TIME SCHEDULING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS

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TIME SCHEDULING SYSTEM – DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Almost everyone I talk to wishes they had more time in the day or say they have too many priorities which causes them to feel frustrated or stressed.

Why is effectively scheduling your time so important? • It helps you manage the information overflow.

• It helps you become stress-‐free by removing the “to do” list from your head

• It allows you to be on top of the multitude of projects and activities you are involved in • It gives you better control over your time and energy

We all have the same amount of time in a day, why is it that some people seem to have plenty of it and others not enough? Maybe some people don't have the same amount of things to do as we do? Or maybe they choose to spend their time differently.

How do you decide when to make something a priority? Is it based on whether or not you like it? How urgent you feel it is? How important it is to someone else? How it would make

someone else feel if you did it? How it would make you feel? Or... the list of questions is endless and is intended to get you thinking about how you decide to do what you do, when you do it and even how much time you will spend on it.

Everything we do, say, feel or think is a choice. So what do you need to help you to choose how you spend your time? Here are some suggestions:

1. Be aware of your 'time wasters', we all have them. These are things that distract us from what needs to be done, they aren't necessarily bad, and they can have a productive purpose. So what are some examples -‐ email, the phone, TV, shopping, internet, games, etc. Just about anything can be a time waster. When you know what they are you can choose how to manage them.

2. Schedule your priorities based on the goals you have. If you know what you want to achieve the choice about how to spend your time will be clear. Start by blocking an hour in your calendar each day, this hour will be your ‘hour of power’ the time when you work solely on something that brings you closer to achieving your most important goal.

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3. Understand how you are choosing to spend your time. Are you spending the majority of your time achieving your goals or helping others achieve theirs? There is no right or wrong answer; in fact often we do both. Notice what is happening and the reasons you are doing it. Is it because it is part of your overall goal or role or is there something else you 'get'

(significance? not disappointing others? or?) out of it?

4. Procrastinator? If you keep putting things off then it's either not important to your goal (note in a work situation it maybe your work is driven by a higher goal and you don't buy in to it or understand how you fit within it), or, deep down you are afraid to 'fail' and therefore don't start something. By the way we all have our own definitions of what failure is. Choose to believe that there is no failure only feedback and you free yourself to act and to learn.

5. Perfectionist? The only difference between this and procrastination is that the choice is to spend too much time on something versus none at all when procrastinating. What would happen if you spent less time on something? If you spent an extra 20% of your time on it would it significantly change the outcome? Time-‐Management, Pareto Style. The rule means that if you have a to-‐do list of 10 items, two of those items will generate 80% of the return you get from your entire list. Now, when you look at your list, you will be tempted, of course, to clear up a few small things first so you can check them off and have a sense of

accomplishment. However, those items may not be significant to your economic activity. And that’s a problem.

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USING THE TIME SCHEDULING SYSTEM

There are 4 key steps in this system and they should be done in order to get maximum benefit.

Step 1 – 30,000 feet (3 years)

In this step you will brainstorm the goals you want to achieve personally and professionally over the next 3 years. Use whatever resources you have available to you, for example, if you work in a company or team that has higher-‐level goals then consider what you need to do to achieve them.

Step 2 – Achievable Outcomes (1 year)

In this step we take the 3-‐5 goals you want to achieve over the next year and turn them into achievable goals. These goals should link back to your 3 year goals for example say you want to make sales of $100,000 for a brand new product in three years then you might project you need to sell at least $20,000 in year 1.

Complete the “Achievable Outcomes Worksheet’

Step 3 – 90 Day plan

For each of the goals identify the projects you would need to deliver in the next 90 days to put you on track to achieve your yearly goal. Then for each project, identify the specific tasks you would need to complete. Also estimate the time you think you will need to complete the tasks.

Complete the 90 Day Plan (send an email to [email protected] to our FREE template). Check the total time you have allocated for all the tasks by week to make sure you are not over committing.

3yrs

1 year

90 days

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The Time Scheduling Sheet allows you to manage your priorities, reflect on how you felt, how you spent your time, what you achieved, what worked and what you could do differently.

Scheduling your time effectively is a matter of discipline and discipline is a habit. Complete (handwritten) the Time Scheduling sheet for a minimum of 30 days.

This article was written by Therese Wales, for more information and support for change, contact Therese at [email protected] or visit our website www.rutnamadvisory.com

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TIME SCHEDULING SHEET

ACHIEVABLE OUTCOMES AND GOAL SETTING – C.R.E.A.T.E

Explanation:

C = Clear and Concise R = Realistic

E = Ecological (good for you/good for others) A = As if Now (e.g. it is now December 25, 2010…) T = Timed, toward positive

E = End Step (evidence procedure)

To ensure the successful outcome of these goals ask the following questions:

1. Have you been specific and stated it in the positive (vs. “I don’t want to be ……”) 2. Are you clear on where you are now?

3. How will you know when you have achieved it?

4. What will this outcome get for you or allow you to do? For others? 5. When, where, how & with who do you want this?

6. How can you start and maintain the achievement of this goal yourself

7. What do you have now, and what do you need to get your outcome? Have you ever done this before? Do you know anyone who has? Can you act as if you have it?

Write your top 3-‐4 Goals that you will then create plan of action for:

Goal 1

It is now (future date)___________________________________________________________________________ And I am/I have (end step)______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Goal 2

It is now (future date)___________________________________________________________________________ And I am/I have (end step)______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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TIME SCHEDULING SHEET

Goal 3

It is now (future date)___________________________________________________________________________ And I am/I have (end step)______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Goal 4

It is now (future date)___________________________________________________________________________ And I am/I have (end step)______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

You have determined your goals now you need to do something to make it happen. 1. Decide (NOW) – what you will do

2. Commit (NOW) -‐ to doing what it takes 3. Act (Now) – at least one step everyday 4. Focus (your attention) – on what you want

5. Create a powerfully supportive environment – (people who want you to succeed and stretch you to new levels)

6. Have ferocious curiosity – what’s working? What’s not? What have you learned? What can you do differently? What another resources do you have or need? Who is already doing it that you can model?

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TIME SCHEDULING SHEET

Name: Date:

Dashboard Commitment Enthusiasm Results

Progress

Productivity Length of Day

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 No - Yes - No Change

% Act time Q2 % Q2 (complete)

Task Priority Quad Est.

Time

Act. Time

Code

Priority Quadrant Code

A = Must do D = Delegate

B = Should do E = Eliminate

C = Nice to do

Q1 = Urgent/Important Q2 = Not Urgent/Important

Q3 = Urgent/Not Important

Q4 = Not Urgent/Not Important

✓ = Complete

✕ = Not Started

❍ = Progressing

“Time is free, but it is priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” ~ Harvey MacKay

“Failures do what is tension-relieving while winners do what is goal-achieving.” ~ Dennis Waitley

Goals

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TIME SCHEDULING SHEET

3 THINGS I ACHIEVED TODAY

1 2 3

WHAT WORKED WELL?

WHAT CAN I IMPROVE ON?

WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR?

THREE THINGS I WANT TO ACHIEVE TOMORROW

1 2 3

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From quiet reflection will come more effective action.” ~ Peter F. Drucker

TIME SCHEDULING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS