Positive Attitude

Positive Attitude - Knowledge Sharing Session   Success

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the
attitude of mind”

-William James of Harvard University

Success Formula

 When a person gets a job or a promotion, 85% of the time is because of his attitude and
the remaining 15% is due to his/her intelligence and knowledge. - Harvard University
study

 Foundation of success regardless of the chosen field is attitude.

 Shouldn’t we examine our attitude towards life, if attitude is such a critical factor to
success?

Acres of Diamond

 Hafiz and the wiseman

 Take Away’s from this story:

o When our attitude is right we realize that we are walking on acres of diamond.
Opportunity is always under of feet,
o Grass always looks greener on the other side.
o While we are eyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who eye grass on
our side
o Opportunities are recognized when they are leaving us rather than when they are
coming.
o Opportunity knocks only once.

David and Goliath

David killing the giant Goliath - Biblical Story.

Our attitude determines how we look at the setback. To a positive thinker attitude can be a
stepping stone to success. But for a negative thinker it can be a stumbling block.

Importance of attitude to organizations

 Why do some individuals/organizations succeed. - Answer is they invest in people.

 Most executives believe that human resource is the most valuable asset to any business.
  People can be your biggest asset or liability with their attitude.

Factors that determine the attitude

Three E’s:

 Environment (Home, school, work, Media, social and political environment)

 Experience

 Education(Value based education)

Benefits

To the individual

 Pleasing personality

 Energizing

 Increases enjoyment in life

 Inspires others around you

 Can become a contributing member of society and asset to the country

To the Organization

 Increases productivity

 Fosters teamwork

 Solves problems

 Improves quality

 Congenial atmosphere to work

 Breeds loyalty

 Increases profits

 Reduces Stress

Knowledge Works for Effective Management

By: Prof. Param J. Shah   Education is essential in order to make a living in this physical world,
but in order to make a living a success, in order to experience every moment of life as new,
everyday as a day of upliftment and blessing, and to have lasting peace, firstly, knowledge of self
is of utmost importance.

“Know you” we are told and to this end many an orphan has made his long and arduous search to
find or even to come across just the slightest trace of his physical parents. Further more, men
have traveled far and wide amidst strange faces and in for distance places in an extremely costly
search for their roots.

Work ethics for effective management covers four broad topics:

1. Character and Conduct

2. How to deal with corruption
3. Quality of a leader
4. Plan for action

These are the requirement to manage their business.

Management emanates primarily from the manager, relates to an individual, action he executes
his composition what propels his action? At all times the inner personality alone is responsible
for action. The mind-intellect equipment within propels the body to act. Therefore, a study of the
mind and intellect assumes prime importance.
The quality of the mind and intellect determine the character of a person. The ethical values they
entertain. They uphold these values set his obligatory function in the world. Determine the work
ethics for effective management of his life and business.

I would like to discuss here only one and that is character and conduct how it affects for effective
management.

Effective management requires an efficient competent manager with ethical and moral values to
manage an institution what should be his nature? His ethical and moral code? His character and
conduct? These facets of a manager form the backbone of proper management.

THE INDIVIDUAL:
Management essentially comprises action. And action emanates from an individual. The physical
body evacuates various actions. The mind and intellect propel them. Mind and intellect together
constitutes the inner personality. This drives the body to act. Therefore, it is important to know
the nature of the mind and intellect and how they function.

The mind consists of impulses, feelings, emotions, likes and dislikes. Hence, mind is compared
to fire it being insatiable too. The intellect is the facility of thinking, reasoning, judging, and
deciding. The world comprises of two distinct classes of people depending upon the use of these
equipment. Some act directly from the mind impulses, without intellectual participation, others
examine the minds impulses with the intellect, think, declare and act. A human alone can
examine and determine his action. No other being is endowed with this facility. Those who do
not use reason, discretion, and judgment in executing action do not live up to the human status.
INNER CHARACTER
The character of a person rest on the strength and use of his intellect. A strong intellect to control
his mind. The mind entertains endless desires, obsessions and the world presents temptations to
lure the mind to indulge in them. In most persons the intellect remains underdeveloped not strong
enough to withstand worldly temptations. It succumbs. The mind has its way. The individual
loses self-control this mentality weakly caters to sensual and emotional demands and leads him
to a base and unethical life.

