Time Management

Paula Ponder MSN, RN, CENChapter 9

Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.”

Henry Ford

Time Management

• Is making optimal use of available time• Time is a a finite and valuable resource

– Using it wisely requires both leadership skills and management functions

• There is a close relationship between time management and stress

Three Basic Steps in Time Management

• Allow time for planning and establish priorities• Complete the highest-priority task whenever

possible, and finish one task before beginning another.

• Reprioritize the remaining tasks and new information that may have been received.

• These are cyclic and need to be completed sequentially

Time for Planning

• Two mistakes common to novice managers• Setting aside time at the beginning of each

day to plan the day allows the manager to spend time on high-priority tasks.

Management by Crisis

• Without adequate planning the manager finds getting started difficult and begins to manage by crisis

Crisis Management

• Time management should be proactive, not crisis driven

• No amount of planning can prevent an occasional crisis

Setting Priorities

• Priority setting is perhaps the most critical skill in good time management

Priority-Setting Traps

• “Whatever hits first”• The “path of least resistance”• The “squeaky wheel”• “Default”

– Feeling obligated to take on whatever task no one wants to do

• “Inspiration”– Waiting for this

Vacarro, 2001

Prioritizing

• “Don’t do”• “Do later”• “Do now”

– Commonly reflects the daily organizational needs

Procrastination

• Putting off something until a future time, postponing, or delaying needlessly

• Not a character flaw, but a set of behaviors• The dread of doing a task uses more time and

energy than doing the task itself

Making Lists

• Lists are planning tools and must be flexible• Re-examine items that remain on the list day

after day• Only put as many items on the daily list as can

reasonably be accomplished in a day.

Manageable Tasks

• Some projects are not accomplished because they are not broken into manageable tasks

Managing Time at Work

• Gather all the supplies and equipment • Group activities • Use time estimates• Document your interventions ASAP• Strive to end the workday on time

Importance of Taking Breaks

• Taking regularly scheduled breaks from work is important because breaks allow the worker to refresh, both physically and mentally.

Interruptions

• Lower-level managers experience more interruptions than higher-level managers

• Frequent work interruptions result in situational stress and lowered job satisfaction

Time Wasters

• Researchers suggest what differentiates procrastination today from a century ago is the variety of distractions and diversions available, including internet and online card games

• External time wasters– Telephone interruptions, meetings (manager has

the least amt of control over these)• Internal time wasters

– Procrastination, poor planning, inability to say no, management by crisis

Managing Time

• Short-term goals• Intermediate goals• Long-term goals

Time Management Styles• Monochronic style - begins and ends projects on time,

has a clean and organized desk, and is highly structured– Specific detailed plans, schedules where they are hightly

committed, address tasks in an analytical and prioritized way

– Hard in a chaotic setting• Polychronic style – tends to change plans, emphasizes

relationships rather than tasks, and often works in a cluttered or disorganized environment– Very multitasking, work on several parts of the project at

the same time, do many activities.

Personal Time Management

• “the knowing of self”• What types of work you avoid • What is the best time of the day for you to

work• How long you can work before becoming

nonproductive

Time Inventory

• Determine how much time spent on a particular task

• What time of day most productive• Maintain for several days or weeks• Repeat annually or more often as tasks

change

The Time Bank

• Each morning you have $86,400 – a dollar for each second of the day

• You may not carry a balance over to the next day

• You cannot borrow from tomorrow’s deposit• 1 hour = $3600• How did you ‘spend’ yesterday?

The Truth About Time

• It is Irreversible and Irreplaceable• We can’t save it and use it later• We can’t elect not to spend it• We can’t borrow it• We can’t leave it or retrieve it

Symptoms of Poor Time Management• Constant rushing• Caught in crisis mode• Fatigue or listlessness “overwhelmed” feeling• Insufficient time for rest or personal

relationships• Sense of being overwhelmed by demands and

details• Having to do what you don’t want to do most

of the time

Personal Characteristics of time Wasting

• Don’t understand time planning• Cant distinguish what’s important from what

is not• Make too many rules or procedures or

approvals.• Doesn’t look at the standard of work

Myths About Time Management• The most active get the most done• The higher the level, the better the decision• Delay increases the quality of decisions• Delegation always saves time, worry, and

responsibility• The most efficient worker is also the most

effective• The harder you work, the more you get done

Client Care

First order priorities: Any immediate threat to client survival or safety.

Second order priorities: Actual problems for which client or family have requested immediate help.

Third order priorities: Actual or potential problemsunrecognized by client or family.

Fourth order priorities: Anticipated problems for which the client or family will need future help.

Summary

• Learning to use time wisely is essential for effective management.

• An efficient filing system is invaluable to handle paper overload

• Being punctual implies that you value other people’s time and creates an imperative for them to value your time as well