Time Management

Learning Outcomes Why it is important to manage your time effectively Barriers that might prevent you from managing your time effectively Techniques to help you manage your time more effectively

Why is time management important? Reduces stress Allows you to stay in control Helps you achieve more Manage conflicting deadlines Shows that you can prioritise tasks Work/Life balance

Employability “ Time management is very important for employers. It’s not about doing a great job, it’s about doing a great job within a reasonable time frame. Employers want to see that you can manage your time well to ensure that all of your tasks are completed to a high standard. It’s really a measure of efficiency.”

What’s your excuse? Would sooner be doing something else Fear failure Want things to be perfect Don’t like the work Easily distracted Don’t think it’s important Left it too long Get interrupted

Planning your time Write lists Important/Urgent matrix Set goals Work smarter, not harder Use a calendar! Focus Delegate Aim to be early Gantt charts

SMART Goals Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time bound

Example of a SMART goal I want to write 5000 words of my award winning novel by April (specific). I will know that I have achieved this by checking the word count on 1 st April & I will also check on the 1 st of each month to know that I am on target (measurable) I know that if I dedicate the time between Neighbours and Hollyoaks to writing then I know I can meet this target (achievable) Completing this novel will give me something to send to publishers (relevant). I have to complete this before the end of April as I will be competing in the world chess championship in May (time bound)

Set yourself a SMART goal now

Write a to do list of this you have to complete this week.

Important/Urgent Matrix After each item in the list rate them on a scale of 1-5 how important they are Then rate on a scale of 1-5 how urgent they are Plot your result on a matrix like this...

Urgent and Important Its either something that you did not foresee or something that you have left until the last minute. It’s a good idea to leave time in your schedule to deal with any last minute issues. If you have a lot of things to deal with that are both urgent and important have a look at what you can do to plan ahead in future.

Urgent not Important These things can stop you from achieving your over all goal, can they be rescheduled or delegated? Things in here are not a priority.

Not Urgent but Important These things will help you achieve your long term goals so it is important to dedicate time to completing these tasks properly. If you ensure that you schedule time for these things they will not become urgent which will reduce stress.

Not Urgent not Important These tasks are a distraction and should be avoided as they will not help you achieve your over all aims

Any Questions? Thank You for Listening