The human intellect acts as the banks of a river and the mind as the flow of water. When the
banks are strong, the flow is controlled. The land on either side becomes fertile. But with weak
banks, the water inundates, devastates the land, similarly, with weak intellect the mind’s desires
and obsessions gather tremendous momentum, destroy one’s personality. A strong intellect
however controls the flow of thoughts and emotions. The mind flows ethical values, promotes
growth of personality.

Another ethical value for effective management is a sense of camaraderie, friendship and love. A
sense of belonging, love is identification with others, with your colleagues, sharing benefits with
them. Identification engenders harmony, team sprit, co-operation among workers in any field of
activity. However efficient you need to create a sprit of co-operation endeavor. Having
developed this co-operative attitude you will be able to effectively manage any work or situation.
A third value that promotes effectiveness is attitude of kindness. A consideration for fellow-
workers, a genuine interest in them, their working conditions and welfare. Consider them as you
would consider yourself. In relation to work you would do unto them as you would unto
yourself. With such a healthy atmosphere the organization works on its own.

A fourth value in management spells out another essential trait. A charitable disposition to
accommodate another’s point of view, a sincere appreciation of others thoughts and ideas,
developing a sense of belonging participation in management

A fifth management quality is to recognize the limitation if certain employees. Such an objective
view in a manager helps, encourage his colleagues. They then contribute their best, enhance
performance. The overall management improves.

The above ethical values together build the character in a person.

Individual tacit knowledge can be more widely possessed if there are explicit occasions for other
to observe the knowledge being applied to real situations. The system of apprentice is one such
device.

For organization whose knowledge management imperative is creating new knowledge through
R & D, an important element of the knowledge management strategy is what knowledge acquires
from outside and what to be created internally.

Organizational knowledge consists of a combination of the knowledge of all individual in an

organization. It emerges out of a process of conscious and/ or unconscious among all members of
the organization.
BUILDING KNOWLEDGE ORGANISATION

Knowledge management process as are essentially centered around knowledge workers and
organization can use knowledge as a strategic resource only if it knows how to attract, retain and
motivate superior knowledge workers.

Knowledge workers tend to be high achievers and hence expect tangible feedback and
recognition for their performance the following presentation shows the factors contributing to
concept of self of knowledge workers.

To conclude I can say that the World Development Report suggest that the growth in developed as well
as developing countries is a function of the inclusion of knowledge. In those countries knowledge based
industries such as I.T., Biotechnology, financial and insurance services and consulting have become more
important in terms of their share in G.N.P and their growth potential. Knowledge management has its
origin in these knowledge based industries.
Time Management with Exercise

 The 24-hour schedule (Part - 2)

 MANAGING LEISURE TIME (Part - 3)
 TIME USE SCHEDULE (Part 4)
 ASSESSING YOUR ABILITY (Part 5)
 SHARING YOUR TIME-MANAGEMENT SKILLS (Part 6 - last)

Time Management With Exercise

(Ken Shah & Prof. Param J. Shah) in 6 parts  

HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR TIME ?

If I waste a minute, I waste an hour; if I waste an hour, I waste a day; if I waste a day, I waste a
lifetime !

Solzhenitsyn, The Cancer Ward

One of the major factors controlling how close you are to being the person you would like to be
is your skill in managing your time. If you can control how you spend your time, you can control
your life. In order to put your time management skills into practice, you need an overall view of
how you spend your time. Don’t be misled; just because you happen to have had a few fruitful
evenings lately, you may believe it is always that way. Likewise, if you’ve encountered a few
snags in getting things done recently, don’t be discouraged into thinking that it will always be
that way. Looking at the whole picture will help you see how close you come to spending your
time in the way you would like.

THE WHOLE PICTURE

 The following exercise will help you see the whole picture by categorizing your time and
illustrating that how you actually spend your time may differ from how you want to spend it.

MONITORING YOUR TIME USE

 How you spend your time says a lot about what is important to you, just as how you spend your
money says a great deal. If you wanted to know if you were spending your money in

EXERCISE

TIME USE CATEGORIES

This exercise will help you develop categories to use in identifying how you spend your time.
Examples of these are –

1. Work
2. Household maintenance
3. Relaxing
4. Miscellaneous
5. Play
6. Recreation
7. Friends

In the space below, list some categories that fit your lifestyle :

1. ____________________________

2. ____________________________

3. ____________________________

4. ____________________________

5. ____________________________

6. ____________________________

7. ____________________________

8. ____________________________

9. ____________________________

10.____________________________

Using as many time categories as you need, divide the first circle on the next page into wedges
reflecting how you currently use your time. Do the same with the second circle, reflecting how
you would like to use your time.
a manner consistent with your priorities, you would probably prepare a budget and keep track of
expenses. Do the same with your time. Like a money budget, this may not be something you
want to do all of the time, but it is a good exercise to go through at least once a year.

Why do you need a formal system ? Because people are not very good observers of their own
behavior. In fact, they tend to be quite unreliable ! One of the best examples of this is a classic
experiment in which a psychologist asked a group of people who wanted to lose weight to write
down everything they had eaten during the previous two days. They were then fed only those
foods for the next two days, and they all lost weight !  They had not remembered everything they
had eaten.

To become a more systematic observer of your own behavior, you need to develop a record-
keeping system. This is one of the preliminary steps in bringing about change, and it is called
“gathering baseline data.” It is important for two reasons. First, from this information you will
determine if you are spending your time the way you want. Second, after you have made more
effective and efficient use of your time, you will be able to assess your improvement. For
example, Alice, a graduate nursing student, was feeling guilty about not spending more time with
her family. She felt that she was constantly pulled between her family and her work. When she
analyzed her time, she was amazed to discover how much time she spent talking to her friends.
Alice decided to tell her friends that since she would be preoccupied with her family and school
work, she would have little time for socializing until the end of the summer when she would
complete the requirements for her degree. She was then able to reorganize her commitments to
be consistent with her priorities. Without knowing precisely what was taking up her time –
without collecting baseline data – she would not have been able to do this.

To begin, keep track of how you use your time for one typical week that reflects both weekday
and weekend routines. Be careful not to take your data during an atypical week – for example
when you have out-of-town guests, are involved in an unusual project, or have to work overtime.

There are two systems described on the following pages that you could use to collect the information :
the 24-hour schedule (my system of shared, private, work, and project time); and Learning
International’s “Managing Time and Territory Program.” Try either method, or use a combination of the
two. Only by charting an accurate record of your time will you be able to see if you are spending it in a
manner consistent with your priorities. (Read through sections 1 and 2 below, choose which you want to
use, and then record your time use in Exercise # 10.)

The 24-hour schedule

(Part - 2 of Time Management - Ken Shah & Prof. Param J. Shah)
[Part- 2 The 24 hour Schedule Part - 3 Managing Leisure Time Part - 4 Time use schedule Part 5
Assessing your ability Part 6 - Sharing Your Time Management Skills ]   Divide your time into
the categories below and note on the schedule in Exercise # 10 the actual time spent at each
category. When you finish, you will find that there is a certain amount of time that never varies :
for sleeping, doing regular household chores, and so on. You won’t be changing this time very
much, but rather will analyze the variable times described below.

a. Shared time This is the time you set aside for being with others who mean a lot to you : wife,
husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, children, and so on. After entering these times on the schedule,
circle them with a red pencil and total the number of hours you spend this way.

b. Private time This is the time you set aside to do your own thing : working out at the gym,
having a special night out with friends, reading, etc. Circle these times with a green pencil and
add up the number of hours spent.

c. Work time This is the time you spend working at all aspects of your job, whether the job is
outside the home or housework. Circle this time with a blue pencil and add up the number of
hours.

d. Project time This is the time you spend on projects such as home improvements, crafts,
evening classes, sports, and so on. Circle these times in black and total the number of hours spent
this way.
Some of the most common ones follow. Do you recognize yourself ?

1. “I don’t know how to do this.”

2. “In general, I like to put everything off until tomorrow.”
3. “I’m too tired.”
4. “I procrastinate mainly by doing various household jobs that need doing sometime, but
not right now.”
5. “Tomorrow I’ll start and when tomorrow comes, it’s again…well, tomorrow is soon
enough.”
6. “I make a list containing too many things to get done in the allotted time and just don’t
get to those I dislike or am having trouble getting started at.”
7. “I don’t have time to do this.”
8. “I always look at the time and feel that there certainly is more time than I need for a
project so I can do something else first.”
9. “I’m too busy with day-to-day work to get any projects done later.”
10. “I tell myself I need food or sleep to be able to do something. Then I tell myself I can’t
work on a full stomach.”
11. “I usually need a break, even when I haven’t worked on anything.”
12. “I can’t work in a cluttered atmosphere, so I clean up instead of doing what I should be
doing.”
13. “Baseball and hockey games are only on television two seasons, so I can’t miss them.”

