1. TIME MANAGEMENT
Presentation
by
M.S.S.Varadan
Chairman
Om Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd.
C O N S U L T A N T S
U N L O C K IN G P EO PL E P O T E N T I A L

2. TIME MANAGEMENT
Division of Time
 Biological Time
 Business Time
 Social Time
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BIM talk 15/6/06

3. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
 Biological Time
• Rest
• Food
• Exercise (Yoga)
• Concentration
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4. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
 Business Time
• Preparation
• “Making others wait” - Syndrome
• Delegation
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5. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
 Business Time (Contd..)
• Use of Telephone
o Always keep pad and pencil near the phone
o While receiving calls identify yourself first
o Call people at predetermined time when they would
be available
o Encourage people to call you at predetermined
time when you would be available
o Do not give lectures. Adopt a point by point method
of speaking
o Jot down points to communicate before dialing the
number
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6. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
• Correspondence
o Fix regular time for written and oral
communication
o Clear instructions to P.A.
o Reply on the letters
– Clear correspondence each day (don’t allow it
to pile up)
– Prioritise letters, if there is a back log and
clear them progressively
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7. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
• Filing instead of piling
o Have an efficient system of filing to enable
easy retrieval of required information
o Note important data in specific places for easy reference
o Always carry an engagement diary.
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8. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
• Visitors
o Handling - Handing over
– Keep papers ready before the visitors arrive
– Conclude discussions with a summary and bid
them goodbye to indicate that the discussions is
completed.
– Unscheduled - short
– Discourage, whenever possible, unscheduled
intrusions into your time
– Offer of Coffee, tea, etc., - Caution!
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9. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
• Visits
o Phone
o Reconfirmation
o Engagements - Venue
• Professional Meetings & Conferences
o Protocol
o Public Relations
o Contacts
o Knowledge
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10. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
• Meetings & Committees
Donald Parker, a famous Value Engineering
Specialist has defined an ineffective committee as
“A Group of unwilling chosen from the unfit, to do
the unnecessary at an unsuitable time”.
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11. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
• In order to avoid this,
– Call meetings using good judgement and discretion
– Regular/fixed timings for meeting the various people eg. Union
Members, Management Personnel and other external agencies
– Develop simple systems
– Prepare yourself & encourage others to be prepared for the
meetings
– Insist on an Agenda
– Participate only when you have something to contribute
– Information systems for feedback
– Avoid tea/coffee breaks during the meeting
– Budget the meeting time and monitor it
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12. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
Social Time
• Family
• Social Visits
• Time to think and discuss
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13. TIME MANAGEMENT (CONTD..)
Social Time (Contd..)
• Travel
o Folder
o Phone Cards (Re-checking)
• Information
o Flood (Need to be selective)
o Daily Paper
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14. 3 CATEGORIES OF TIME
1. Time controlled by me
2. Time which I must spend in response to the
demands made by others
3. Time for unpredictable events
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15. TIPS FOR TIME MANAGEMENT
1. Batchwork Vs Patchwork
2. Meetings and Appointments
3. Brief Telephone Conversations
4. Streamlining Paper work
5. Avoid Indecision / Procrastination
6. Learn to say ‘no’
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16. TOP TEN TIME WASTERS
1. Telephone Interruptions
2. ‘Drop-In’ Visitors
3. Ineffective Delegation
4. Meetings
5. Lack of objectives priorities
6. Crisis Management
7. Attempting too much at once
8. Cluttered desk/disorganisation
9. Indecision/Procrastination
10. Inability to say ‘no’
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17. POINTS TO PONDER & WORK ON ………
 Know yourself
• How organised are you ?
• What are your habits ?
• What are your personality traits ?
 How are you spending your time ?
• Time Record & Analysis
• Prioritise
 Methods
• Task
• Time Norms
• Avoiding Time Traps
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18. TASK CHARTING
Task charting is a system to streamline the organization of
specific tasks. Given a task to do :
1. Identify the task goal, determine exactly what is to be
accomplished
2. Think through all necessary steps to complete the task.
Try thinking backwards, from completed goal to
beginning of task, to avoid leaving out essential steps.
