Learning objective / importance
Increased personal productivity by better time and tasks management
E-course community survey
1. Who is using a paper agenda ? Who is using daily a to-do list ?
2. What is the total company cost paid by your employer for one of your working hours, in Euros per hour (in your present or last job)?
Practical exercise
Answer the question: What are your favorite lists ?
Lists are used to calm down your stress by increasing your control on things. Most professionals use many lists of tasks, objects, contacts, documents, events, ideas,....Answer the following question: Except from your contacts list, what are your favorite lists ?
Reading
www.enotes.com/management-encyclopedia/time-management
Questions
1. What are your personal tips to organize your day, your tasks, your agenda. I always start my day with…
I really recommend to plan this … at…. To stay focused on key issues, I recommend to do this….
2. How do you sequence your tasks during the day to improve productivity?
3. What are your tips to stay focused?
4. What are your favorite tasks lists?
5. Comment the sentence « Managers suffering from EDS are less effective »
6. When would you plan the following tasks during a typical workday?
A mail reading session
A meeting
Important deskwork
Answering your voice mail messages
7. What are the benefits of the “concern of the day” method?
8. What is the difference between a “to-do list” of tasks and a “main list” ?
9. What are the benefits of regular “log-book” use ?
10. What are the effects on human intelligence of random, unplanned work interruptions?
11. What are the major differences for human intelligence between working on-line and working off-line?
12. What is a cost-benefit analysis of your working hours? Why do managers regularly “zero budget” all their tasks and agenda?
13. How practically most managers plan their “ mail reading” policy to be more effective
Clues for answering
Never start you day by reading your mails
Only one mail reading session per day
Reduce the number of your mail reading sessions
Don’t forget to send your important messages the next morning, after review
Do not educate your brain to wait for stimulations to react
Act first. At your level of responsibility, you get enough in your mind to first make your day
Decide on the concern of the day, a goal a day
Every day, before entering your office
When you will open the door, it will be too late
Plan an important achievement for every day
Before tonight, I will finish this...,Tell him that,...Make a decision on this
Log all those daily small achievements in your log-book every Saturday morning
Reduce your meeting time by 20% the next quarter
Try to make your point. First by mail. Then by phone. Then by meeting / travelling
Use Skype Video, NetMeeting,…for technical meeting
Use a main list
Note down all your ideas, intentions, triggers
Capture all random incoming information / messages on the same list
Your brain can not memorize intentions properly
Then clean your main list with ACTE on triggers
Set objectives per week and quarter
Never per month or year
The last task of your day ?
Prepare the first task of the next day
Tasks sequencing to resist fatigue
Start your day with demanding tasks, finish your day with exiting tasks
No morning meeting
You benefit from two peaks of intelligence per day
Write SOPs
Each time you should do the same task for more than three times, write an Standrad Operating Procedure and delegate. The real job of a manager is writing SOP to make things done through others
How to list things to improve your effectiveness and to reduce your stress. What are your favorite lists ?
The “To-Do Today” list
Increase effectiveness checking-off items. Categorizing items by priority, by time slots
Save a one-hour time slot every day to check-off your to-do list
Use a To Do list with priorities. Plan a special time slot, one hour a day, to check-off your to do list.
The “Main” List
Collecting random incoming ideas, tasks, information,…
ACTE the main list to extract the to-do list
On paper, PDA, voice recorder,…
The log-book
Once a week, 10 minutes
Note down your past week achievements, the small steps you take towards objectives
Your 100 most important numbers
Codes, Accounts, Key dates, Last values (financial ratios, indicators,…)
Your contact list
10 hottest contacts, suppliers, customers, experts
Other favorite lists with manager
List To-do before dying (or before 5 years)
List of your 10 best moments in the past
List of your 10 most important contracts. And where they are
List of the 20 most important documents
List of your 20 most important shops / places /suppliers. Contact. Acces mode. Favorite reorders
List of your 10 most important sentences
List of your 10 favorite small pleasures / rewards
List of your 10 check-lists. Per situation / problem. Before starting a project, a business, a meeting, a travel, a major spending,…
List of the 10 decisions I should make at short term. Presented as a yes or no question
