BPH 3109: Time Management

By Oguta Zaddock (2022)

 Learning objectives
1.Define key words in time management
2.Identify myths and truth on time management.
3.Apply effective time management strategies:
 The Pareto principle
 Time- logs and To-do list
 Urgent vs important matrix
 Being busy vs being productive
4. Identify time robbers and time wasters
5. Describe planning tools for time management at
workplace.
 Overview
• Time is a resource
• Time is often not thought of as a resource, but as we shall realize,
time is non-renewable resource. An event cannot take place
unless there is time for it.
• The aim of time management is not to turn workers into robots
who work without interruptions or breaks, nor is it to develop
rigid routines. Rather the aim is to organize and arrange the use of
time so that time pressures and over-crowded schedules are
reduced and that staff can have adequate rest periods without
lowering work output.
• If forced to work under continuous pressure, people devise means
of escape such as by taking days off for illness or slowing down
their pace and becoming inefficient.
 Time management in many cultures is simply a matter of
choosing, organizing, and scheduling events. Knowing this,
we are forced to live by schedules, set times, and restrictions.
 Instead of only focusing on events in time, on WHAT we are
doing, it also serves us to also explore HOW things are going.
Exploring HOW is going, the quality or feeling of time, should
be the domain of inner time management.

 Time management is the act of arranging your commitments

according to the time scheduled and their importance.
 As a Health Worker, Share with us your past experience with
TIME.

 Are you a TIME KEEPER OR TIME MANAGER?

 Time management is nothing but
common sense. I do well in school,
so I must be managing my time
effectively.
 It takes all the fun out of life!!!
 Time management? I work better
under pressure.

 No matter what I do, I won’t have

enough time!
Increases productivity.
Reduces stress.
Improves self-esteem.
Helps achieve balance in life.
Increases self-confidence
Helps you reach your goals!
 What is Procrastination?
Can you sing this verse!

 Procrastination is my sin.
 It brings me naught but sorrow.
 I know that I should stop it.
 It fact, I will – tomorrow!
• Ignoring the task, hoping it will go away

• Underestimating how long it will take/overestimating your abilities and resources

• Telling yourself that poor performance is okay/insisting on perfection

• Doing something else that isn’t very important

• Believing that repeated “minor” delays won’t hurt you

• Talking about rather than doing it

• Putting all your work on only one part of the task

• Becoming paralyzed when having to make choices

 Win the mental battle by committing to being on
time.
 Set and keep deadlines.
 Organize, schedule & plan.
 Divide a big job into smaller ones.
 Find a way to make a game of your work or make
it fun.
 Reward yourself when you’re done.
 Tell your friends and roommates to remind you of
priorities and deadlines.
 Learn to say “no” to time wasters.
WAYS TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION

Delete Delegate Do it.

15minutes Rule Chop it up Ask for Advice

Clear set deadline Rewarding Remove

Yourself Distractors
 How can you tackle Time wasters?:

 (i) at workplace
 (ii) at college
 Learn to recognize when you’re wasting time.
 Decide what you need to do and can realistically do.
 Learn how to say “NO” when you don’t have time.
 Return calls at your convenience. The phone is a major time killer.
 Learn to say “I can’t talk right now. I’ll get back to you.”
 Wasting time is often linked to a lack of self-discipline.
 Ask yourself, “Do I really need to do this or not?”
 Avoid the temptation to socialize when you’ve scheduled
work.
 If friends ask you to join them last minute, decline outright,
but ask if you could get together later in the week.
 Socializing is important when you don’t have other things to
worry about!
 Study somewhere you won’t be tempted to chat, watch
movies or YouTube, or use social utilities like Facebook.
 Texts are a major distraction.
 Urgent Not Urgent

Important Do Now Plan to Do

Not Important Reject Resist

• Trivial requests from others • ‘Comfort’ activities, computer
games, net surfing
• Apparent emergencies
• Chat, gossip, text, social
• Interruptions and distractions communications

