With only 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week, time must be
spent wisely by working smarter rather than harder.
Time management is the key. The word time we understand, but do we
really understand the term management? The four basic principles of
management are planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.
Let's look at each of these elements as they relate to working smarter.
Planning — Assuming that the organization has a vision
and a mission in mind, as well as a strategic plan to accomplish these,
then daily planning becomes the responsibility of each employee as he
or she develops the tasks necessary to accomplish these goals. Daily
planning focuses on the important elements of our jobs, helps to identify
and avoid time wasters, and assists in using time more productively.
It is true that interruptions such as telephone calls, pages, and e-mails
occur frequently throughout the day, but it is crucial to identify which
are important and which are not, then work toward eliminating non-productive
interruptions.
When using a daily planner, use one planner for both work and personal
activities. Then the day becomes fully organized and time isn't wasted
by having to look at various schedules to see what task is next or when
to make your next dentist appointment.
Organizing — Daily planning also is part of the organization
function because by doing so, you organize your time and limit interruptions.
Yet organization is so much broader. It includes such things as simplifying
and standardizing repetitive tasks, organizing your work space so that
you don't spend countless time looking for things that should be readily
available, removing unnecessary items while making sure that adequate
supplies and inventory are maintained, and scheduling routine maintenance.
Directing — The principle of directing is simply following
through to see that necessary tasks are accomplished, whether directing
yourself or your subordinates. Other possible ways to cover the bases
with fewer employees include motivating current employees, cross-training
employees to perform multiple tasks, using interns, or outsourcing employees.
Interns are often available through high school vocational programs
or through welfare-to-work programs from the Missouri Division of Family
Services or from your local community action agency. They are available
to work anywhere from 10 to 40 hours a week at no or little cost to
the employer. Often the employee is eager to learn, to work, and to
accept new opportunities. I would encourage every employer to evaluate
the options of using these programs.
Outsourcing employees is another option when the need is limited or
for a temporary basis. Contract employees are often highly skilled and
very cost effective when evaluating the overall organization needs.
Temporary agencies also provide employees when needed on a limited basis,
ranging from a few hours to a few months. Professional Employer Organizations
(PEOs) throughout the country are growing at about 30 percent annually.
They offer the employees benefits, keep employment records, deal with
unemployment and worker's compensation, process payroll, and contract
with employers to meet their human resource needs.
Controlling — The final principle of management is controlling.
This is evident in various quality control programs, inventory control
systems, accounting systems, human resource systems, budgets, cost overruns,
discipline procedures, and about any aspect of organizational policies
and procedures. But how does it relate to managing time? Again, what
is being done about unnecessary interruptions? Are the daily tasks being
accomplished? Are these tasks relevant to the overall organization's
mission? These questions must be evaluated for a time management system
to be effective.
Many organizations frequently find themselves working in a state of
crisis management, which is a time waster and exemplifies an
organization out of control. Performance suffers, stress increases,
and quality and productivity diminish. Effective planning, organizing,
directing, and controlling would eliminate the crisis management organizational
mode. As a result, you could find yourself able to do more by
working smarter, even with fewer personnel.
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Authored by: Cassy Venters, Business and Industry
Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Source: Creating Quality Newsletter, Volume
10, Number 2, February 2001
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