This document discusses effective time management strategies for working with others. It provides tips for maintaining productive relationships while minimizing time wasted. Some key points include spending up to 25% of time on collaborative work, learning to say "no" to unnecessary tasks, being brief in communication, and using assertive phrases like "however" to redirect requests. The document also covers techniques for handling phone calls and meetings efficiently.

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Time and Others
Time Management
MTL Course Topics
Time and Others
TIME MANAGEMENT

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Time and Others
Time Management
MTL Course Topics
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ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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INTRODUCTION
Working with others is symbolised by the metaphor of
water. Like water, time with others is a connecting process,
in which we engage not just our rational brains, but our
feelings as well. But time with others, while essential for
getting things done, can also be one of the biggest time
robbers. We can achieve nothing without others; but if we
are not careful, we can achieve nothing because of others.
As one of the four time zones, we should aim to spend up to
a quarter of our time working with others.

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THE ELEMENT OF WATER
Water plays a very important part in our lives. It accounts
for two-thirds of the globe and 90% of our bodies. Water
flows and connects and joins.
The qualities of Water: fluid; moving; soft; interacting;
communicating; joining; feeling; sensual; responding;
connecting; expressive; subjective; refreshing. Water may be
still or turbulent; trickling or rushing; bubbly or calm;
shallow or deep; active or passive; sedate or playful.
Water tasks: Water tasks are those tasks that bring us
together with other people.
How we connect with Water: Water is associated with
human feelings and comes from low down in the bowels or
gut.

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TIME AND OTHERS
There are two opposing impulses in the way we spend our
time with others at work: the impulse to keep in touch and
the impulse to distance ourselves. The two impulses are
reconciled by managing our relationships.
The impulse to keep in touch is typified by:
• an open door policy
• management by walking about
• keeping an ear to the ground and gathering information
• forming liaisons, networking and oiling the rolodex.
The impulse to distance ourselves is typified by:
• minimising interruptions
• avoiding time-wasters
• not doing others' work for them
• avoiding the need to be nice to others
• learning to say "No"
• being brisk and business-like.

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KEEPING IN TOUCH
In research by Henry Mintzberg, professor of management
at McGill University, Montreal, top managers were found to
spend the vast majority of their time in contact with others.
Contrary to the image of the reflective planner, the typical
manager...
1. works relentlessly from the moment he or she arrives at
work to when they go home
2. hops from activity to activity in a disjointed fashion
3. is continually responding to information coming in and
sending information out
4. feels the need to be interrupted by others in case he or
she misses some vital piece of news
5. deliberately seeks others out through an open door
policy, management by wandering about and wanting to
be kept up-to-date.

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A MANAGER'S TIME
The popular image of the successful manager is a well-
organised time manager who plans each day, knows what
they are doing at any moment and operates smoothly as
people come and go around them with consummate ease.
The truth may be somewhat different.
According to research, the typical manager...
1. stays on one activity for no more than 9 minutes before
moving on to the next
2. is interrupted as much as once every 8 minutes
3. rarely works for 30 minutes or more without
interruption
4. is in verbal contact for up to 78% of the time
5. spends 93% of verbal contact in unplanned and reactive
exchanges
6. cherishes gossip, speculation and hearsay.

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AN EAR TO THE GROUND
There is quite simply one explanation that answers the
question why managers constantly seek, encourage and
welcome interruptions from others: the overriding need to
know what's going on.
Managers, for their own survival, if not that of the
organisation, need to keep their ear to the ground. They
need a constant supply of information and news, which they
need to check out and test. This allows them to feel that
they are on top of events and have a grasp and overview of
anything that may affect their business.
This often results in:
1. excessive time spent on trivia and gossip
2. a reluctance to spend too long on one activity
3. a readiness to be interrupted in person or by phone and
to interrupt others likewise.

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PEOPLE TO AVOID
While effective time managers know who it is important for
them to keep in touch with, there are also some types of
people who are best avoided. These are people who will
waste your time.
There are 3 distinct groups:
1. Moaners, whingers and complainers. This group can
suck you in with their negativity. Avoid them.
2. The coffee-set. This group start the day gossiping
around the coffee machine (or other suitable non-work
location) and never move far from it for much of the
day. Avoid them.
3. The watering-hole set. This group meet at the end of
the day in the bar (or any other suitable relaxing place).
Their excessive socialising can compromise working
relationships. Avoid them.

