Time Management Tips
 |
| Time Management Tips |
What
you accomplish during a 24-hour period depends on your own motivation, your
energy, your skills and abilities, and other resources.
Since
there are always demands on your time, it may be helpful to think about what
you will do with your time and to consider some strategies for more effective
time management.
Time
management is not a way to make you work harder and longer, but a means to help
you work smarter to accomplish your work more easily and rapidly.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
If you can manage your time more
effectively, you will be rewarded in a variety of ways:
•You will be more efficient in
serving your district and will be able to support your clubs better
•You will achieve greater success in
your very important, and highly visible,
role as a Lions Leader
•On a personal level, you will
certainly feel healthier, more energetic, and in a generally better mood
 |
| Time Management Tips |
Note:
You may wish to add personal experiences as examples of one or more of the
obstacles to enhance the presentation.
There are a lot of things that make
it difficult for us to manage our time effectively. Let’s consider some of the most common ones,
and see if they apply to us:
•Unclear objectives – It’s hard to
hit a target with your eyes closed, and it’s just as hard to accomplish
something when you aren’t exactly clear about what you want to achieve
•Disorganization – It’s easy to see
when your desk is too messy, but sometimes you have to step back and ask
yourself if you are taking an organized approach in completing all of your
tasks
•Inability to say “no” – We all want
to be as helpful as we can when others need us, but this can mean taking time
away from other priorities to do something we may not have planned
 |
| Time Management Tips |
•Interruptions – Many times we are
in the middle of accomplishing something really important and the telephone
rings. These calls can not only take you
away from your task, but sometimes they interrupt your train of thought and you
can’t return to where you were without retracing your steps
•More interruptions – We all like to
visit with others, but conversations at inappropriate times can cost us time
when we have to stop what we are doing and redirect ourselves from our plans
•Periods of inactivity – As much as
we think we are busy, there are times in our day when we are not really doing
anything. Recognizing and making use of these times can have a positive effect
on our efforts
 |
| Time Management Tips |
•Too many things at once – Many of
our tasks are not routines. They require
concentration to detail. When we are
attempting to do too many different things at one time, each individual task
suffers as a result
•Stress and fatigue – Everyone
experiences stress from time to time, and sometimes we actually operate a
little better when there is some level of stress. Too much stress, on the other hand, causes
our work to suffer and wears us down physically and mentally. Dealing with stress is an important part of
time management
•All work and no play – Most
successful people know how to balance work and play. When work takes over your life, you not only
give your body little time to re-energize, but you may end up sacrificing the
really important things in life like family and friends
 |
| Time Management Tips |
•The obstacles that we face are not
insurmountable. Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to identify that these
obstacles exist and are affecting your ability to manage your time
•When
you have identified your obstacles you can begin to overcome them
•Here
are some strategies you can use to overcome the obstacles we just examined:
 |
| Time Management Tips |
The first, and most important
strategy you can employ to manage your time is to set clear goals for
yourself. As a Lions leader, you will
want to accomplish many things in your time of office. The best favor you can do for yourself is to
determine what those goals are and make sure your efforts are always directed
toward their achievement.
Effective goals share a number of
characteristics in common. Effective
goals are:
•Specific – When a goal is too
vague, you may never know how to reach it or even when you have reached it. Make sure that you know exactly what you hope
to achieve
•Measurable – When you have a goal
that is measurable, you will know how far you have to go to reach the goal, and
when you get there
Note:
You may wish to provide an example of a vague, unmeasurable
goal, and then a specific, measurable goal here. For instance, “I will support extension in my
district” is a vague goal, while “I will establish five new clubs in my
district is both specific (new clubs) and measurable (five).
 |
| Time Management Tips |
•Achievable – It is commendable to
set your sights high, but sometimes we try to accomplish more than we can
actually do. Training and certifying ten
Certified Guiding Lions in your district in one year may or may not be
achievable at this time for a number of reasons. Your goals should be such that, if you
“extend yourself” you can just reach them.
•Realistic – Can you establish a
program in your district to help everyone with vision problems? It is certainly a worthwhile goal, but it may
not be realistic at this time. It might
be better to work on setting up a program with schools to provide vision
testing and eyeglasses for disadvantaged children.
Note:
You may wish to provide an example of an achievable, realistic goal that you
have achieved or observed in your own club or district.
•Time-based – Most of the goals that
you establish in your position as a Lions leader will not be long-term. It is important to set time guidelines for
your goals, so that you can keep track of your progress as you are going along
and can be alert to when you are falling behind schedule.
Note:
You may wish to state a goal that meets the five characteristics, and ask
participants to explain how each characteristic is met. For example, “We will increase retention of current
members in my district by reducing the dropout rate to X % by the end of the
fiscal year.”
