Time Management The Behavioral Way Lisa Trucil Caldwell College Center for Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis

Agenda What does it mean to you? How to waste time Tips to not waste time Getting things done The behavioral way Honesty is the best policy!

Introduction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM1A9zFkfHw End at :35

What does TIME Management Mean to you? Organization skills Due dates Lists Plan Agenda Set goals Prioritize Proactive Opposite of a procrastinator “The act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on a specific activity, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.” What does time management mean to you? All of these are some traits of someone who has good time management skills. I really liked this definition of time management…sums it up very nicely. Bailey & Burch, 2010

Behavior analysts ARE IN GREAT DEMAND, by… Consumers Administrators Teachers Parents Treatment coordinators Others SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US? BA’s need to learn to plan their day and manage their time in the most effective way because we are in such high demand. One way to do this is to develop excellent time management skills. READ SLIDE Bailey & Burch, 2010

How to waste time Doing tasks that others should be doing Solution Allowing behavioral erosion or slippage to take place Having to rework projects Allowing others to take up your time with trivialities That we need to learn how to NOT WASTE OUR TIME! Doing tasks that others should be doing read example from book Solution  what do you think…the solution is to make sure that your instructions for your BCaBA are clear in the first place, give her plenty of examples, have her practice while you watch, provide corrective feedback, tell her where to go if she has questions, emphasize the importance of completing the task on time Allowed behavioral erosion or slippage to take place read example from book Solution  what do you think…the solution is to make an agenda that is feasible with time limits on it, print out announcements and hand them out at the end of the meeting, take advantage of the useful technology tools we have to stay organized and not waste time rummaging through papers Having to rework projects read example from book Solution  what do you think…the solution is to create a task analysis of your work output, by eliminating rework you can save yourself as much as an hour per week Allowing others to take up your time with trivialities read example from book Solution  what do you think…the solution is to get work done in advance, learn to say “thank you but I am busy all weekend and need to get my work done this week”, healthy balance Bailey & Burch, 2010

Tip to not waste time “Our general advice is for you to be kind, caring, and analytical in your decision making regarding nonwork requests of your time while managing your schedule in such a way that you get your work done and maintain your professional reputation.” Bailey & Burch, 2010

Getting things done David Allen Decide if what is in front of you… GURU of productivity http://www.davidco.com/organizations/online-learning Decide if what is in front of you… Requires action  “ask will it take less than 2 minutes?” Trash it or file it  it cannot be done right now “2-minute” rule Weekly review David Allen is the guru of productivity. He has come up with careful and detailed analysis of the daily stumbling blocks that stand in the way of accomplishing important outcomes and he provides insightful suggestions on how to cut through the maze with a few rules to simplify and organize your life. He created a flowchart to help one making decisions about getting things done. WEBSITE He said we should ask ourselves a series of questions about things that are in front of us…if the item require action we should ask ourselves will it take less than 2 minutes, if so then do it right then and there! If it takes longer then 2 minutes you should delegate it or defer it to some other time. If the task cannot be done right now then you should trash it or file it for a later date. The 2 minute rule is great for deciding what to do now and what to do later He also suggested having a Weekly review … this Requires yourself to look at your current projects, next actions and “waiting for” items which will eliminate projects falling through the cracks Bailey & Burch, 2010

Getting things done Bailey & Burch, 2010

Time management the behavioral way Premack Principle More probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors Turn your “things to do” into behaviors You’ll have a behavior and following each behavior you’ll have the NEXT ACTION Place check marks by each item completed Reinforce your behavior See what you accomplished Allen assumes that task completion itself is a natural reinforcer but for some this may not be the case, some may need something else to keep them moving ahead. To help with this the authors suggest the premack principle. Example from the book You'll have a list of things to do that you treat as behaviors and after you perform the desired behavior you will have the Next Action. On your next action list you should have items that are high-probability behaviors to keep you motivated Check marks to monitor your progress. Use electronic calendars as iCal or Google Calendar or even a paper-based planner, or an agenda to keep you organized and constantly monitoring your to do list Bailey & Burch, 2010

Time management The behavioral way Low Probability Behaviors High Probability Behaviors Reading articles for class Watch Parenthood on Thursday Cleaning room Go out to dinner with friends on the weekend Writing professional dilemma paper Get to go running What we are going to do is everyone is going to create a self management plan of 3 things that need to get done and 3 consequences that will reinforce the less probable behaviors. Then we will talk about them as a class. Other ways you use your time efficiently?

Time management via behavior management Behavior analysts are a target Reasonable, effective person who is congenial and open to others You will need to… Discriminate those offers Learn to say “no” Time is a very valuable resource and should be savored during only the most important event. Everyday we are approached with opportunities to take on responsibilities, share experiences, or volunteer our time for a worthy cause. As a behavior analyst we are targets for these offers because we are probably reasonable, effective persons who appear to be congenial and open to others. However it is important to learn early on that we need to be able to discriminate those offers that have relevance and worth to us from those that are less important, and we need to learn to say “no” Bailey & Burch, 2010

Honesty is the best policy Flimsy excuses make matters worse Just say “NO” in a polite and clear manner Don’t need to provide an explanation Be firm, make good eye contact, and repeat original reply with a firm, objective tone of voice Your goal in saying no is to let the inviter know you appreciate the invitation but you need to firmly express that you are just unable to accommodate the invitation at this time. It is a very bad idea to make up an excuse because it may get you off temporarily but in the long run it could get you in serious trouble. You have to learn to say no in a polite and clear manner, you do not need to provide an explanation for why we cannot do something. “ I am sorry but I cannot attend, thank you for your invitation” if you have a pushy person who asks but why, remember you do not need to provide an explanation, repeat your statement Can anyone think of an example where you would have to decline an invitation? Bailey & Burch, 2010

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM1A9zFkfHw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUk6LXRZMMk https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocus d/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji?hl=en #1 :35-end

Summary Time management is a skill that can make or break a behavior analyst Plan your day Avoid wasting time Premack Principle To-do lists “2-minute” rule

resources

References Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Routledge.