Time management dealing with stress filetype pdf

If it is your responsibility and will take time to address, schedule it on your calendar and put it away. Get into a routine. Good routines can increase energy and save time, while mindless routines can curb creativity. Make sure any routines you use are serving a purpose other than just to fill up time. Plan times to accomplish certain tasks every day. Repetitive tasks, such as answering email or completing paper work, can be scheduled to be completed during a certain time period each day.

This will allow you to devote your full attention to these tasks once a day, instead of partially addressing them several times a day. Set start and stop times for all major tasks during your day. Make sure you do not take on more than you can handle. You may want to impress your boss, but it can be a mistake to say yes to too many things. You can only accomplish a finite amount of work during the day and taking on more than this will result in the parts of your life becoming imbalanced.

Do not put extra effort into tasks that are not worth it. Some tasks will require your full attention and should be completed to the best of your ability. However, there are other tasks that just have to get done. Stephen Covey in First Things First tells the following story: One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students. He produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them one at a time into the jar.

Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing it to work down into the space between the big rocks. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand in the jar until it filled the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Look at your desk. Is it cluttered? You should only have eight to nine things on your work surface at any one time. Items that you may only need weekly or monthly can be stored in a supply closet.

Filing must be done on a regular basis. It is okay to keep a file out that you need to use within the next two days, but anything else should be returned as soon as possible.

You are wasting time looking for files when you allow them to stack up in your work area and, in turn, others are unable to access them at all.

Set discard dates for all your paper and computer files. These dates may be regulated by law depending what type of industry you are working in so make sure you check if there are any laws governing file retention. Make a spot on your desk just for incoming items. Label it and make others aware of it. You might even wish to put an inbox on the wall outside your door. This will further reduce interruptions to your busy day.

Keep a master calendar which lists deadlines for all the projects you are currently working on. Keeping everything in one place allows you to refer to it easily. Finally, improving your telephone skills can improve your productivity. When you have to leave a message, make sure to speak slowly and clearly. Give your number at the beginning and the end of the message. Even when you are leaving a message for a repeat customer, do not assume that they already have your number.

If you have an unusual name, spell it. Following these tips will greatly increase your chances of getting a response to your message. Since you make business phone calls to procure some sort of information that is necessary for the completion of a task, it is vital that your calls be returned. Your Worth What is the value of your time? Seems like a simple answer. In order to evaluate how you are using your time, make a list of everything you did today.

Now place a value on each activity. If you answered the telephone, and normally pay someone to do this, use that value.

If you made a management decision, place a value on the time it took and multiply that by the worth of a person with such experience and knowledge, you would have to be paying in that position to make that same decision. Place no value on anything non productive. Try doing the last few days. You may need more rows. Now how much are you presently worth every day?

Are you utilizing your time and skills to their full dollar potential? Now figure out your optimum hourly value, from the highest hour or most productive position. Multiply this times the total number of hours you evaluated. What is the difference between your optimum value and present worth? Instead of placing a value on your time, try valuing each task you perform.

Although missing deadlines can sometimes cost millions of dollars per day, these projects repeatedly run over budget due to miscalculations. If these experts who are paid to estimate project time often fall short, how can a business manager ever hope to estimate project time? In order to schedule appointments, projects, processes, tasks, and meetings, you need some time estimating skills. Experience How long did this same task take the last time? What is the difference between now and the last time this task or project was performed?

Have personnel, processes, logistics, or technology change? Reference How many references can you collect? Dependent Factors What things or people is this task or project dependent on? Are suppliers manufacturing components that need to be shipped?

Are you outsourcing parts of the project? Components Break a project into parts and estimate the time each one will take.

Create a recovery plan for each one. Now estimate the time and cost of these situations. Project Estimation Budget How will money affect the project? If cash flow is reduced when will Capital run out? Ideally, the budget should deplete the capital required from cash on hand and cash flow by the end of the project. Also allow additional time for planning. Many projects and tasks require additional planning time for progress review, as your project advances.

Include the time you estimate for additional planning. Include the time for acquiring and additional personnel or outsourcing you will need. Schedule Planning Time Make a weekly planning appointment with yourself.

A great time for this appointment in a typical workweek is at the end of the week. This will give you the opportunity to plan the coming week. Fridays are great. You will leave for the weekend with a feeling of confidence and arrive Monday with direction. For most SME owners that are not used to effective time management practices, planning takes intense concentration. That is completely understandable. Most SME owners are flying in combat. They are flying by the seat of their pants throughout most of the day at high speed while being fired at by a barrage of interruptions, while trying to stay in flight and navigating their craft.