3. Arrange the steps in logical order. Weigh alternatives.
Ask yourself, “What if I did this before that?” “Would it
save time if I did that before this?”
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19. TASK CHARTING (CONTD..)
4. After the steps are arranged in logical order, assign a symbol to
each step. Here are five basic symbols. You may want to think
of others, depending on the task you have to do.
-/- Go or Stop
(Appears at both beginning and end)
? Input
(Stands for ingredients necessary for success of project)
! Imperative
(Used when action is needed to complete a step. With goal in mind
and the necessary input at hand, there is no reason to stall!)
* Decision
(You need to make a decision)
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20. GOAL SETTING
 Do you know Where you are and Where you are
going?
 Why 97% people do not set goals? Fear ? Self-
image? Procrastination ? Belief ? Knowledge ?
 Benefits of Goal setting. Self-control. Self-
Confidence. Self-worth. Time Management.
Improved quality of life.
 Areas requiring goal setting. Personal. Professional.
Financial. Health. Social. Spiritual.
 Types of Goals - Short term. Mid term. Long term.
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21. GOAL SETTING (CONTD..)
 How to set Goals ? Ask yourself
1. Where am I now ?
2. What do I want ?
3. When do I want it ?
4. How can I get there ?
5. What do I do now and get what I want ?
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22. GOAL SETTING (CONTD..)
 Factors in Goal setting
1. Know what you want
2. Goals must be worth, realistic, clear and specific
3. Strong desire
4. Visualisation
5. Decision
6. Put Goals in Writing
7. Set a time frame for each Goal
8. Know your Resources
9. Know the Obstacles that may come
10. Action
11. Evaluation
12. Flexibility
13. Persistence
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23. GOAL SETTING (CONTD..)
 Steps to achieving your Goals
1. Write down your Goals
2. Visualise clearly
3. Affirmation
4. Act :As if”
5. The daily one inch step
6. Use the “I am Responsible Technique”
 Stages of Competence in Goal Setting
1. Unconcious incompetence
2. Conscious incompetence
3. Conscious competence
4. Unconscious competence
(Sub-conscious takes over the Activity and makes it a habit).
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24. TIME SPAN
 Time – Related to activity / no activity
• Time Span Concept
o Lifetime
o Career
o Decades
o Years
o Months-weeks-days-hours
• Time Budget
o New activities
o Developmental activities
o Routine activities
Parkinson’s Law : Work expands to fill the time available for completion
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25. TIME FRAMES (CONTD..)
 “System Based” Time Frame
• Daily
• Weekly
• Fortnightly
• Monthly
• Yearly
 “People Based” Time Frame
• Self
• Family
• Relatives
• Friends
• Acquaintances
 Organise work to save time
• Delegation
• Trust
• Information system
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26. TIME FRAMES
 Save oneself from “Time Stress”
• Stress is not in the “Circumstances”, but as you view
it (Philosophical teachings)
• Decision making on “time”
• Organised Leisure
• (Psychological Expectations)
• Value others’ time as well as your own time
Procrastination is the thief of time
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27. TIMES OF LIFE
 Time to Converse
• Talking & Perceiving
• Telephone Conversation
T - Tell the person, in one sentence,
purpose of your call
E - Explain briefly
A - Action -What you plan to do
What you want the other to do
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28. TIMES OF LIFE (CONTD..)
 Time to Confer
• Meetingitis!
• Points for productive meetings
o Problem ?
o Cause of Problem ?
o Possible Solutions ?
o Best Solution ?
 Time to Lead
• Eliminate time waste by - Example
- Motivation
• Why, When, What & How to delegate
• Instruct to save time
• Don’t accept reverse delegation
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29. TIMES OF LIFE (CONTD..)
 Time to do paperwork
• Sorting system
• Designing speedy systems
 Time to Decide
• Problem Analysis - Deviation
- Alternatives
- Rank order
• Actions - Interim
- Corrective
- Preventive
- Contingency
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30. TIMES OF LIFE (CONTD..)
• Creating Ideas - Brainstorming
- Solo Brainstorming
- Moonlighting
- Reverse Brainstorming
 Time to Write
• Clarity of composition
• Shortness
• Simplicity
• Strength
‘Yes’, ‘No’ & ‘Do’ letters
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