Scrutinize and probe demands. • Daydreaming, doodling over long

Help originators to re-assess. breaks
Wherever possible reject and • Unnecessary adjusting
avoid these tasks. equipment
Habitual ‘comforters’ not true tasks.
Non-productive, de-motivational.
Minimize or cease altogether.
Plan to avoid them.
1. Set goals
2. Set reasonable expectations
(and remember that no one’s
perfect)
3. Make a schedule
4. Revisit and revise your plan
 Knowing what is most valuable to you
gives direction to your life.
 Your energy should be oriented first
toward things that reflect the values that
are most important.
 Examine your values to help you make
time management decisions.
 Time and energy management can make you more
productive and reduce your stress level.
 The Three Steps
◦ Set goals
◦ Make a schedule
◦ Revisit and revise your plan
 Be tough with your time. Actively avoid procrastination and
time wasters. Learn to say “no” to distractions.
 Employ a variety of time management strategies to
maximize your time.
 Relax and enjoy the extra time that you’ve discovered!
 The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is a theory
maintaining that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or
system is determined by 20 percent of the input.
 The principle doesn’t stipulate that all situations will demonstrate that
precise ratio – it refers to a typical distribution.
 Here are a few examples of the Pareto principle in action:
• 20 percent of employees produce 80 percent of a company’s results.
• 20 percent of a given employee’s time yields 80 percent of their output.
• 20 percent of software bugs cause 80 percent of the software’s failures.
• 20 percent of a company’s investments produce 80 percent of its
investment profits.
• Named after economist Vilbredo Pareto. The Pareto Principle can be
applied especially those businesses that are client-service based.
However critics argue that Pareto Principle is not law but merely an
observation.
BUSY X PRODUCTIVE √

Have numerous priorities Have a couple of priorities

Respond with “YES” very fast Think twice before saying “YES”

Keep all doors open Close all the doors

Keeping talking how busy they are Let results speak for themselves

Are Multituskers Concentrate on one important goal

Ask for advise Take real actions and get the job done
One may ask how much time is spent:
1. With patients
2. Correspondence
3. Talking to staff
4. Visiting in the country
5. Socialization with friends and loved ones, u-tube, social media…

 These questions and others may be answered roughly by keeping

a daily dairy for a few days.
 Example: A Medical assistant in a health unit, (WHO, 1980.Table1.
pg.187)-time, patients,people,admin,District, breaks, Remarks
1. Timetables
2. Schedules
3. Roster
4. A Programme
5. Annual review of events
6. Implementation plan (Gantt Chart)
7. Seasonal calendar…
 Make your goals specific and
concrete. Don’t be vague.
 Set both long-term goals and
short-term ones to support
them.
 Set a deadline for your goals.
 Integrate your goals: school,
personal and career.
 Realize that goals change, but
know which goals to stick to!
 What’s important and what isn’t?
 What order do things need to be
done in?
 Once you know what your
priorities are, you need to plan
out a schedule for the semester,
the week and the day.
 Acknowledge the realities of
college schedules.
 Planning may seem hard at first,
but the more you do it, the
easier and more natural it gets.
Set Up Your Semester Calendar
 Block all important set time obligations.
 Block all class and lab times.
 Look at the syllabus for the class schedule.
◦ Note the weight of the activities.
◦ Highlight all exams and project due dates.
 Work backwards from exams and papers (PERT).
 Study time.
 Time for your sanity.
 Set realistic goals, there are only 24 hours in
a day.

 Use spare time to review.

 Study at the same time each day: make it a

habit

 Divide study time into manageable chunks

 Leave extra time at the end!

 Different Perspectives
 The “to do” List
 How are you actually using your time?

 Which tasks were you able to do? What didn’t get done?

 Was your energy level appropriate? Your stress level?

 What changes need to be made to your weekly schedule?

 What are persistent time wasters?

 Was procrastination an issue?

 Immediately note all changes.
◦ Exam/Paper due date revisions
◦ Meeting additions/cancellations
◦ Work schedule changes
◦ Upcoming visitors, etc., etc…

 Preview the upcoming week making any necessary

adjustments.
 Preview each day to see what might happen…
 Develop a Time management tool(s) for the following tasks:
 (i) A medical Superintendent/Chief Executive Officer of a Busy
Hospital.
 (ii) County Chief Officer for Health
 (iii) Principal Investigator(PI) of a Research Project
 (iv) Deputy Director at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA)
 (V) A student in College
 Reference
• WHO, 1980. ON BEING INCHARGE.A Guide to middle level management in
primary health care, pg.186-202; WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
,GENEVA.
• https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Pareto-principle accessed
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• https://slidebazaar.com/items/pareto-principle-powerpoint-template/
6242022