Sources of Problems in Time Management

A number of normal human tendencies make it more difficult to manage time well because of:

- Lack of clear objectives and priorities.

- People prefer to do things that are interesting and pleasant before doing things that are hard and unpleasant.

- People prefer to do easy things before doing extremely difficult things.

- People tend to wait until before a deadline to do a task.

- People tend to do things that are urgent before doing things that are not, because urgent things are usually initiated by others than by ourselves.

There are even some paradoxes:

- People who are very busy cannot find time for planning that would save more time than it takes.

- People who are able to find time to do things for others are likely to be asked to do even more things.

- People who tend to leave things out on their desk so they will not be lost or forgotten create such clutter that things are lost or forgotten.

Improving time management has a variety of benefits. Time management allows you to concentrate on the activities that are most important and in this way increase your effectiveness. Greater effectiveness is likely to increase work satisfaction and chances for career advancement and also reduces the frustration (разочарование) and stress resulting from being overloaded with work.

Common Time Wasters for managers are:

1) Telephone Interruptions The telephone is an important medium of communication and it can save time. But it can become a major form of interruption if not controlled:

- If you have a lot of calls, your secretary should screen them. For example, give the secretary a list of people who should be put through immediately or your secretary should inquire about the nature of their business.

- Delegate responsibility for answering some questions to your secretary or subordinates

- Set aside some periods each week when people know they can call you.

- have materials and information ready for calls that you expect to receive.

2) Drop-in Visitors The managerial work requires many brief contacts with people, including subordinates, peers (равный), superior, clients, and other outsiders. There are some possible ways out of this problem:

- let your secretary screen your visitors

- make yourself inaccessible during particular times of the week. Use a "Do Not Disturb" sign outside your door.

- prepare polite excuses to shorten visits (such as “I have to leave for a meeting”, “I’m expecting an important call” and “Can I meet with you later?”

- meet with people in their offices instead of yours.

- set up regular meetings each week with members of your work unit

- have open office periods each week when you are available without an appointment for anybody who needs to see you for a few minutes.

- use non-verbal methods to signal that you are busy (for example, don’t give eye contact to people who pass by, look frequently at your watch to show that a meeting is running too long, hold a telephone in your hand as someone comes in).

3) Cluttered Office

- Set priorities on incoming correspondence and paperwork. Sort your mail into categories including "read now", "handle now" and "read later". Read your mail at the same time each day.

- Have a person to screen and sort out your correspondence

- Delegate responsibilities to your subordinates to answer routine types of correspondence.

- Reduce the amount of required reports and memos from clients, subordinates, etc.

- Have a place for everything and put everything in its place.  

4) Unnecessary Tasks The reasons are:

- Lack of clear objectives and priorities.

- Delegate less important tasks to the subordinates and your secretary. - Inability to say “no” to requests. You should prepare tactful ways to say "no" to them and in case of a request by your boss you can ask a boss to decide which task is more important to him or her.

- Use political power to get some tasks transferred to someone else or   to another unit in the organization.

- Best suggestion for saving time - schedule 10 minutes to do nothing. That time can be used to just sit and clear your mind

5) Unnecessary or over-long meetings

Unproductive meetings occur due to some causes, such as lack of clear purpose, absence of key people, late participants, unprepared participants, unnecessary socializing, interruptions, lack of skilled leadership, and deviation from the agenda. You should:

- prepare a clear agenda

- inform people about what they need to do to prepare for a meeting, and make sure they receive necessary information

- start meeting on time

6) Planning Daily routine

When planning one’s daily activities, the first step is to make a list for the day and assign priorities to each activity.

 

5.11. Translate the sentences using necessary words from the text "Time Management".

1) Если менеджер хочет работать творчески, он должен управлять временем. 2) Время тратится зря, если оно используется на что-то ненужное или не очень важное. 3) Источником проблем в Time Management является отсутствие ясных целей и приоритетов. 4) Кроме того люди склонны ждать до последнего (пока не наступит крайний срок), чтобы начать выполнять задание. 5) Существуют разные «пожиратели» времени. Это: долгие собрания, случайные посетители, приостановка работы из-за телефонных разговоров, беспорядок в офисе, неважные задания. 6) Менеджеру следует делегировать свои полномочия подчиненным. 7) Менеджеру следует тщательно готовить и проводить собрания. 8) Менеджеру следует четко определять цели и приоритеты и планировать свою деятельность.