These are just some of the comments people make to rationalize not doing what they had
planned. Perhaps you have made these statements yourself. Look at your excuses and determine
if you are merely procrastinating. Discover what is stopping you from completing a task and then
try to overcome that. For example, you may be delaying because you lack certain information;
obtain it so you need not wait any longer. You may be procrastinating because you can’t make
up your mind about something; consider all your alternatives and make your decision. You may
be hesitating because you don’t know how to take a calculated risk; determine what your
potential gains and losses might be and take the plunge.

Look at the procrastination survey in Exercise #13. Think back to the last time you postponed
doing something and decide whether you really had to wait. Write down the excuse you used
then. Consider other times you delayed starting a project and jot down your rationalizations for
hesitating. Look over these comments, and see how many were justified. Were you
procrastinating ?

TOP

GETTING MOVING

If you have hesitated – procrastinated – for some very good reason, then perhaps you need to
examine your time schedule or your goals. Perhaps you have set overly ambitious goals for
yourself. May be you took on too big a project all at once without breaking it down into its
component parts or planned your day with too many activities. You need to be realistic in
scheduling your activities; allow for flexibility and unexpected changes in plans.
1. Set specific goals
A general goal is hard to meet. Be specific, and you’ll accomplish your task. You’ll also
find it easier to begin and be less inclined to delay.
2. Talk it out
Talk to someone about what you wish to do. By telling a friend and discussing ways to go
about it, you will gain a clearer picture of your goal. You will also find that once you
have heard yourself, you’ll recognize your rationalizations and will gain insight into
organizing your task.
3. Get more information
Read about what you want to do if this is the first time you have attempted it. If you are
building a fence, buy a book on the subject so you know how to order equipment, mark
the lines, and set in the materials. Or ask others who have done similar things – get the
advice of your neighbors. But guard against the tendency to spend so much time
gathering information that you procrastinate actually doing the job. Determine at what
point you have enough information and get started.
4. Make instant tasks
Coax yourself into doing something. Use a small, time-limited activity to get you going.
For example, if you have to write a report for a local service group, put down the first
sentence, even if it isn’t completely the way you want it. That first step breaks the ice; it
is easier to go from that point on.
5. Start with the pleasant parts first
The important thing is to get started. If you have trouble doing that, take the task apart
and select one aspect that is more pleasant than some of the others. Doing something will
inspire you to continue with the remainder.
6. Do it with someone else
Some jobs are simply more enjoyable if you do them with a friend. For example, it may
be faster and more fun if you and a friend get together to paint your house. Many quilts
would never have been made if it weren’t for quilting bees, for example. Or have a friend
sand that antique rocking chair so that you can paint it.
7. Set time-limited goals
Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. If
you have six hours to complete a task, you will stretch out the work to take all those
hours, even though under other circumstances you might have needed only four hours.
The efficient person tries to limit the amount of time allocated for each task. By setting a
finishing time, you help your efficiency in two ways : the set time period will limit the
amount of time you can procrastinate, and the limited period will force you to work more
efficiently during that time.

Let’s consider an example. Most recently, my goal was to write this book. When I was to
start, I found myself spending a great deal of time procrastinating. I wasn’t sure I could
do it, I didn’t know if I knew enough, there was a lot of material on time management,
and I didn’t know if I had anything new or different to say. Then I would spend hours in
the library reading about time management or working on other projects that I had going
or thought I was interested in. By the afternoon, I was too tired to write. However, I
worried about not writing 24 hours a day, and I rarely got anything else done either. I set
up a program for myself where I allocated three hours each morning to working on the
 book, and all my activity during that time had to relate to the project. Then, finally, I
began to write the book.

Parkinson’s Law particularly applies to housework. Shirley Conran, in her book

Superwoman in Action, notes that “[housework] expands to fill the time available plus
half an hour : so it is obviously never finished. The important thing is not to do the
housework but to decide how much time you are going to allow for [it]. What doesn’t get
done in time is left undone (perhaps for next time, perhaps forever).”

