a loose schedule to allow for crises + the unexpected.
- 6. I try to handle each piece of paper only once.
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always

9. 9
SELF-ASSESSMENT
- 7. I eat a light lunch, so I don’t get sleepy in the afternoon.
- 8. I make an active effort to keep common interruptions (visitors,
meetings, telephone calls) from continually disrupting my work day.
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always

10. 10
SELF-ASSESSMENT
- 9. I’m able to say no to others’ requests for my time that would
prevent my completing important tasks.
- 10. I know what habits I have that keep me from using my time
effectively.
KEY
0. Almost Never
1. Sometimes
2. Often
3. Almost Always

11. 11
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
- 0 – 15: Better give some thought to your time management
- 15 – 20: You’re doing okay, but there’s room for improvement
- 20 – 25: Very good
- 25 – 27: Excellent
- 28 – 30: You cheated!

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TIME WASTERS

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CONTROL
- Time is lost to two factors:
- Beyond our control
- Within our control

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BRAINSTORM
- What are examples of factors
beyond our control?

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FACTORS BEYOND OUR CONTROL
- Interruptions: phone calls, last minute meetings, questions from
clients
- Computer + equipment problems
- Unplanned work + changing priorities
- Holding + attending unnecessary + unproductive meetings

16. 16
BRAINSTORM
- What are examples of factors
within our control?

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FACTORS WITHIN OUR CONTROL
- Lack of good planning + organization
- Procrastinating until project becomes urgent
- Failing to set + maintain priorities
- Losing focus on task at hand / jumping from project to project
- Not becoming self-aware of habits that lead to wasted time

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FACTORS WITHIN OUR CONTROL
- Holding + attending unnecessary + unproductive meetings
- Spending too much time on phone + email
- Inability to say ‘no’ + take on too much
- Excessive socializing

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AHA! MOMENT
- How can understanding what factors
are inside + outside of your control
affect your time management?

20. 20
HELPFUL TIME
MANAGEMENT TIPS

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PLANNING + ORGANIZING
- Failing to plan is planning to fail

22. 22
PLANNING + ORGANIZING
- Get a game plan
- Daily to-do lists
- Review objectives throughout day to update / reprioritize

23. 23
PLANNING + ORGANIZING
- Separate high priority items
- Breakout larger projects into smaller
pieces
- Batch routine tasks together
- Match habit preferences to priority /
routine items

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PLANNING + ORGANIZING
- Set aside uninterrupted blocks of time for difficult / lengthy
projects
- Music
- Shut off email
- Book a conference room

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PAPERWORK
- Touch each document once if possible
- Pass on, file or discard
- Temporary hold file

26. 26
EMAIL
- Check emails at specified times throughout day
- Organize email within folders
- Use filters / rules to automatically assign to separate folders
- Limit ‘touching’ emails more than once

27. 27
EMAIL
- After 2 rounds of trying to solve problem via email, pick up the
phone / talk in person
- If you can’t respond immediately, let team member know when
to expect a response

28. 28
EMAIL
- Be clear communicating what is expected from your email
- Use ‘no response required’ to end messages + discourage
unnecessary replies
- Remove yourself from unnecessary distribution lists

29. 29
EMAIL
- Create stock responses + store in drafts
folder for frequently used messages

30. 30
TAKE BREAKS
- Get up + stretch
- Grab a drink / coffee, snack
- Switch locations
- Continued education

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AHA! MOMENT
- What other time management tips do
you utilize every day?
- What can you implement this week?

32. 32
EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

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IS THE MEETING NECESSARY?
Employees have reported spending
6 – 20
hours / week on average in meetings
Source: SHRM

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IS THE MEETING NECESSARY?
- When to Say Yes
- Allow team members to collaborate (review, evaluate,
discuss, problem-solve, etc.) with each other
- Present significant information to the team
- Have face-to-face communication to encourage interaction
+ create team synergy
- Schedule away!

35. 35
IS THE MEETING NECESSARY
- When to Say No
- Can more effectively accomplish purpose by phone, email,
or 1-on-1 discussion
- Premature to meet: topic is still unclear / insignificant
- Consider having 1 day / week with no meetings

36. 36
MEETING PREP
- Send agenda ahead of time
- Avoid meetings 90+ minutes
- Consider personal time management

37. 37
MEETING AGENDAS
- Include:
- Topic stated in question form
- Person responsible for leading discussion
- Relevant information to topic
- Time allotted for discussion
- Okay to include a ‘not-on-agenda’ list of topics that are off
limits for that particular meeting

38. 38
CONDUCTING THE MEETING
- Practice A/V set-up
- Greet team members upon arrival
- Start on time
- Recap any last-minute revisions to agenda
- Review meeting purpose, agenda + priorities
- Designate a note taker
- Summarize consensus + any decisions before moving forward

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GROUND RULES
- 1 person will speak at a time
- No side conversations
- No laptops or cell phones
- Treat everyone’s comments + questions with respect
- Stick to agenda

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MEETING FOLLOW-UP
- Distribute notes within 4 days maximum
- Reminder of agreements + action items
- Follow up with team members that weren’t present
- Put unresolved topics on next agenda

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AHA! MOMENT
- What do you do to keep meetings on
track + productive?

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RECAP

43. 43
RECAP
- Are Time Wasters in or out of your control?
- Time Management Tips
- Planning + Organization
- Paperwork + Email
- Breaks
- Effective Meetings
- Is a meeting necessary?
- Agendas
- Next Steps + Follow-up

44. 20
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? WANT TO SEE MORE?
This content brought to you by Levelwing.
At Levelwing, we specialize in interpreting data and providing you with applications (and not just
graphs) that can impact your MARKETING, MERCHANDISING, INVENTORY and even RESEARCH
+ DEVELOPMENT initiatives. We help companies utilize data to OPERATE WITH GREATER
CLARITY + PROFITABILITY.
Bottom line, we move your business forward by helping you make sense of your data so that
you can ACHIEVE WHAT COULD BE.
For additional information, please contact:
STEVE PARKER, JR.
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
steve@levelwing.com
1 + 843.631.4587

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SOURCES
- Effective Meetings Training for Employees: SHRM, 2008
- Time Management Self-Assessment : pulled from 2012 CYP workshop,
led by Dale Carnegie Trainer Debbie Cooler
- Time Management Training: SHRM, 2008