1.     Premise: optimizing and making your time management effective

When we talk about time management and goals, we know that it refers to the process of planning and consciously exercising control over time in specific activities.

Along with greater awareness of the value of time and your own potential (see Handout ‘TIME MANAGEMENT: INTRODUCTORY REFLECTIONS’), we can learn to identify the right value to assign to things, the hierarchical scale in which to place them, and how many and which are the sources of distraction and the "time traps" that prevent us from working well; and we will find ourselves much more effective.

 

2.     Defining priorities and planning: ideas and strategies

But: what does it mean to manage time effectively? How can we define goals and priorities? The first step involves careful planning, to keep all the activities to be carried out and their deadlines under control.

a.   Defining SMART goal lists. The SMART acronym indicates that the goals we identify must be:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Time-Based

b.     Priority management. A system to define priorities to experiment with is the 4Ds:

·         Delete: can that activity be eliminated? What are the consequences of not doing the task at all? According to the 80/20 principle, proposed by Vilfredo Pareto, 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. The key to maximizing your efficiency is to prioritize the activities that contribute to most of your results, those that fall within that 20%;

·         Delegate: is there someone else who can perform that activity instead of us? If so, by delegating it you can optimize the time you have available;

·         Defer: some activities can be performed later, but within certain parameters. It is important to always set deadlines and postpone what can be postponed, without falling into the trap of procrastination;

·         Do: there are things that must be done immediately and have absolute priority. Postponing these activities could lead to a spiral of anxiety and stress.

c.     Defining urgency/importance. The Eisenhower matrix (otherwise known as the Covey quadrant, author of “7 habits of highly effective people”), is a model that serves to optimize time management and planning, helping to recognize what is urgent and what is important, bearing in mind that: Important is a subjective concept (what I consider important may not be for someone else, and vice versa) and Urgent is instead objective, and applies to all those activities that require immediate attention.

The story goes that Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S. Army general in World War II and 34th President of the United States), even before becoming a general, used to organize his tasks by dividing them into the four quadrants of a sheet:  urgent and important things, important but not urgent things, urgent but not important things and finally, things that could be left aside.

The quadrant A is where urgent and important tasks go, those to be dealt with as a priority.

In quadrant B are all the daily tasks and unexpected events that require a solution in a short time but are of little importance for long-term goals: these are activities that can be delegated. 

In quadrant C is everything that is neither important nor urgent, small and large tasks that are absolutely non-essential, which can be given up or postponed to another time.

Finally, in quadrant D are the important but not urgent things, to be scheduled effectively.

 

3.     Time management: awareness (also) of obstacles

 

“Parkinson's Law” is an essay, written by the author of the same name, which explains how the more time you have available to complete a given task, the more you will waste: “Work expands to fill all the time available; the more time there is, the more the work seems important and demanding.”

What are the mistakes to avoid to optimize time management?

·     Procrastinating: it is undoubtedly the number one antagonist of effective time management. Most of the time we procrastinate an activity, we do it with other alternative activities, in order to cancel out the sense of guilt and (unconsciously) make up excuses. Often we replace our priorities with seemingly useful activities, for example: cleaning, eating, answering emails... it is strategic to identify them and find some tricks to avoid being victims of our own excuses.

·     Fighting distractions: the most complicated part when it comes to organizing time is managing attention. We are surrounded at every moment of the day by ‘time thieves’: emails, phone calls, social networks, etc. that constantly attract our attention. The ability to organize activities (the smartphone can be physically left away from us while we carry out the activity and perhaps turned off or in airplane mode) will allow us to use these methods to optimize our time and not be hindered by them instead.

·     Saying yes too often: carefully analyzing each request is another important basic time planning technique. Every time we say “yes” to something we want to say “no” to, we are taking away vital energy from our productivity: we must learn to (allow ourselves to) say no!

·     Avoid multitasking: according to a recent study by the American Psychological Association, doing several things at once reduces our productivity by 40%. It is therefore advisable to organize your days into sessions, during which you will focus on a specific task without distractions. One of the key points of good time management is precisely the ability to divide our activities into several sub-activities, so as to get used to and focus attention only and exclusively on the task we are doing. Although many of us are used to switching from one activity to another very naturally, it is certainly the worst mistake to make if you want to stay really focused.

·     Identify the moments when we are most productive: plan your work according to the times of day when you are most efficient, in which to concentrate the most demanding tasks.

·     Don't overload yourself: a well-organized daily plan is the best way to optimize time management. It is important to set aside time for unexpected events: there will always be unplanned tasks to perform and manage with the same efficiency as planned ones.

·     Analysis of results: it is important to constantly check and try these strategies, to acquire your own effective method.

4.   To conclude: POINTS FOR REFLECTION

·     How do I manage situations that are not suited to my style? (the thankless tasks…)

·     What are the main obstacles to my effective time management?

 

 Caterina De Micheli