1. Time Management for Child Welfare Social Workers
Trudi Frazel, MSW
With great appreciation to Marcy Williamson, MA
and Shaunna Murtha, LCSW

2. Learning Objectives
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:
Identify and describe three time management strategies that can be used in the workplace.
Identify at least two barriers to effective time management and at least two strategies for overcoming these barriers.
Prioritize and allot time to tasks effectively, taking into consideration child safety, permanency, engagement, child and family needs, legal requirements, and court deadlines.
Value the importance of effective time management as a tool for the provision of quality child welfare services.
Value supervision as a resource for consultation about workload issues, caseload management, and the setting of priorities.
Value the prioritization of caseload tasks to optimize child safety.
Value keeping track of and meeting deadlines.

3. Time Management & Child Welfare
Child safety
Permanency
Building productive working relationships (engagement)
Child and family needs (case planning)
Legal requirements (Div 31, Penal Code, W&I Code provide guidance for timelines of intervention)
Court deadlines
The key to survival is good time management and work habits!

4. Time Management Myths We can manage time.
Time management = getting more done in less time.
There’s a magical finish line where everything is done, once and for all.
A perfect time management system exists.
We cannot manage time. Nor can we save it. Time ticks away relentlessly in spite of our efforts to control it. We are provided with 24 hours of time each day to use as we like. The key is in how we use that time. We can use it wisely, or we can waste it, but we can never save it. At the end of the day, it's gone. However, what we CAN manage is productivity.
Some people may believe that, but effective time management refers to doing fewer things of greater importance. We cannot possibly do everything we want to do, or all the things there are to do. But if we prioritize what there is to do, and focus on completing the priorities to the exclusion of everything else, we will be more effective.
For better productivity, lose the idea that all your tasks will ever be all finished. You (and your team) are never going to be or have unlimited resources.  A better way to look at “reaching the end-goal” is to make sure you’re on top of prioritizing the work that needs to be done, making deliberate choices that move us toward the most important outcomes.  Productivity will never be measured by what’s left undone. Your focus is better spent on the quality of tasks accomplished, rather than the quantity of tasks completed.
There really is no single magic bullet for managing your time more effectively. So many factors—from your company’s culture to management timelines to your own inner clock—affect how and when you are able to get your work done. The best way to improve time management for yourself, and for your team, is to make small, incremental changes. Begin with short-term goals: practice adding executing or planning time into your calendar, set aside one day a week to return calls or non-pressing s, or even book a free hour for sudden meetings into every afternoon. Over the course of a few weeks you’ll see what changes work best for you and your team as you implement them. Then, adjust accordingly.

5. Juggle It!! Take a look at the Time Management Priority Exercise
Rank your priority decisions individually, then …
Discuss with your group and determine:
When you will accomplish the tasks?
How will you complete them?
What supports or strategies can you employ to improve your time management to prevent some of these from having occurred?
What supports and strategies do you have in place or have you used in the past?
20 minutes (7 to complete; 13 to debrief)
Divide into ER group(s) and Continuing Services group(s)
Prioritize individually first, then chat with your group about your decisions
Do you have consensus at your table?
Did you shift the priorities after your discussion (did you think about things in a new way)?
Do you feel like this is concrete, or could it change at any minute?
It IS going to change … what seems simple could explode; what looks like a crisis could be simpler than it seemed.
Using index cards, have each participant write down their top 3 productivity management techniques. Pass them around; score them. Highest scores = prizes.

6. The Urgency/ Importance MatrixDO
(NOW)
DIARY
(Schedule)
DELEGATE
(find help)
DITCH
(productivity killers)
URGENT
NOT URGENT
The Urgency/ Importance Matrix
IMPORTANT
Time Management …
in under 5 Minutes
NOT IMPORTANT
Urgent and Important: You know it when you see it. Video examples: machinery failure, serious sudden illness; Child welfare examples: imminent danger of harm, placement disruptions/AWOLs
Not Urgent and Important: The emphasis here is on “Important.” These tasks are “drivers” of goals, but lacking urgency, are easily put off. They deserve quality time and should be scheduled, as they are the most meaningful and critical to feeling productive and balanced. You should maintain some goals for your health and personal happiness, and devote regular time to them, as well.
Also prevents Important tasks from becoming Urgent, and having to do them last-minute (which is stressful).
Not Important, but Urgent: Phone calls. Often OTHER PEOPLE’S priorities, and so best to delegate whenever possible. If delegating isn’t possible, find help whenever possible. When interrupted, ask yourself: Is this my work, or does it critically improve my skills? That said, teamwork is critical in child welfare, so there will be times you will jump in or be asked to jump in, just as you’ll be supported by your colleagues doing so in return.
Not Urgent and Not Important: time suck activities such as FB, CC, most s, procrastination, worrying (!)

7. Best Practice = Good Time Management
Prompt return of phone calls
Empowering families to do more for themselves means they rely on you less
Honesty, credibility, solid assessment and casework skills demonstrated during all contacts with attorneys can help decrease the adversarial tendencies of these relationships
Use of written contracts with parents
Good social work practice and timely submission of court reports  a good relationship with the Judge/ Commissioner/ Bench Officer
Having a sound understanding of your professional role and the tasks you must complete increases respect for your profession.
The more knowledge, skill, and understanding you can apply to your professional role and responsibilities, the greater competence, efficiency, and confidence.
Decreases client anxiety & uncertainty and decreases interruptions of phone calls from people trying to catch you at your desk.
Less looking to you as the authority / less fostering dependence = greater family and community functioning / less reliance on an overburdened system
The less adversarial your relationship, the less likely that attorneys will employ strategies to frustrate or obstruct your work.
Contracts specify clear objectives, activities, and evaluation methods  decreased client uncertainty/anxiety, increased focus during monthly contacts, encouragement/support for greater parent action
This is how you establish your “Court credibility”.
Helps in maintaining good boundaries, which are helpful in managing your own time (rather than other people’s)
OHIO – Only Handle It Once
RIRA – Return It Right Away (i.e. phone calls)
Communication:
If you can respond to a phone call in an (and that works for you), go for it.
Be mindful of families’ preferred modes of communication.

