Title: Getting Things Done: Time Management Tips
Author:
Section/SPIG: Health Administration
Issue Date:
These tips were taken from several issues of Taylor's Time Tips, an electronic newsletter and used with permission of the author. Harold L. Taylor is the author of 'Making Time Work for You.' Subscribe to Taylor's Time Tips at this address: http://www.TaylorOnTime.com .
Organized Chaos. Clearing away the clutter will not get you organized. You must have a system established that will keep the clutter from accumulating again. Organization is a process, not an event.
Don't be a Perfectionist. Jeff Olsen in the book, The Agile Manager's Guide To Getting Organized, claims it often takes 50% or more of the total effort to squeeze out the last 10% or so of quality or whatever it is that perfectionists want out of a situation.
Procrastination Breeds Urgency. Urgent tasks are usually the non-urgent tasks that were not started soon enough.
Follow Through on Goals. Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, in their book Execution (Crown Business, 2002) said that the failure to follow through on goals is a major cause of poor execution. If nobody is accountable for results, it doesn't get done.
Time Spent on Email. Christina Cavanagh, in her book Managing Your E-Mail, calculates that if you multiply 1.23 hours (the extra time spent daily on e-mail) by 5 days for 52 weeks, the average person is spending 320 hours per year of extra time handling e-mail. (Editor: Is this time taken out of your work day or is it taken from your personal time? Either takes a toll on your productivity).
Trading Efficiency for Effectiveness. Extreme busyness is injurious to the real work of the organization according to Tom DeMarco in his book Slack ( Broadway Books, 2002.) He suggests we sacrifice a little efficiency by freeing up people to think, innovate and respond to opportunities.
Meeting Etiquette. The Memory Jogger by Michael Bressard & Diane Ritter suggests that we listen without bias, respect other opinions, make our point calmly and avoid personal agendas.