This document discusses strategies for effective time management and stress reduction. It begins by explaining why time management is important for reducing work stress and increasing productivity. It then provides tips for setting goals and priorities, using to-do lists, managing paperwork and calls, scheduling time effectively, delegating tasks, running productive meetings, and using technology to save time. The document also discusses identifying sources of stress and offers strategies like avoiding unnecessary stress, altering stressful situations, adapting to stressors, accepting things you can't change, making time for relaxation, and adopting a healthy lifestyle to manage stress.

1. TIME AND STRESS
MANAGEMENT
BY
MALAMI MUHAMMAD MAISHANU
1

2. 2

3. Outline
Why is Time Management Important?
Goals, Priorities, and Planning
TO DO Lists
Desks, paperwork, telephones
Scheduling Yourself
Delegation
Meetings
Technology
General Advice
Strategies of Stress Management
3

4. Why Time Management is
Important?
By using time management
skills effectively, you can reduce
work stress by being more in
control of your time, and by
being more productive.
This ensures that you have
time to relax outside work.
4

5. Time Management and Stress
Bad Time Management =
Stress
Stress = Poor Productivity
5

6. The Problem is Severe
By some estimates, people waste
about 2 hours per day. Signs of
time wasting:
◦ Messy desk and cluttered (or no) files (see
next slide);
◦ Can’t find things;
◦ Miss appointments, need to reschedule
them late and/or unprepared for meetings;
◦ Volunteer to do things other people should
do;
◦ Tired/unable to concentrate
6

7. Hear me Now, Believe me Later
Being successful
doesn’t make you
manage your time well.
Managing your time
well makes you
successful.
7

8. Goals, Priorities, and Planning
Why am I doing this?
What is the goal?
Why will I succeed?
What happens if I
chose not to do it?
8

9. PLANNING
Failing to plan is planning to
fail
Plan Each Day, Each Week,
Each Month
You can always change your
plan, but only once you have
one!
9

10. TO Do Lists
Break things down into
small steps
Like a child cleaning
his/her room
Do the ugliest thing
first 10

11. The four-quadrant TO DO List
Due Soon Not Due Soon
1 2
Important
Not
3 4
Important
11

12. Paperwork
Clutter is death; it leads to
thrashing. Keep desk clear:
focus on one thing at a time
A good file system is essential
Touch each piece of paper once
Touch each piece of email once;
your inbox is not your TODO
list 12

13. Telephone
Keep calls short; stand
during call
Start by announcing goals
for the call
Have something in view that
you’re waiting to get to next
13

14. Office Logistics
Make your office
comfortable for you, and
optionally comfortable for
others
No soft comfortable chairs!
14

15. Scheduling Yourself
You don’t find time for
important things, you make
it
Everything you do is an
opportunity cost
Learn to say “No”
15

16. Everyone has Good and Bad Times
Find your creative/thinking
time. Defend it ruthlessly,
spend it alone, maybe at
home.
Find your dead time.
Schedule meetings, phone
calls, and mundane stuff
during it. 16

17. Cutting Things Short
“I’m in the middle of something
now…”
Start with “I only have 5
minutes” – you can always extend
this
Stand up, stroll to the door,
complement, thank, shake hands
Clock-watching; on wall behind
them 17

18. Delegation
No one is an island
You can
accomplish a lot
more with help
18

19. Delegation is not dumping
Grant authority with
responsibility.
Concrete goal, deadline,
and consequences.
Treat your people well
19

20. Challenge People
People rise to the challenge:
You should delegate “until they
complain”
Communication Must Be Clear:
“Get it in writing”
Give objectives, not procedures
Tell the relative importance of
this task
20

21. Meetings
Lock the door, unplug the phone
Maximum of 1 hour
Prepare: there must be an
agenda
1 minute minutes: an efficient
way to keep track of decisions
made in a meeting: who is
responsible for what by when?
21

22. Technology
Laptop computer (and docking
station)
◦ You can scavenge time & work
anywhere
◦ one machine in your life is the right
number
Google (now with image search!)
Digital Library (I haven’t been in
the library in over five years)
22

23. E-Mail Tips
Save all of it; no exceptions
If you want somebody to do something,
make them the only recipient. Otherwise,
you have diffusion of responsibility. Give a
concrete request/task and a deadline.
If you really want somebody to do
something, CC someone powerful.
Nagging is okay; if someone doesn’t respond
in 48 hours, they’ll probably never respond.
(True for phone as well as email).
23

24. General Advice: Vacations
Phone callers should get two
options:
◦ If this can’t wait, contact so, so, person
at 080-350…
◦ Otherwise please call back June 1
Thisworks for Email too!
Vacations should be vacations.
◦ It’s not a vacation if you’re reading
email
24

25. General Advice - D-O I-T N-O-W
D = Divide and conquer what you have to do. Break
big tasks into smaller pieces and give each piece a
realistic deadline.
O = Organize your materials... and plan how you will
tackle the job.
I = Ignore interruptions. Come in early or stay after
hours to assure needed quiet time to complete
important projects.
T = Take the time to learn how to do certain essential
things yourself instead of always having to wait for a
secretary, consultant or some other helper to do it for
you. 25

