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Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) recently organised a one-day seminar on "Time Management" for its managerial staff. The program was held at the auditorium of SLT Training Centre, Welisara. Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO, Centre for leadership excellence and personality development conducted the program. Here are excerpts from his presentation.

Time Management essential to set goals and objectives.

According to globally acclaimed management thinker, Peter Drucker "Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed." Time is a unique resource. Day after day, everyone has the same amount. It cannot be accumulated.

We cannot turn it on or off. It cannot be replaced. It has to be spent at the rate of sixty seconds every minute. Time is the one factor over which has no control. It is being spent whether we like it or not.

Characteristics of Time
It is a resource given equally to everyone.
It comes to us in small bits-one bit at any moment.
It cannot be accumulated and stored.
Self management is basically time management.
Time is synonymous with change.

Why Time Management?

Time is money. Time Management, like the management of other resources, benefits from analysis and planning. To understand and apply time management principles, we should know not only how to use time, but also what problems to encounter in using it effectively. From this base, we can learn to improve our effectiveness and efficiency through better time management. Therefore, time management is essential to set goals and objectives. Time management aims at getting the best utilisation of time or the best Return On Time Invested (ROTI).

What Controls Time?

Time Management is a personal process and must be fitted according to individual style. It takes a strong commitment to change old habits. The best starting point to improve our use of time is to determine the extent to which we control the time available to us. No one has total control over a daily schedule. Within this structured time, we should select our task and activities on a priority basis. By scheduling our time effectively through prioritising, we can adopt time-discipline as a measure aimed at better time management.

Road-blocks

The following are the major road blocks to effective utilisation of time.

Attitude

Fear. Lack of goals. Tolerance to delays. Inefficiencies. A feeling that the job is too difficult. Voluminous. Diverse. Unpleasant. Low self-esteem.

Knowledge

Inadequate information, Unclear priorities. Lack of know-how on the planning process and how to tackle problems.

Environment

Noise. Visitors. Poor house-keeping. Organisational disturbances. Lack of tools. Work overload.

Physiology

Fatigue. Illness, Stress.

Overcoming the road-blocks and the effective utilisation of time is all that the time management is about.

Effective time management falls into two broad areas. Things we wish to do and things we wish to avoid. For example, we might wish to Use time at work more effectively, Get more things done in the available time, Balance the time we spend at work with more time for ourselves and our families, Feel more relaxed and in control of our time. Things we wish to avoid may include, Wasting time, Forgetting to do important things, Rushing to meet deadlines, Being late for meetings, Feeling stressed and out of control.

Consequences of poor Time Management

You'll be inefficient: the things you do will take longer than necessary; you'll make more mistakes; you will lose things, miss deadlines; your work station area will be a mess.

You'll be ineffective: the difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that the first is concerned with inputs and the second is to do with outputs. Managers, like everybody else, are paid for their outputs, i.e., what they achieve and (increasingly) the degree to which they can add value for their employer. If you're inefficient it's very unlikely that you will be effective - as we shall see later, effectiveness is all about Performance Improvement and Managing Change. You won't get a promotion - because you'll be wasting time on activities which don't get you noticed, or which get you noticed in the worst possible way (e.g., by missing deadlines).

Final Tips

Develop a fixed daily routine; do routine things at routine times, Do the important jobs when you are at your best (lark or owl), Set time limits and stick to them, Never put-off unpleasant or difficult tasks if they are also important, Put-off everything that is not important, Analyse interruptions; take steps to avoid them, Set up a quiet hour and publicise it, Do one thing at a time, Plan phone calls and stick to the plan, Keep a notebook to collect ideas in one place, Wherever possible, finish your task, Arrange breaks at times when you cannot work effectively, Communicate routine matters at routine meetings, Learn to say "no", Do similar type jobs at the same time, eg. all phone calls one after another, Conduct a time audit everyday, Only take work home if you intend to do it, Think, then act, Do things adequately; don't be a perfectionist, Set a task for the year, the month, the week, the day. Make lists and cross-off tasks when done.

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