8. PRODUCTIVITY BARRIERS
ACTIVITY
PRODUCTIVITY BARRIERS
Handout: “My Daily Biorhythm or Energy Cycle”
Individual activity:
Instruct participants to use one color for a work day and a different color for the weekend.
Complete, then discuss with someone at your table.
Large group debrief:
a.m. Who has less/more energy in the a.m.? Facilitate discussion around good tasks to do with peak high/low periods; what works for you?
Who had differences between week/weekend responses? What were those differences?

9. MORE PRODUCTIVITY BARRIERS
EXTERNAL BARRIERS
INTERNAL BARRIERS
Interruptions
Socializing
Meetings
Unscheduled visitors
Work environment (e.g. lots of vacancies; agencies in transition)
Unclear goals
“Red tape”
Lack of planning
Priorities misaligned or incorrectly identified
Indecision
Exhaustion
Workstation disorganized
Being a “yes” person
PROCRASTINATION

10. pro·cras·ti·na·tion prəˌkrastəˈnāSH(ə)n/ noun
the action of delaying or postponing something.

12. Why Do We Procrastinate?
Waiting for the right mood or the right time
A fear of failure or success
Underdeveloped decision making skills
Poor organizational skills
Perfectionism
Overwhelm (fight / flight / freeze)
Tim Urban,
Tim Urban’s TED talk, Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator (play from 2:57 – 10:45)
Source:

13. OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION
Recognize that you are procrastinating: be honest with yourself
Figure out WHY you are procrastinating
Is the task too difficult?
Too large?
Are you at max capacity?
Create a plan
Indicators:
Reading an more than once w/out taking action
Planning to begin a high priority task and immediately going to make a cup of coffee or check s
Leaving an item on your to-do list for a long time, even though it is an important item
Regularly saying “yes” to others’ unimportant task requests instead of getting to your important items
Why = usually one of two things: Unpleasant or Overwhelming
For Unpleasant
Make up your own rewards (one piece of chocolate for completing one section of a court report)
Ask someone to check on you. Positive peer pressure! (Friendly competition to see how many referrals you each can close in a morning)
Identify the unpleasant consequences of NOT doing the task
Work out the cost of time to your employer
For Overwhelming
Break the project into smaller, more manageable tasks AND THEN SCHEDULE THEM in your calendar
Start with quick, small tasks even if they aren’t logical first actions  feeling of accomplishment, creates momentum
For Max Capacity
Consult with your supervisor to get assistance on prioritizing your tasks (this is useful both for a different perspective AND for guidance on the agency’s goals)

14. The Controversial To-Do List
Lists
Action Plans
Pros
Easy to use
Needs no special equipment or training
Cons
Risk of multiple lists
No ability to differentiate small tasks from large ones
Pros
Able to break up large tasks into action components
Can be used to manage multiple projects at the same time
Cons
Initially takes time to learn and use
Might not work for everyone
Watch video, then run through the pros/cons of lists/action plans
Handout: “Prioritized To Do List” from mindtools.com
Optional activity (can be cut if time is short):
Small groups – identify a goal and give it a priority level
Identify the smaller steps that need to be completed to achieve the goal

15. MANAGING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
Identify what’s important to you
You can’t accomplish everything – what’s essential?
Set both professional AND personal priorities and goals
Productivity tools and techniques:
Lists, Action Plans, Notebooks / Journals
Time Diary (calendar / Outlook)
Awareness of personal working habits & biorhythms
Schedule important tasks that deserve time, and tasks that take time (e.g. phone calls, documentation)
Image credit:

16. WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Create templates and form letters – don’t reinvent the wheel!
Allow time for emergencies; don’t overbook yourself!
Schedule your most challenging tasks at your peak times of the day
Stay focused on your goals
Evaluate your priorities continuously and work on the most important task first (Covey)
Templates: allegation petition language; behavioral language; harm/danger statements & safety goals; resource letters; I’m your new SW letter; tracking sheets (visitation logs for relative caregivers; drug testing tracking; court report tracking with deadline dates)
Booking extra time for emergencies can provide windows of time for getting tasks done if the day unfolds w/out emergencies

17. MANAGING PAPER (T.O.S.S.)
TRIM: Stay away from excess , mail, memos, newsletters, etc.
OUTSOURCE: Throw it, pass it, put it
SAVE: IMMEDIATELY file things you must save
Remember, 80% of what you keep you won’t use again!
START: Do it now! Set aside time daily/weekly to work through the stack of paperwork on your desk

18. Let’s take another look…
Look again at the Time Management Priority Exercise we completed earlier
Would you change anything?

19. TAKE-AWAYS FOR BETTER PRODUCTIVITY
Identify your productivity goals
What do I want to accomplish? What needs to be done?
Know yourself, your body, and your daily rhythm
When are you most productive?
Know your problem areas and implement solutions
The smell of coffee invites Instant Gratification Monkey to come out and play …
Conversations with colleagues are MUCH MORE INTERESTING than writing that court report…
Build on your strengths
You already have the skills you need!
Develop a system to prioritize your work
Find a plan that works for YOU
May want to take time to try on ways of ending conversations with colleagues (mindful of needing good working relationships – these people might help you out in the future!)
How can we politely and tactfully let our colleagues know we need to get back to work?