Introduction
This week’s second MSLD520 blogs is about time
management. Admittedly my time management skills need work and just this week I
have begun implementing the time management suggestions outlined in the Whetten
& Cameron (2011) text and I am already seeing results. As part of this
assignment, I will be addressing the following:
- Assess your time management skills.
- Evaluate how these skills have increased your locus of
control.
- Identify three new areas in which improved time
management skills would reduce stress.
- Add an action plan to integrate these to your daily
routine.
1. My Time Management Skills
As I previously stated, my time management
skills at the beginning of MSLD 520 were poor. They were not always so poor.
Really, I have had time management training in the past so I know how to manage
time. The reason why I think they are in the current state of disarray that
there were in two weeks ago is that my workload when I first took the job was easy
to manage. There was plenty of work to keep our team busy all day long every
day and there wasn’t too many moving pieces to complicate workload and
scheduling issues. About a year ago, new technology was introduced that changed
everything and it wasn’t too long afterward that I reached a tipping point to
where I believed I had more work than I could do and the only way to keep the
fires from burning the house down was to tackle the biggest fires. Whetten
& Cameron (2011) helped me reflect on how I got to this place being
overwhelmed “Along with the information age has come an increasing sense that
each of us is falling behind.” (p. 121). It is easy to take your eye off the
ball when there are a lot of distractions going on around and if you don’t have
some structure helping to plan your daily activities it is easy for your
perception of the activities you need to do to get out of hand. I can see now that a more measured approach as
outlined in Whetten & Cameron (2011) will help me get more accomplished
instead of taking a chaotic approach.
2. Evaluate How These Skills Have Increased Your Locus of
Control
By implementing simple time management
techniques, I am taking back control of the situation (internal locus of
control) versus allowing the situations control me (external locus of control).
I have a good feeling that I am in control of the situation now instead of
being controlled by the situations. The feeling is really good. If I had to
choose one word to describe the feeling I would choose “empowering”.
3. Identify Three New Areas in Which Improved Time Management
Skills Would Reduce Stress
a.
Making a List and Setting
Priorities
Making a list and setting priorities has already
had a huge impact on my stress levels. The week prior to organizing all my
tasks and prioritizing them I thought I was going to just want to quit my lead position
and go back to just being a writer. Today I feel confident that the tasks I
have ahead of me I have control of, they do not control me. This has
contributed immensely in reducing the stressors at work.
b.
Reserve Some Time Where Others
Don’t Have Access to You
Coworkers continually interrupt me at all times
during the day (sometimes for purely social reasons) and can be frustrating
when trying to complete important tasks. Well a couple of days ago I had one
task that I just had to get done by 3 p.m. and I put my foot down and told
everyone that I was going to be out of pocket for a the rest of the morning
until after lunch to get this task done. It was more time than I needed, but I
absolutely needed some quiet time to get my thoughts together on this task. I
like to be accommodating to people but at the same time I’m learning that being
assertive and guarding sometime during the day to get critical tasks done is
crucial to managing time well and reducing stress.
c.
Setting Deadlines
All my projects now have a
goal completion date and those of my subordinates. Up till last week, not all
my projects were tracked nor did they all have deadlines. Now with a to do
list, everything is tracked and everything has a completion date. I can see the
big picture now and I have taken complete control back. Having a sense of
complete control has had a major impact on reducing stressors at work. Thank
you MSLD 520!
4. Add an Action Plan to Integrate These Into Your Daily
Routine
I have integrated making a list and setting
priorities, reserving “off-limits” time and setting deadlines. Monday mornings
around 0800 hours I will review my priorities and deadlines and make any
additions or changes and I will see what time if any I need to block out to
make sure critical tasks get accomplished with a clear mind.
Conclusion
Whetten and Cameron (2011) and MSLD 520 has made
a significant contribution this week to my work processes in helping me to see
I needed to take control over my tasks at hand instead of being controlled by
them. I had these skills at one time, so it was easy to see the error of my
ways and make the corrections that were needed.
References:
Whetten, D. & Cameron, K., (2011). Developing management skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Prentice Hall.