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CARE OF OUR TIME
In 1650, Jeremy Taylor, chaplain to Charles I, wrote a book
called "Holy Living". The first chapter was called "Care of
our Time" and includes the following advice:
1. "Avoid the company of drunkards and busybodies and
all such as are apt to talk much to little purpose: for no
man can be provident of his time that is not prudent in
the choice of his company. And if one of the speakers
be vain, tedious and trifling, he that hears and he that
answers in the discourse are equal losers of their time."
2. "Never talk with anyone or undertake any trifling
employment, merely to pass the time away. For every
day well spent may become a day of salvation."
3. "Let every one of every condition avoid curiosity and all
inquiry into things that concern them not. For all
business in things that concern them not is an
employing of our time to no good of ours."

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LEARN TO SAY NO
We often take on jobs that are not ours and don't really
have the time to do because we believe we should, we
believe it will make others grateful and because we believe
we are helping. In fact, the real reason may be none of
these. We may just be unable to say "No".
In his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People",
Stephen Covey relates a meeting with a colleague on whom
he wanted to offload some urgent work he didn't want to
do. The colleague gently took Stephen to a wall chart on
which were listed his current projects. "Stephen, I'll do
whatever you want me to do, but tell me. Which of these
projects would you like me to delay or cancel?"
Stephen smiled.
He decided he didn't want the responsibility of delaying his
colleague's work and went off to find a less accomplished
manager to do his work.

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NO THANKS!
Saying "No" to others is an assertive technique that comes
from valuing your work as much as you value others. If you
do work that is important to others, stopping it to do
something for someone else is letting your original clients
down.
1. Get the right attitude. Saying "No" pleasantly is not
likely to end a friendship. If anything, it will increase the
respect others have for you and you have for yourself.
2. Make sure you're not contractually obliged to do the
job, nor that there isn't some advantage in it for you
3. Say "no" clearly, unambiguously and firmly. Use self-
talk that says: "I have no reason to feel bad about this".
Don't feel obliged to make excuses for saying "No".
Don't feel you have to help the person find someone
else. And then forget it. It's not your problem.

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THE MAGIC OF "HOWEVER..."
The Assertive Sequence is a 4-part structure that helps you
learn how to say "No" and it all hinges on the use of the
word, “However...".
The 4 parts are:
1. Acknowledge the other person's request whether you
think it's fair or not.
2. Change direction with a "However..." statement,
assertively expressed.
3. Say clearly what you feel.
4. State the reality of the person's situation as you see it.
Here is an example of the sequence in response to a request
for a report. "I appreciate you need this report done now,
Jim. However, with my workload, the earliest I could do it is
next week. If you can live with that, I'm happy to do it.
Otherwise, it will need to be allocated to someone else who
can meet your tight deadline."

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BE BRISK WITH OTHERS
Meetings, phone calls and interviews with others are often
cited as amongst the great time wasters. But they needn't
be.
Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of post-war Britain, was
known for his briskness at Cabinet meetings. His knack was
to stifle talk for the sake of talk.
One of Attlee's exchanges ran as follows:
"A good paper, minister. Do you need to add anything?"
(implying that, since the paper was so good, nothing could
have been left out).
"Has anyone any objection? (which stifles unnecessary
discussion).
"Are you objecting? (thus stopping anything other than an
objection).
"Right. Next item."

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BEING BRIEF
It is a modern convention to be short in communication,
whether spoken, written or read. This satisfies the desire of
people not to waste time giving and receiving unnecessary
information.
Some of the enemies of brevity in communication are:
1. fuzzy thinking, or "beating around the bush", in which
two words are used where one would do
2. bureaucratic thinking, where correct procedure is
emphasised at the expense of clarity
3. verbiage, in which turn of phrase and expression are
valued more than message
4. deviation or wandering from the point
5. fillers, such as words like "basically" and "really" and
unnecessary phrases such as "at the end of the day" and
"in the fullness of time".

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DON'T TALK BACK
You can be polite, gracious, and business-like with others
without having to spend excessive amounts of time on chit-
chat, discussion and argument.
Channing H. Cox once visited Washington to call on
President Calvin Coolidge whom he had succeeded as
Governor of Massachusetts. Cox, who was often detained at
his desk until well after 9.00pm, was astonished to learn
that Coolidge was able to see so many people and still leave
the office at 5.00pm.
"What's the difference between you and me?" he asked.
Coolidge replied, "You talk back."

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KEEP THE BALL IN THEIR COURT
We often decide to take on tasks for others in the mistaken
belief that this is good teamwork or simply good friendship.
Unfortunately, doing someone else's work for them nearly
always means allowing ourselves to be interrupted from our
own work and letting our own clients down.
One of the techniques to avoid taking on jobs that are not
yours is to metaphorically play a game of tennis with those
who want you to disrupt you. You simply keep the ball in
their court. When there is a risk of the ball staying on your
side of the net, hit it back, ideally with a passing shot.
Caller: "Could you pass a message on to Alan for me or let
him know I called?"
You: "I'm not sure I'll be in all afternoon. Can I suggest you
call back around 3?"
Caller: "Right, I'll try that."

