Time & Information Management Chapter 18 11/18/2018

Chapter Objectives: After completing this chapter, you should be able to: Prepare a schedule that will enable you to accomplish your most important tasks Identify strategies and techniques for using time effectively Organize your work area and your tasks Develop & maintain systems for organizing paperwork & computer files 11/18/2018

To Do or Not to Do Make a list What’s most important? Break big projects into small steps Estimate time needed to do tasks Timeline – type of chart that shows the order in which events occur in time. Helps you visualize an entire project so that you can see when you work on each step. Set up a schedule Write down every project or meeting that you have. List those you must do today plus all those you must complete in the days & weeks ahead. Next to each task, write the date or time by which you must complete it. If your task list is long, you may be thinking you’ll never get it all done. You don’t have to finish everything. Finish the most important things. Makes that big project more manageable 5. List or chart showing when tasks must be completed. 11/18/2018

Timely tips Using your time wisely Downtime – occasional periods when nothing is scheduled. Don’t waste it! Avoid procrastination Be flexible Look for ways to combine tasks 1a. A good time to get ahead or improve your skills. 11/18/2018

Using other people’s time wisely During busy times, keep conversations limited to important work-related matters Before you speak with a colleague, write down the issues that you need addressed so you don’t forget anything. Delegating – assigning tasks to other people. Make sure they understand what you’re asking them to do First…your co-workers are probably busy & will find distractions stressful. 3. Answer questions 11/18/2018

Organizing your work Everything in its place Making neatness count Near-far rule Put similar things together Making neatness count Organizing information Is it important? Managing computer information Directories subdirectories First…you may be very skilled at your job. However, if you can’t find the tools or materials you need to do your job, your skill won’t matter. 1a. Put the things you need most often near you. 1b. Files, supplies, or tools used for one project should be kept together. 2. It saves time. Take time to put your work area back in order. Keeping things orderly saves time later. 3a. If not, you may discard it. If yes, try to do something with it the first time you look at it. 3b. A computer file that contains many files on a broad topic…smaller groupings of files within a directory. 11/18/2018