This document discusses time management, organizational skills, and reducing stress. It addresses working in different environments like central offices, main/satellite offices, and virtual offices. It also discusses increasing efficiency, causes of stress from internal and external sources, and symptoms of stress. The document provides a time management matrix to categorize tasks as important/urgent vs. not important/not urgent. It emphasizes organizing and prioritizing tasks, developing time management skills, setting goals, and celebrating accomplishments.
8. Causes of Stress
• What causes stress?
– Internal sources
– External sources
• What is stressful for you?
9. Effects of Stress
• Cognitive Symptoms
– Memory problems
– Inability to concentrate
– Poor judgment
– Seeing only the negative
– Anxious or racing thoughts
– Constant worrying
• Emotional Symptoms
– Moodiness
– Irritability or short temper
– Agitation and inability to relax
– Feeling overwhelmed
– Sense of loneliness and isolation
– Depression or general unhappiness
• Physical Symptoms
– Aches and pains
– Diarrhea or constipation
– Nausea and/or dizziness
– Chest pain and/or rapid heartbeat
– Loss of sex drive
– Frequent colds
• Physical Symptoms
– Eating more or less
– Sleeping too much or too little
– Isolating yourself from others
– Procrastinating or neglecting
responsibilities
– Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to
relax
– Nervous habits (e.g., nail biting, pacing)
12. Organize and Prioritize
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
I
Important
and
Urgent
II
Important ,
but
Not Urgent
NotImportant
III
Urgent,
but
Not Important
IV
Not Urgent
and
Not Important
Prioritize your tasks
Where do the majority of your
tasks fall on the chart?
13. Organize and Prioritize
Quadrant I
Immediate Attention Required
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
I
Important
and
Urgent
II
Important,
but
Not Urgent
NotImportant
III
Urgent,
but
Not Important
IV
Not Urgent
and
Not Important
14. Organize and Prioritize
Quadrant II
Requires attention, but not yet critical
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
I
Important
and
Urgent
II
Important,
but
Not Urgent
NotImportant
III
Urgent,
but
Not Important
IV
Not Urgent
and
Not Important
15. Organize and Prioritize
Quadrant III
“Nice to do”
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
I
Important
and
Urgent
II
Important,
but
Not Urgent
NotImportant
III
Urgent,
but
Not Important
IV
Not Urgent
and
Not Important
16. Organize and Prioritize
Quadrant IV
These activities are time eaters
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
I
Important
and
Urgent
II
Important,
but
Not Urgent
NotImportant
III
Urgent,
but
Not Important
IV
Not Urgent
and
Not Important
17. Increase Effectiveness
• After organizing and categorizing tasks,
prioritize tasks
• Develop new skills
– Time Sense
– Goal Setting
– Time Planning
– Recognize Procrastination
• Celebrate your accomplishments
18. Organize and Prioritize
• Plan your work, then work your plan
– The “to-do” list
– Assess your tasks
– Plan for the unplanned
Notes de l'éditeur
Organizations provide a variety of work environments for their employees.
A central office is usually the corporate office of an organization. Leadership and administration are usually housed here. Staff commutes to and from work and each person has a specific work area. An example is the vocational rehabilitation (VR) central office in the State Office building, as well as many of the employment service providers’ corporate offices.
A satellite, or sometimes called main office, is an extension of the central office. The reason this office is sometimes referred to as a main office is because most staff members never visit the central office and, to them, this is their main office. It is not viewed as a satellite office. For others, however, it is seen as an extension of the central location and only visited on occasion. Regardless, this office is put in place so that staff members can be closer to customers/consumers. The best example of this type of office is the local VR field office. Another great example is an employment service provider office located in a county other than where the corporate office is located. The satellite office is able to provide services to consumers who live outside of the corporate office catchment area.
Virtual offices can be many things. Sometimes this office is in a worker’s home in a separate room, or maybe on the kitchen table. Some virtual offices may even be at a nearby coffee house, or at a desk in a local WorkOne. Working virtually entails any arrangement that separates an employee from his or her manager and coworkers.