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UNWANTED CALLERS
In order to stay in control of your time management plans,
you need to handle unwanted callers politely but assertively.
1. ask directly what they want and how long they might be
2. suggest a time when you know you'll be free
3. have a regular "green period" slot when you are free
each day to see people
4. don't succumb to the temptation of a break from what
you're doing
5. agree to meet them at their workplace
6. point out that what you are doing is important and ask
if their interruption is more important
7. use appropriate body language to indicate they are not
invited to stay, for example, stand up, perch on the edge
of the desk, move towards the door, avoid eye contact.
Be gracious with people and ruthless with time.

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BREAKING AWAY
One of the most powerful ways to build rapport with others
is to match their movements, moods and thought
processes.
When we want to break contact and bring an exchange to a
close, we can adopt the opposite technique of mismatching
movements, moods and thought processes.
1. if someone has come into your work area and sat down,
they will feel settled while you are both seated. When
you stand up, they receive the message that the
exchange is over.
2. if the mood has been relaxed, you can break away by
changing your mood to a more business-like one, for
example by putting on your glasses or taking out a work
file
3. if you have been sharing similar views, you can break off
by taking a different view: "Oh, well, whatever we think,
I'm sure others will have their own view."

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TELEPHONE TECHNIQUES
The telephone can easily become the number one time
robber in our lives. Even when a call is not for us, there is
something invasive about a ringing phone that compels us
to pick it up.
To make sure your phone is at your command and not you
at its, follow these guidelines:
1. master the techniques of the phone that can save you
time, including call diverting and answer phones
2. if you can't get through to others, decide whether it is
better to hang on or get them to call you back
3. plan your calls and what you want to say
4. use an egg-timer or stopwatch to time your calls
5. don't offer people an open-ended invitation to call you
back; state a time when you won't mind interruptions
6. employ someone to take your calls when you are busy
and train them to deal with all but the few things you
need to deal with yourself.

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TIME AND THE TEAM
The paradox of, on the one hand, needing to get close to the
team, and, on the other, maintaining some distance from
them, can only be resolved by working as an individual in
the team.
In teams with a good understanding of each other, there is
an agreed allocating, delegating and sharing of tasks to
ensure good time management.
1. Allocating: portioning out jobs with no other purpose
than to get the job done.
2. Delegating: giving jobs to those best suited to do them,
or who want to do them or who can benefit from doing
them.
3. Sharing: working together on jobs; complementing each
other's good points; taking your turn "on the watch";
saving time by working as a team; doing things
synergistically.

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BARN RAISING
A great time-saving technique that makes use of the team is
to get everyone to help you with a big job. It's based on the
idea that "many hands make light work".
Examples could be an office clear-out, a marketing event, a
training conference, a visit of dignitaries, or a health and
safety inspection.
In North America, this is sometimes known as "barn-raising"
after the 18th and 19th century tradition of helping new
settlers in the West to build a new barn when they arrive in
a new settlement. On their own the newcomers would
struggle to put up such a big structure and, being new,
would have few funds to pay someone else.
The tradition is still practised today in closed communities,
such as the Amish and Mennonites, when the job of helping
newcomers build their barns is completed in a fraction of
the time because everyone helps.

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A POLICY ON TIME
A company-wide approach to time management can yield
benefits for everyone in the team:
1. it can raise awareness of how time is being used
2. it can pool ideas on how to save time
3. it can balance out workloads
4. it can encourage the team to help each others' time
problems
5. it can lead to a greater respect for other people's time.
A widely reported programme into group time management
at the Arizona state office of Agriculture resulted in many
shared recommendations being implemented in a daily
quiet period.

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TEAM TO-DO LISTS
Writing to-do lists is acknowledged as an effective way of
identifying current tasks and priorities. It is, however, a task
that often gets relegated because of the time it takes to do
and because it is hard to do it alone.
A more effective way to compile to-do lists is to do them in
teams. The team meets at set intervals and each person
shares their current to-do list with the rest of the team. This
has a number of advantages:
1. similar jobs can be pooled and given to the most
qualified member of the team
2. overloads and underloads can be evened out
3. the team can put their collective thinking caps on to find
the best way to manage the team's time.
Managing team to-do lists is also a useful way of handling
new tasks and incoming tasks.

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DON'T BE LATE
Alec McKenzie, the time management guru, offers this
simple but powerful tip to anyone who wants to improve
their time management: don't be late.
Nowhere is the maxim "Time is Money" better illustrated
than in tardiness. Imagine the cost of keeping a board of
directors waiting for even 10 minutes because you are late,
to say nothing of what signals it sends about your efficiency
and self-management ability.
Arriving on time means you respect others and their time
and is one of the most powerful culture signals of how an
organisation manages its time.

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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