They have a dozen projects on their minds, fires to extinguish, and new ideas to implement. Laying out such a strategic blueprint of activity can at first even be painful and seem non productive. But the rewards of persistent planning with the skills as outlined can be dramatic. The Three Faces of Time In order to effectively manage your time, you need to first categorize time. These are not types of activities but rather the types of time available to you.

Prime time is the time you have to be the most productive. Secondary Time - This is the time you have between prime time and tertiary time. Secondary time is often chosen to be spent as prime time or tertiary time.

Tretiary time is the time you spend replenishing. If you work from 9 to 5, that is your prime time. Secondary Time This is the time you have between prime time and tertiary time. Tertiary Time This is the time you spend in replenishment.

Eating, exercising, sleeping, relaxing, and bathing, etc. Tertiary time is often the most spent time, and is necessary to support prime and secondary time.

While these three faces of time have definite dividing lines, some overlap and occur sporadically. A business lunch could be prime time and tertiary time. Get OUT! This use of time differs for as many purposes and goals people have, so OUT varies for everyone.

So first determine what is your OUT. Secondly, you must know when your prime time is. When is the best time of the day and the best days to reach your OUT? A salesperson selling to businesses would probably have a prime time between 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. So this salesperson should be in front of business decision makers every minute in prime time. Obviously with travel, planning, scheduling, checking on product deliveries, and following up with customers, spending every second selling to prospects is not feasible.

In order to define your personal OUT make a list of everything you do that directly helps you reach your goals productive time. In our example, a salesperson, planning, setting appointments, filling orders, etc. They examine profit and loss statements, balance sheets, credit card statements, and their bank balance.

They measure cash flow, shop for the best interest rates, bargain for goods, and develop forecasts and budgets. Yet rarely any of these same SME owners track and budget their time! As you go through each day, track your time by making an entry next to each appointment and task scheduled, recording how much time each one actually consumed. Time tracking will give you a record of exactly how you are spending your time.

Then total all the time you actually spent accomplishing these tasks. Subtract the actual time spent from the total time allotted. The results will be your time profit or loss. Make a Time Profit or Loss Statement This answer will give you some idea how you should be budgeting your time. Eventually, you will have an educated summary of how much time you waste and the amount of time many of your varied tasks actually take.

Tracking Your Time Enter how much time each scheduled task takes during your day. Be sure to make notes of any interruptions. Categorize these tasks and assignments by primary, secondary, or tertiary time. Following Your Plan A plan relieves you of responsibility and energizes you. Eliminating Procrastination Most people procrastinate occasionally. Some people procrastinate about almost everything, while some people procrastinate about certain projects or tasks.

Some people believe they work better under pressure. This is almost always a fallacy. Chronic procrastination can lead to undue stress and even depression, and often requires behavioral changes. In order to change habits of procrastination, you must determine why you procrastinate. There are three major reasons for procrastination: 1.

When faced with anything too challenging they can become paralyzed and shut down. Many people avoid the task to avoid the emotion. FEAR Fear can be paralyzing. Is the fear healthy? What is your gut telling you? Maybe the task is one you should not be doing. How do you feel? Ask them how your procrastination is affecting them. Set a deadline for every task. Rather than trying to maintain awareness of, or remember each chore or task you must complete throughout the day — Trust the clock to be your task manager.

But phone calls, emails, employees, crisis, clients, customers, and vendors all seem to disrupt even the best aspirations. After a short time of watching their plans disintegrate, they become discouraged and abandon planning time altogether.

They are convinced plans simply do not work and conclude time spent planning is a waste of time. Every plan needs protection. How To Protect Your Plan If you spent several hours creating your plan, why would you disrespect yourself and your time by allowing others to destroy it?

Protecting your plan is about learning how to respect your own time. Your time is your life. Your prime time is your money. Avoid Interruptions — Do not answer your phone during certain time blocks in your plan. Do not allow email pop-ups while working at your computer. More on interruptions in the next Chapter. Schedule Reactive Activity — Set appointments during the day when you will read and respond to email, when you will answer telephones, when you will take interruptions!

Have A Plan B — This might be one the greatest time savers you will ever use. No matter how well you plan, things happen that you will have no control over, events or occurrences that suddenly give you unplanned time. Your appointment might not show, you could be kept waiting for an appointment, or an employee could be late.

Keep productive activities available as a plan B to substitute at any given time. Keep Meeting Times — Start meetings promptly and always give the ending time the same precise attention. Follow meeting plans. Be Realistic — Be as accurate as possible about the amount of time you allot for activities. Break Yourself In — While most SME owners are optimistic with great expectations, if you are not used to following a schedule, start slow.

