Time Management 101

Common Problem
I am BUSY I dont have time I am not happy with my life I dont feel I have achieved anything this year I dont have control on my life I wish I have more than 24 hours per day so that I can get more things done

Balance your life

Family Balance in Life is important Recognize each aspect of life is important Finance
I am not getting enough time for family/personal life because of Work 80% of day is spent at work

Health

Work

Time management : What is it?

Doing the Right things and not doing things right (efficiency) In control of Life, not driven by circumstances Enjoying JOURNEY of life: every day of it, not a perfect day in future Have right balance in wheel of life

Goals
If you are not aware of the direction you are going, you will end up exactly where you are going Focusing on important areas of life: Family, Work, Health, Personal Development, Finance A goal is anything you WANT to accomplish in your life. If you had only 6 months live: what are the things you want to do

Written goals
Palest Ink is better than brightest memory It is not enough to have goals in mind. Put them down on paper It is an agreement with yourself that you are aware of goals and will pursue them

Hints to Find Goals

What do you want to accomplish in next 5 years? Long term goals Dreams/Ambitions Work Goals Professional Goals

Creating TO DO Lists
Your daily list of tasks Tasks that take you towards your goals One Sheet a Day Tasks with defined importance:
Q1: important and urgent: deadlines, fire fighting Q2: important and not urgent: Planning, Holidays Q3: urgent and not important: Interruptions, meetings Q4: not important and not urgent: junk mail , time wasters

Working with TO DO Lists

Create the list before you start the day 15 minutes of investment will help you everyday End of day: Review Status Status: C Completed, T Transferred, A Abandoned, I In progress

Sample TO DO List
Date: 14-Nov-2001
Task Prepare Slides Collect Photos (T-1) Add Slides to qaweb Priority Q1 Q2 Q3 Status C Time needed 30 min 45 min 5 min

Update SDK Test Cases Q1

Confirm to Srinivas about tomorrows plan Q1 C

1 hour
5 min

Achievements
Achievements are not just major events that happen. Make every small achievement inspire you Achievements at every step
Maintain good health Daily achievements Weekly Achievements Monthly Achievements Yearly Achievements

Obstacles
Interruptions Crisis Situations Procrastination more
Overcome Obstacles with simple steps Play the Game of Basketball and shoot for your goals by overcoming obstacles

Interruptions
Intrusive interruptions: phone call, personal conversations Non-intrusive interruptions: e-mail Have a no-interruption periods:
Closed door policy Phone off the hook Use non-intrusive interruptions Prioritize and dont be reactive

Crisis Situations
Be proactive not reactive
Being proactive is highly motivating

Maintain a crisis log Prevent crisis by managing important but not urgent tasks on time

Procrastination
No Excuses Prioritize DO IT NOW Understand how much time it takes to do a task Not all tasks take sometime. Understand what and why of your procrastination tendency Do not be a last minute decision taker Gather information for a task in advance. if we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.

FAQ
Can I use a computer for to-do list? What about a mobile device or a personal organizer? How do I handle Follow up tasks?

Tips
SWOT Analysis : Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats Get up 15 minutes early Make time for yourself Understand your effective time zone Deal effectively with interruptions Update your to do list daily Do not over-schedule Keep your list in sight Delegate, if possible Get Organized: paper, e-mail Do difficult tasks first

My Experience
Spent hours to list all my goals in life Daily Lists made every day (95% of time) Examples of goals
Recurring Goals:
Pay Rent Pay credit card bill Prepare Monthly Status report

Long term golas

Buy a house

Personal development
Read bookSoftware Testing
Buy/loan book Read 1 chapter per day

Task Analysis
TASK ANALYSIS FOR 3 MONTHS Only 65-70% of planned activities were completed during each month 20% of planned activities are transferred at least once. 10-12% of activities are abandoned On an average I take up 4-5 activities per day in addition to work related responsibilities

Lessons Learned
I have plenty of time on hand. If an activity takes average of 30 min, I have a workload of 2-3 hrs per day besides the daily routine tasks. There is lot of time that can be utilized effectively 10% of activities are 'not necessary' but I plan them because I think should do it. But not achieving them does not have an impact at all in achieving my goals. 20% of activities are postponed because I do not set realistic targets or I do not do enough preparation to complete the activity.

Time Kit
One source for everything
Goals Tasks Expenses Phone Book Ideas/Notes Lists: Books to read, Movies to watch, checklists

Chaos to ORGANIZED

Getting Started
Write down Goals of your life Write down Goals of your life Write down Goals of your life Time management is toughest course on offer and many fail. Practice TO DO Lists for at least 3 months Then it becomes a habit Dont give up If you fail to plan, you plan to FAIL.

Quick Revision
Writing down goals is the first important step Break down goals to tasks Understand your most effective time zone/time span Create Daily TO DO List for next 3 months A Page a day works best We have more time available than we think DO IT NOW Make time management a habit Dont Give up: Stay motivated Achieve more in less time

Resources
Books
Stephen Covey: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Time Management Kit

Franklincovey Stores Even a notebook. (A page a day)

Internet Resources
www.balancetime.com www.timedoctor.com www.franklincovey.com

If fail to Plan, you plan to fail

THANK YOU