There are many statistics available about the number of individuals who work remotely. Imagine the difficulty in gathering this data. One source’s research cites that up to 40% of the working population works from home at least part of the time with 102,000 of those workers being federal employees.
Regardless of the work environment, there are benefits and challenges to each environment. Let’s start by looking at the benefits of each type.
Corporate offices:
May become aware of information more quickly
Assigned to a specific work area
Satellite offices:
More opportunity for direct communication from leadership or manager
More opportunity to connect to coworkers.
Virtual offices:
Consumers cannot just drop in the office
Create your own schedule – do what you want to do – when you want to
What are some challenges to working in each working environment?
Central offices:
Being too close to the office “politics”
Being at the “center” of it all and getting caught up in issues
Satellite offices:
Consumers can drop by unexpectedly
Easy to become distracted when everyone is in the office
Virtual offices:
Miss out on impromptu discussions about projects/cases with other team members
Lack of socialization with coworkers
Potential for technical issues
This webinar is designed for you, the virtual worker. We will cover various time
management and organizational skills to help you be as effective as possible in your
virtual worlds.
We all know there is a set amount of hours in each day to get our work done. We all also know that there are certain people or things that can steal minutes and even hours from your day – that take you away from your work. These time stealers can take many forms like too many meetings, no opportunities for delegation, telephone interruptions, demands from others, procrastination, or poor follow-up. You can control some time eaters, and cannot control others. Examine your day and identify the time eaters that you can control. Work to eliminate them to make each minute count.
Ask yourself:
Can I control this time eater?
If I can control it, what will I gain if I eliminate or reduce it?
What steps will I need to take to eliminate this time eater?
How will I know when I am starting to see results?
Another way to use your time more effectively is to accept the events in your life that you cannot control. Focus your energies on the events at work that you can control.
We may become stressed if we cannot complete all of our work each day. Let’s look at some ways to reduce stress in your life.
Often stress comes from outside sources:
Major life changes – good and bad
Work
Relationship difficulties
Financial problems
Being too busy
Children and family
Not all stress is caused by external factors. Stress can also be self-generated. Common internal causes of stress include the following:
Inability to accept uncertainty
Pessimism
Negative self-talk
Unrealistic expectations
Perfectionism
Lack of assertiveness
What's Stressful For You?
What's stressful for you may be quite different from what's stressful to your best friend, your spouse, or the person next door. For example:
Some people enjoy speaking in public; others are terrified.
Some people are more productive under deadline pressure; others are miserably tense.
Some people are eager to help family and friends through difficult times; others find it very stressful.
Some people feel comfortable complaining about bad service in a restaurant; others find it so difficult to complain so that they prefer to suffer in silence.
Some people may feel that changes at work represent a welcome opportunity; others worry about whether they'll be able to cope.
http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
Too much prolonged stress can be harmful to us. Let’s look at some effects of stress.
Time Management – Schedule (but don’t over-schedule), list, and prioritize tasks.
Plan each day. Planning your day can help you accomplish more and feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.
Prioritize your tasks. Time-consuming, but relatively unimportant tasks can consume a lot of your day. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you spend your time and energy on those that are truly important to you.
Say no to nonessential tasks. Consider your goals and schedule before agreeing to take on additional work.
Take the time you need to do a quality job. Doing work right the first time may take more time up front, but errors usually result in time spent making corrections, which takes more time overall.
Practice the 10-minute rule. Work on a dreaded task for 10 minutes each day. Once you get started, you may find you can finish it.
Evaluate how you're spending your time. Keep a diary of everything you do for three days to determine how you're spending your time. Look for time that can be used more wisely. For example, could you take a bus or train to work and use the commute to catch up on reading? If so, you could free up some time to exercise or spend with family or friends.
Take a break when needed. Too much stress can derail your attempts at getting organized. When you need a break, take one. Take a walk. Do some quick stretches at your workstation. Take a day of vacation to rest and re-energize.