Leave yourself those times during the day when you need to think or get away. Make it a Team Effort and Inform Others — Make sure employees, clients, vendors, co-workers, and other associates know you are going to be following a new schedule. You might be surprised how many people will help you protect your plan. Create Expectations — Train others about what they should expect from you. Let them know a sense of urgency exists in business. Show up early, start meetings and appointments on time, get to the point, and conclude and leave on time.

Respect Others — Showing up late or keeping people waiting is disrespectful. Time is the very substance of life. Keeping people waiting for appointments and meetings, does not show you are important. It shows you are impolite. If you want people to respect your time, start by respecting theirs. Be Generous - Give Others Specific Time — Give people regular and specific times when you are available for impromptu meetings or conversations.

Be strict but give them time to adjust to your schedule. This does not mean you should surrender to any negative time wasters. Blame it on the Clock! Set goals and keep track of whether or not you are accomplishing them. Use organizational tools to help you complete your goals. Determine what tasks must be done today, what your long-term deadlines are, and what things need to be accomplished in the future. Reevaluate this list as necessary.

Always leave time in your schedule for the unexpected. Twenty to thirty hours of your week should be devoted to specific tasks.

However, attempt to leave around ten hours free for the unexpected. You never know when you will need more time on a project than you expect or when a personal issue may arise that must be addressed. In order to choose tasks you must be aware of as many chores and projects as possible. In order to do this, every planning session must have a list. You Must Have a List! List all your tasks, then rate them, and list them again in order.

Then you can schedule them. Every task you do should first have to pass this benchmark. You have goals, priorities, and objectives. Does every task contribute to your big picture? Estimate how much time each task will take, then imagine what you would do with the time if the task were cancelled. While not always possible, everything you do should contribute to your objectives.

Why is the Task Urgent? While urgency should be a mindset of business, urgency should also be questioned — ruthlessly. Is the urgency only appeasing someone else? What has caused the urgency? Many urgent situations have been caused by mistakes.

Determining the cause of urgency can eliminate or postpone a task and lead to prevention measures of interruptions and mistakes. Customers might be making demands that are unnecessary.

Check with all parties involved. The Delegation Qualifier Are you the only person that can handle the task? Sometimes you might be, but many times someone else can perform for you. Delegate everything possible to free up your schedule. Are You Utilizing Technology Could an in person appointment be a phone call? Conference calling can rule out travel and save an enormous amount of time. Could you email instead of calling?

Email can be done on your terms when you want. You will have time to articulate better compared to the live telephone conversation. Time can be wasted and sales lost by leaving phone messages for people. Email eliminates phone tag. Can the Task Be Dissected? Are there portions of the work that can be delegated, eliminated, or postponed? There are many jobs throughout the day that are actually not worth the time to do. Applying the dollar figure when considering cancelling a task is another measure of the task value.

Time — How much time will it take? Effect — Completed versus Cancelled Effectiveness — What is the most effective way to perform the task? Contribution to Your Objectives Replacement — What could be done with the time instead? One great trick for prioritizing is to give every task a deadline. Give tasks a deadline. Having a clear deadline makes tasks easier to prioritize.

Prioritizing while planning is easy. You have time to think. Prioritizing while working is a bit more challenging. Prioritizing Interruptions While most people are familiar with prioritizing tasks, few people prioritize their interruptions. Hence, few people have defined the types of events that interrupt them. Define Interruption Types In order to take control of your time, you must minimize interruptions. While having a job definition for yourself is a great start, most owners have not defined or classified these problems.

They just catch every ball tossed at them. The tail is often wagging the dog. Make a list of every kind of interruption you have experienced in the last three months. Define to them what an emergency is by making a list of specific examples. Be very clear as the word emergency is open to broad definition. Some people classify an emergency only as fire or pending death. Others consider a paper jam in the copier a crisis. Then schedule appointments daily or weekly with each person, based on how often they presently communicate with you.

If your manager is accustom to talking with you throughout the day, dedicate a time just for talking. If each person knows they have this appointed time, and a precise understanding of an emergency, they will be less likely to interrupt you. While service to customers is an utmost concern, customers come to expect the type of service you provide. Their expectations have often been set by your business. They might be used to having free access to you by phone at any time, or having you respond instantly or within a certain amount of time.

When planning your week, if you set aside a time each day or as needed, to respond to telephone calls and emails, let your clients or customers know.

Define for yourself what client emergencies are and which ones you will respond to. Family You can do the same thing with family members. If your spouse has a habit of communicating during your OUT, discuss emergency situations and set appointments at usual intervals to talk. Devices Most devices that interrupt us are actually human interruptions.

The good news here is we are in control of these devices. They can all be temporarily shut off. Processes Select the interruptions from your list that are process oriented. Now divide then into preventable and unpreventable. Many process interruptions can be prevented. Running short on inventory, running out of supplies, computer viruses, etc.