26. General Advice - D-O I-T N-O-W
N = Now, don’t procrastinate. Put the task
you have been dreading the most at the top of
your to-do list.
O = Opportunity is knocking. Take advantage
of opportunities.
W = Watch out for time gobblers such as the
Internet, E-mail, watching TV, talking on the
phone. But do make time to have lunch, exercise
and take vacations to recharge your batteries
and reconnect with your family and friends.
26

27. STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress happens when we are not relaxed,
when our minds aren't settled.
When there's too much to do, too many
distractions, and too many problems.
An overload of stress is bad for your
body, your emotional health, and your
business. You can't eliminate it
completely, but there are ways to reduce
your stress levels.
27

28. STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress management starts with identifying the
sources of stress in your life.
Your true sources of stress aren’t always
obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your
own stress.
Most definitely you’re constantly worried
about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your
procrastination, rather than the actual job
demands, that leads to deadline stress.
28

29. STRESS MANAGEMENT
To identify your true sources of stress, look
closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:
Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I
just have a million things going on right now”)
even though you can’t remember the last time
you took a breather?
Do you define stress as an integral part of your
work or home life (“Things are always crazy
around here”) or as a part of your personality
(“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”).
29

30. STRESS MANAGEMENT
Do you blame your stress on other
people or outside events, or view it
as entirely normal and
unexceptional?
Until you accept responsibility for
the role you play in creating or
maintaining it, your stress level will
remain outside your control.
30

31. STRESS MANAGEMENT
Unhealthy ways of coping with
stress
Smoking
Drinking too much
Overeating or undereating
Zoning out for hours in front of the TV
or computer
Withdrawing from friends, family, and
activities 31

32. STRESS MANAGEMENT
Using pills or drugs to relax
Sleeping too much
Procrastinating
Taking out your stress on others
(lashing out, angry outbursts,
physical violence)
32

33. STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Avoid unnecessary stress
Alter the situation
Adapt to the stressor
Accept the things you can’t
change
Make time for fun and
relaxation
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
33

34. #1: Avoid unnecessary stress
Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and
stick to them. Taking on more than you can handle
is a surefire recipe for stress.
Avoid people who stress you out – If someone
consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t
turn the relationship around, limit the amount of
time you spend with that person or end the
relationship entirely.
Take control of your environment – If the
evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off.
If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-
traveled route.
34

35. #1: Avoid unnecessary stress
Avoid hot-button topics – If you get
upset over religion or politics, cross them
off your conversation list.
Pare down your to-do list – Analyze
your schedule, responsibilities, and daily
tasks. Drop tasks that aren’t truly
necessary to the bottom of the list or
eliminate them entirely.
35

36. #2: Alter the situation
Express your feelings instead of
bottling them up. If something or
someone is bothering you, communicate
your concerns in an open and respectful
way.
Be willing to compromise. When you
ask someone to change their behavior, be
willing to do the same. This way there will
be good chance of finding a happy middle
ground.
36

37. #2: Alter the situation
Be more assertive. Don’t take a
backseat in your own life. Deal with
problems head on, doing your best to
anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got a
a deadline, tell any chatty colleague that
you only have five minutes to talk.
Manage your time better. Poor time
management can cause a lot of stress.
37

38. #3: Adapt to the stressor
Reframe problems. Try to view stressful
situations from a more positive perspective. Rather
than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an
opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your
favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.
Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the
stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it
will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A
year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the
answer is no, focus your time and energy
elsewhere. 38

39. #3: Adapt to the stressor
Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a
major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting
yourself up for failure by demanding perfection.
Set reasonable standards for yourself and
others, and learn to be okay with “good
enough.”
Focus on the positive. When stress is getting
you down, take a moment to reflect on all the
things you appreciate in your life, including your
own positive qualities and gifts. This simple
strategy can help you keep things in perspective.
39

40. #4: Accept the things you can’t
change
Don’t try to control the uncontrollable.
Many things in life are beyond our control—
particularly the behavior of other people.
Rather than stressing out over them, focus on
the things you can control such as the way you
choose to react to problems.
Look for the upside. As the saying goes,
“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
When facing major challenges, try to look at
them as opportunities for personal growth.
40

41. #4: Accept the things you can’t
change
Share your feelings. Talk to a
trusted friend or make an appointment
with a therapist.
Learn to forgive. Accept the fact
that we live in an imperfect world and
that people make mistakes. Let go of
anger and resentments. Free yourself
from negative energy by forgiving and
moving on.
41

42. #5: Make time for fun and relaxation
Set aside relaxation time. Include
rest and relaxation in your daily
schedule. This is your time to take a
break from all responsibilities and
recharge your batteries.
Connect with others. Spend time
with positive people who enhance your
life. A strong support system will buffer
you from the negative effects of stress.
42

43. #5: Make time for fun and relaxation
Do something you enjoy every
day. Make time for leisure activities
that bring you joy, whether it be
stargazing, playing the piano, or
working on your bike.
Keep your sense of humor. This
includes the ability to laugh at yourself.
The act of laughing helps your body
fight stress in a number of ways.
43

44. #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle
Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key
role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress.
Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three
times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for
releasing pent-up stress and tension.
Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are
better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful
of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast,
and keep your energy up and your mind clear with
balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.
44

45. #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle
Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary
"highs" caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a
crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount
of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in
your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep
better.
Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-
medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an
easy escape from stress, but the relief is only
temporary.
Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your
mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will
increase your stress because it may cause you to
think irrationally.
45