Organization – Make a place for work and personal tasks in your schedule. Plan daily for short-term goals and plan weekly or longer for larger goals. Organize your physical space. There's a direct relationship between clutter and stress; more of one causes more of the other. When you are surrounded by piles, it's hard to relax, to feel at peace, to be contented with your living or working environment.
Delegate – Are there some things you can delegate to consumers?
Stephen Covey describes a high-level prioritization scheme in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In this scheme, tasks are categorized by four quadrants:
QI – Important and Urgent
QII – Important, but Not Urgent
QIII – Not Important, but Urgent
QIV – Not Important and Not Urgent
Think of a party that you have planned. There are numerous tasks you must complete for the party to be a success. As we discuss each quadrant, think about where these tasks may fall.
Quadrant I – Important and Urgent. This quadrant include a crisis, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects, and meeting preparations. These should be completed today. If these are not done today, there will be serious repercussions.
Important and Urgent Party Task:
You are having a very large party at a local venue. The day before your party, the building catches fire and burns down. You now need to immediately locate a new venue for your event. This task is important because you need a place to have the party, as well as urgent, due to the party occurring the next day. This requires your immediate attention, or the party will not be a success.
Quadrant II – Important, but Not Urgent. (Preparations, Presentations, Planning, Relationship Building, True Recreation, Empowerment) – These should be done soon. It would be nice to do these today; but, they can be put off for a later time. If these are not completed, nothing significant will happen.
Dr. Covey notes that highly effective people make time for the QII activities, and that doing so can reduce the time spent in other quadrants.
Important, but Not Urgent Party Scenario:
It is two months before your big party. You need to order invitations, and have made an appointment with the local stationary store. This is an important task, but at this time, it is not urgent.
Quadrant III – Urgent, but Not Important. (Interruptions, some phone calls, some mail, some reports, some meetings, many proximate pressing matters, many popular activities) – There is not a set time frame. These are “nice to do” items. If these items are not done, nothing significant will happen.
Urgent, but Not Important Party Scenario:
Three days before your party, you decide that it would be really nice to have 300 handmade party favors ready for your guests. Because it is so close to your party date, this is an urgent task. However, if you do not complete this task, nothing significant will happen. You will still have a nice party, and your guests will not know the difference.
Quadrant IV – Not Urgent and Not Important. (Trivia, busywork, junk mail, some phone calls, time thieves, “escape” activities) – These items are your time eaters.
Effective people stay out of Quadrants III and IV because, urgent or not, they are not important. They also shrink Quadrant I down to size by spending more time in Quadrant II, which is the heart of effective personal management. Our effectiveness takes a quantum leap when we start doing the things in Quadrant II on a regular basis.
Not Urgent and Not Important Party Scenario:
You have two weeks until your party, and decide that you would like to add another food item to your menu. You already have enough food ordered, and this item is not needed. Since you have plenty of time, this is not an urgent matter. Also, if you do not add this item to your menu, there are no significant consequences, making the task “not important.”
Everything in your life cannot be a priority.
Prioritize your tasks. Within the categories, rate the tasks by what must be done first, second, etc.
Time Sense – This is a skill of estimating how long each task will take.
Goal Setting – Where do you want to be at the end of a set time period?
Time Planning – Outline ahead of time the work you need to do in a specific time frame.
Recognizing Procrastination – This comes frequently disguised as an excuse (need a bigger block of time, more information required, need inspiration, etc.).
What did you get done? Don’t focus on what you DIDN’T do; focus on what you DID do.
http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/hesguide/humanrel/gh6653.pdf
Time management statistics show that 15 minutes of planning saves an hour in execution and improves the quality of your work. Many people say that a plan is no use, as their work day is too fluid for planning. A plan gives you direction, a backbone of what you want to complete, and having a plan does not mean you can’t change it.
http://www.effective-time-management-strategies.com/time-management-statistics.html
The to-do list has stood the test of time.
Assess your tasks by priority (more in a few slides).
Planning for the unplanned – leave room in the schedule for traffic, a difficult client, or an unexpected deadline or issue.