With a bit of planning and implementing new measures, you should be able to eliminate most of these interruptions types. Some process interruptions are not preventable.

Electrical outages, equipment breakdowns, cash flow shortages, etc. Most of us spend countless number of hours on repeating tasks we have already done, reacting to situations that should never have arisen, and ranting about how much we have to do and what little time we have to do them in.

In order to figure out where all our time is going we have to become aware of our actions. Keep a journal of what you do with the time you spend at work for at least one week. This can be extremely tedious and seem to take up even more of your precious time, but in order to improve time management we have to become aware of where our time goes.

Look for time stealers. Time stealers are anything that reduces your effectiveness in the workplace. Where does your time go? The first step in sorting out your time management problems is to identify where your time goes — keep a log of what you do and when you do it. Complete that for a week or two. After you have compiled your log, take a look at it and identify the most frequent time stealers that reduce your effectiveness in the workplace. You can reclaim your time! Here are 10 techniques and strategies that you can use to manage your time more effectively.

Make a decision on where you want to focus your energy and then look at everything else you have been doing and decide what to do with it. Could you outsource some of your tasks and operation to a third party outsider? Can you automate any tasks like getting email on your mobile phone?

This will keep you focused on what is important. Continually revisit your strategy to make sure you keep on track and away from all of the distractions. Keep analyzing where you are spending your time on a monthly basis and make adjustments to what you should be doing and how you are doing it. Now that you know what your particular time stealers are, how do you arrest them? In most cases, people have to come to terms with the fact that they cannot do everything but that they can do what is most important.

Planning and goal setting is of the utmost importance. Most small businesses overbook projects to keep the income hopper full. Break your projects into parts and at times delegate these parts to colleagues.

When you delegate a task, however, make sure you communicate clearly what results you desire, what the deadline is, and all the necessary instructions that the person will need to complete the project. Make sure that you verify that the person understands of what is expected of them.

As each part of the project is accomplished, recognize your successes and build on them. Revise them monthly. Stay aware of them daily. Keep a list where you will see them daily. Keep information in trusted system where you can organize and classify it. You should have clear to do list for every workday.

If they are harmful or useless, get rid of them. If anything must be postponed — reschedule immediately. A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them.

Each time you feel stressed, keep track of it in your journal or use a stress tracker on your phone. Keeping a daily log will enable you to see patterns and common themes. Write down:. While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example.

When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it can also serve as a valuable distraction from your daily worries. Even very small activities can add up over the course of a day. The first step is to get yourself up and moving. Here are some easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule:. While just about any form of physical activity can help burn away tension and stress, rhythmic activities are especially effective.

Good choices include walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobics. Focus on coordinating your breathing with your movements, for example, or notice how the air or sunlight feels on your skin. Adding this mindfulness element will help you break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that often accompanies overwhelming stress. There is nothing more calming than spending quality time with another human being who makes you feel safe and understood.

So make it a point to connect regularly—and in person—with family and friends. They simply need to be good listeners. And try not to let worries about looking weak or being a burden keep you from opening up. The people who care about you will be flattered by your trust. It will only strengthen your bond. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury.

Set aside leisure time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries. Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike. Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Take up a relaxation practice. As you learn and practice these techniques, your stress levels will decrease and your mind and body will become calm and centered. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. The good news: there are things you can do to achieve a healthier work-life balance. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day.

All too often, we underestimate how long things will take. Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant or stressful to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result. Break projects into small steps.

If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.

Delegate responsibility. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. In addition to regular exercise, there are other healthy lifestyle choices that can increase your resistance to stress. Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

The fastest way to reduce stress is by taking a deep breath and using your senses—what you see, hear, taste, and touch—or through a soothing movement. By viewing a favorite photo, smelling a specific scent, listening to a favorite piece of music, tasting a piece of gum, or hugging a pet, for example, you can quickly relax and focus yourself. Of course, not everyone responds to each sensory experience in the same way. The key to quick stress relief is to experiment and discover the unique sensory experiences that work best for you.

DSM Library. American Psychiatric Association, Norelli, Samantha K. Singh, Karuna. Katsarou, Alexia L. Vryonis, Athanassios D. Protogerou, Evangelos C.

Chrousos, and Christina Darviri. Errisuriz, Vanessa L. Pasch, and Cheryl L. Blaxton, Jessica M. Bergeman, Brenda R. Whitehead, Marcia E. Braun, and Jessic D. Loprinzi, Paul D. Salmon, P. Stress Management — Learn to manage your stress. American Heart Association. Harvard Health. Tolerating Distress — Workbook and information sheets to help you manage feelings of distress. Centre for Clinical Interventions.

Building Your Resilience — Learn how to increase your resilience in the face of stress and hardship. American Psychological Association.