Don’t get caught up in the maze of obligatory chores such as housework. If you strive for
perfection and try to complete a task that is basically open-ended anyway, the amount of
time you spend doing it will only increase, and you won’t be using your time efficiently.
8. Give yourself choices
Take two activities that you equally don’t want to do, and give yourself the choice of
doing one or the other. For example, Joe didn’t feel like putting the snow tires on the car;
it was already cold and seemed like a miserable job. He also didn’t want to clean out the
garage, but he made a deal with himself that one particular Saturday he had to do one or
the other. Having the choice between the two things gave Joe at least a sense of freedom.
You can make your choice, too, and your chores will seem less onerous.
9. Make your jobs seem fun
Write down the chores on little pieces of paper that you and your spouse have to do, and
put them into a jar. Each Saturday have a draw to see who gets what chores to do. The
element of chance makes it fun and again takes away some of the burden. By making
your tasks more fun, you’ll avoid procrastinating. And by sharing the chores, you’ll get
them done faster and with less hassle.
10. Use a list
Many busy executives keep a “to do” list at work because they find it the best way to get
things done. Your Time Scheduling Sheet is one type of list, but you may find it useful to
keep shorter, day-to-day lists of things to do. You’ll find you will get to doing the items
on your list sooner and they will take less time to do, since you’ll be doing them more
efficiently.
11. Reward yourself
For years industry has used incentives to help increase employee productivity.
Psychologists have also known for a long time that if a person wants to increase the
frequency of a particular behavior it is best to reward that behavior. You can use the same
principles to make yourself do what you want to do.

There are two main reward systems that you can use : a daily reward – that is, some
reward for each time you perform the desired behavior, or put in the desired amount of
time – and a final reward for after you have completed your project. For example, Keith
wanted to get into better physical shape. His daily reward for exercising was a sauna after
he worked out at the gym. If he kept to his program and exercised three times a week for
a month, he could have the new gym outfit he wanted. He found that monitoring his
behavior – that is, keeping track of the number of times he exercised and looking at the
accumulated tallies and thinking of the reward of the new gym outfit – helped him stick
to his program. By the end of the month, exercising had become part of Keith’s routine.
 The reward of feeling physically good was enough to maintain that routine, but his
program helped him to make the start and overcome his inertia.

For your program, think of rewards that you can use to help yourself get started. Set up
both daily and final rewards. It is also important to note that the value of a particular
reward may change in the course of time. Take these factors into account, and come up
with a new reward when necessary.

Although this method may sound simplistic, it works – and works well. Try it the next
time you have a goal. Keith’s reward sheet is shown as an example in Sample # 1. (A
blank reward sheet is provided in the Appendix for your use.)
12. Punish yourself
Under the right circumstances, self-punishment can be very effective in overcoming
inertia. With this method, you take something away or forfeit a pleasure if you fail to
perform a task you had planned on doing.

Peter was a staunch supporter of a major political party, and he strongly disliked the
leader of the opponent party.

ROJECT REWARD
Daily Final
Exercising
Sauna Gym outfit

1. Peter also had a very important project to complete – his final paper for his university
degree. He asked a friend to act as his banker, and then he made out a series of post-dated
checks for the “enemy” party’s election campaign. His agreement with his banker friend
was that for each week Peter did not meet his quota of work on his paper, the friend
would mail out a check to the “enemy” party’s headquarters.

The first week Peter did not work on his project and he looked on in agony as the check
was mailed. The second week he did some work but still fell short of his quota. Even
though he promised to make up the work, the check was mailed; there was no provision
for make-up (only legitimate sickness), as stipulated in the agreement. The third week
Peter fulfilled his quota. The same was true for the fourth and fifth weeks. By now
working on his project had become his natural activity, and getting the paper finished had
become its own reward. The agreement was terminated.

If you opt for this type of arrangement, remember that self-punishment only works as a
deterrent; the trick is to make the penalty so harsh that it is seldom applied. And if you
find that your self-punishment program is not working, consider modifying your plan
because your quotas may be unrealistic.
2. Make a written contract

In the previous example, Peter had to make an agreement with a friend. A similar plan is
to have a written contract with yourself. The written contract serves as a reminder,
 especially if you keep it in a strategic place. If you want to lose weight, for example,
place your contract on the refrigerator door. If you want to cut down on the amount of
television you watch, place it near the TV. Sample # 2 illustrates this kind of contract. (A
blank contract is provided in the Appendix for your use).
3. Chart your progress
For some projects, you’ll have a hard time sticking through to the end unless you have
some feedback or see some progress along the way. If the project does not provide such
signals, then you need to establish them yourself. Keep track of the time you spend by
making it down on a chart. Over time, your chart will give you a visual summary of your
progress and a boost to your sense of accomplishment.
4. Go public
If you want to really increase your chances of success, make your project known to
others. The encouragement you’ll receive from friends and the social pressure you’ll feel
to continue will be great motivator. Post your chart where friends and family members
can watch your improvement.