Further,
you may wish to provide a non-example and ask participants to restate it to
meet the five characteristics. For
example, “We will improve the service we provide to our community.”
 |
| Time Management Tips |
As a leader in your club or
district, you will be faced with many tasks.
It is safe to say that you will not be able to do everything, so it is
wise to periodically make a list of the tasks that confront you and prioritize
them. The following technique may be
helpful in prioritizing:
Note:
You may wish to provide examples of tasks that you have placed in each of the
four categories that follow. Explain why
you made the decision, and how it positively impacted your time management.
Do – Determine from the list the
things you think are most important to accomplish, and are things you should do
yourself.
•Delegate – Remember that there many
Lions within your district with skills, experience, and motivation to carry out
a wide variety of tasks. A truly
effective district governor understands that real leaders do not try to
accomplish everything themselves and recognizes that some things are better
handled by others. Delegating not only
frees up your time for other things, it ensures that resources are used wisely
and that Lions who want to help are motivated and involved.
•Delay until another time – Some
things can wait. The danger is delaying too many things until deadlines are
near. The best policy here is to
consider when things are due, how
long it
will take to accomplish them, and what your current workload will
allow. For instance, registrations and request forms
that are not yet due could be sent to LCI earlier if you have time. It makes
sense to delay things that are not due when your are “overburdened” and to
accomplish them ahead of time when you can.
•Delete – If you have set goals
using the guidelines we mentioned earlier, you may recognize that some of them
are not achievable or realistic, or that they are just not important. A good leader knows when to concentrate on
the important and eliminate the rest.
•
Note:
As time allows, you may wish to:
•Ask
selected participants to share tasks that they will prioritize into the four
categories
•Break
participants into small groups and ask them to create a list of DG tasks that
could be prioritized using the four categories
 |
| Time Management Tips |
It is important when you have
prioritized your tasks that you:
•Address the urgent – Take care of
things with short-term consequences as soon as possible.
•Accomplish what you can early –
Reports, registrations, requests that can be handled early should come
next. Don’t put off until tomorrow what
you can do today.
•Attach deadlines to things you
delay – When you have determined that something can definitely wait, don’t just
toss it aside until later. Establish a
deadline for the task in your schedule, and make a note to remind you to begin
working on it.
•
Note: You may wish to emphasize the 80/20 rule
here. (20% of your tasks can take 80% of
your time.) This is a good point to keep
in mind as you prioritize tasks.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
As you prioritize tasks and set
deadlines, you will want to organize your plans and actions. Some of you may be more comfortable using
paper and pencil, so I urge you to make use of a planner with a calendar and
plenty of space to make notes. Many
planners contain not only calendar space, but also room for daily activities,
contact information, and “to do” lists.
Find a planner that fits your needs and use it. You will find this to be an indispensable
tool for managing your time.
Maybe you use, or would consider
using, a computer to help in organizing your time. Today’s computers often come
equipped with software programs that include calendars, task lists, reminders,
and contact information. If your
computer does not have such a function, software is readily available that you
can install.
You may also consider a small
personal digital assistant, or PDA.
These devices are small enough to fit in your hand, and use the same
software your home computer uses. PDAs
are helpful tools when you are away from your computer during the day or are
traveling on business.
Note:
This would be a good opportunity to share whatever tools you use to stay
organized. If you use a planner, bring
it out and show how you use it. If you
use computer software, explain the program and how it helps you.
You
may also ask participants if they have any other organizational ideas, like
reminder files for each week or month.
Whatever method you choose, make
sure you organize your tasks so that you can stay on track.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
The
strategies we have mentioned so far have all concerned common business
practices. Now I would like to address
some more “personal” strategies that you can apply to your life. These also have a great impact on how
effectively you manage your time.
The
first of these strategies is being able to say “NO” when it is
appropriate. Your life in Lions has
always been about giving all that you can to serve your community. That doesn’t change, but as your duties
expand as a Lions leader you will find you are called on to do much more than
you have ever been asked to do before.
When
you learn to say “NO” you are not closing the door on your responsibilities,
but rather you are making sure that you can meet your commitments and
accomplish the maximum possible in the time available to you.
To be
able to say “NO” you will have to accept these three principles:
1.I realize that I can’t do
everything
2.I won’t agree to undertake a task
or project that I know I will not be able to complete in the timeframe required
3.I will not make commitments that
are not consistent with the goals and objectives I have set for myself
If
you keep these principles in mind, you will find it easier to justify (and
explain) why some requests must be turned down.
You will also find that you are better able to accomplish the things
that you have prioritized as “must do.”
 |
| Time Management Tips |
Another personal time management
skill is to make good use of your “waiting time.”
Have you ever thought about how
much time you spend doing nothing during an average day? Usually this is not a situation where you
planned to do nothing…it just happened.
Think about all of the things you could accomplish if you could make use
of this time. For instance:
•Time you spend commuting on a train
or bus
•Time you wait at the doctor or
dentist office for your appointment
•Time you spend on a plane, waiting
for your plane, or the time you spend waiting for your baggage
•Time you spend “on hold” on the
telephone
•Time you spend when you arrive at
work or at a meeting earlier than you had anticipated
•
Note:
You may include other examples or ask participants for their own ideas.
•
There are two ways to look at these
periods of time. You can either consider them as
“wastes of time” or as “gifts of time.”
If you choose to think of them as gifts of time, you can use them as
opportunities to accomplish routine tasks that are necessary, but don’t require
large periods of time.
Most successful people have already
found that there are a number of things that they can accomplish while they
wait.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
The trick to making use of your
waiting time is to always make sure you have something with you that you can
accomplish in the event that you are kept waiting. For instance:
•Reading correspondence – Take your
mail with you and read it while you are waiting or traveling. Some PDAs have e-mail capability, so you can
read your e-mail on a train or plane or at the doctor’s office
•Writing letters or memos – While
you wait, you can take out a notepad or use a PDA to write letters or
memos. This could also be a good time to
update your planner
•Reading or listening to tapes –
Carry a book or magazine or a tape with you.
You can also download books and articles to your PDA. There is often no time in your schedule to keep
current on books or articles related to your business or to self-improvement.
Instead of being impatient when you are delayed, this could be a perfect time
to advance your own knowledge and skills.
•
Note:
This would be a good time to describe some ways you personally fill the
“waiting times” in your schedule, and how you feel it has helped you manage
your time overall.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
You will be juggling many tasks
while you serve as a Lions leader. There
is no way around this fact. But one
important strategy to keep in mind is to concentrate completely on the current
task. Concentration can be difficult
when you have a lot on your mind. Your
time will be better spent if you are able to:
•Focus on your goal – You may have
many commitments and many concerns, but you will accomplish more when you keep
focused on the one task you are performing at the moment
•Tune out interruptions – You will
find your concentration is at its highest level when you can set aside times
during the day when you will not answer the phone or schedule visitors. You can’t isolate yourself all of the time,
but by avoiding interruptions for specific periods of time, you may find you
can accomplish tasks successfully in far less time than you anticipated. When you must respond to phone calls, be
assertive in minimizing interruptions by asking if you can call back at another
time or meet another day.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
Are you one of those people who
gets up before the sun rises and starts working? Is the early evening, after the evening meal,
your time to work? Or are you someone
who prefers to wait until the quiet of the late night hours to do the really
hard tasks?
Everyone is different. Most research shows that tasks that take the
most mental concentration are most effectively accomplished early in the day,
but even these studies acknowledge that this is not always true, and that
everyone has a “personal prime time.”
When you plan your tasks, think
about your own “prime time.” If you do
your best work early, plan to do the routine tasks later in the day and
concentrate on the more challenging tasks when you are at your best. If you don’t really get going until later,
handle the routines in the morning and save the more difficult tasks for later.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
Celebrate
the achievement of your goals to maintain a healthy balance in life between
work and play. Reward
yourself when you complete a task or finish a project.
If
you worked in a team setting, or delegated some tasks to others, reward the
efforts of all involved.
Celebration
is a vital part of all project management.
No matter how tight your schedule looks, this is TIME WELL SPENT!
 |
| Time Management Tips |
Note:
Review the strategies for time management that you have presented.
 |
| Time Management Tips |
Note: You can either perform the
demonstration described or discuss the short story below to conclude the
session.
One day an expert in time management was
speaking to a group of business students and, to make a point, he used this
illustration. As he stood in front of the group he pulled out a large
wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he
produced about a dozen rocks and placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When
the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked,
"Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then
he said, "Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out
a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces
of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the rocks. Then he
asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class
began to understand. "Probably not," one of them answered.
"Good!" he replied.
He reached under the table and brought
out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into
all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the
question, "Is this jar full?" No!" the class shouted. Once again
he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour
it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and
asked, "What is the point of this illustration?“ One student raised his hand and said, “No
matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit
some more things in it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's
not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the
big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all." What are the 'big
rocks' in your life? Your children; Your loved ones; Your education; Your
dreams; A worthy cause; Teaching or mentoring others; Doing things that you
love; Time for yourself; Your health; Your mate (or significant other).
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If
you sweat about the little stuff (the gravel, sand, and water) then you'll fill
your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and
you'll never have the time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the
big rocks).
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you
are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the
'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.