PERSONAL CONTRACT
I David Peters, do solemnly swear on this
10th day of June, 2005 -, to spend one
hour(s) / day(s), constructing my garden
shed, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., four out of
seven day(s) / week (s) per week / month for
the next three week(s) / month(s).

Signed : David Peters  

Witnessed : Sam Trimo

MANAGING LEISURE TIME
(Part -3 of Time Management - Ken Shah, Prof. Param J. Shah)
[Part- 2 The 24 hour Schedule Part - 3 Managing Leisure Time Part - 4 Time use schedule Part 5
Assessing your ability Part 6 - Sharing Your Time Management Skills ]  

Old Bureaucrat, my comrade, it is not you who are to blame. No one ever helped you to
escape… Nobody grasped you by the shoulder while there was still time. Now the clay of which
you were shaped has dried and hardened, and naught in you will ever awaken the sleeping
musician, the poet, the astronomer that possibly inhabited you in the beginning. - Antoine de
Saint Exupery

In 1968, Stewart Wolf noted that there is a relationship between leisure and mental health just as
there is a relationship between leisure and physical health. He identified the inability to derive
satisfaction from leisure activities as one of the contributing factors in heart disease and sudden
death. John Howard, of the School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, found that
people who handle tension effectively have developed a good division between work time and
leisure time.
The purpose of this chapter is to help you to develop a balance between work time and non-work
time, to improve the quantity and quality of your leisure time, and to increase the satisfaction you
derive from your leisure.

a. DEFINING LEISURE

I wanted to start this chapter with a definition of leisure, but I didn’t realize what a difficult task
that was until I started reading through the literature and found that up to one-third of some of
those texts are devoted to the topic. Instead, following are several definitions of and quotations
about leisure to encourage you to develop a personal definition of what leisure is.

 “Leisure is a state of mind.” - Old Greek definition

 “Leisure is a state of being in which activity is performed for its own sake.” – Aristotle

 “You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation.”
– Plato

 “Man does not cease to play because he grows old; man grows old because he ceases to
play.” – George Bernard Shaw

 “Work is whatever a body is obliged to do… Play is whatever a body is not obliged to
do.” – Mark Twain

 “…There runs a persistent belief that all leisure must be earned by work and good works.
And second, while it is enjoyed it must be seen on a context of future work and good
works.” – Margaret Mead

 “Leisure is the portion of time which remains after work and basic requirements for
existence have been satisfied.” – James F. Murphy

 “Lacking an understanding of leisure, many of us become more and more alienated from
life and from ourselves.” – Alexander Reid Martin

 “There was a time when we could sit and listen to our individual, internal rhythms, but
now they can hardly be heard over the din of the mechanical clocks set up by school and
business and society. Now we have commuting and TV, three-day weekends, and twelve-
hour workdays, March migraines and April ulcers, twenty-one-year-old addicts and forty-
five-year-old heart attacks.” –Dr. George Sheehan

To determine what leisure means to you, complete the leisure survey in Exercise # 14.

b. LEISURE ASSESSMENT
To begin assessing the quantity and quality of your leisure time, take another look at Exercise # 9
in chapter 3. How close in size are the wedges representing leisure activities in your current time
use circle to those in your ideal time use circle ? What are you saying to yourself ?

If you want an accurate idea of how much time you spend on leisure and how much you enjoy
the time you spend in various activities, complete the leisure activity log as illustrated in
Exercise # 15. This may seem an unleisurely activity, but as you probably realize now, your
leisure time is a limited and valuable commodity. Wouldn’t it be prudent to see if you are
spending it wisely ?

c. ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF YOUR LEISURE TIME

We are all of us compelled to read for profit,

party for contacts, lunch for contracts, bowl
for unity, drive for mileage, gamble for charity,
go out for the evening for the greater glory
of the municipality and stay home for the
weekend to rebuild the house.
(Walter Kerr)

One way to assess the quality of your leisure time is through the concepts of “pure” leisure
versus “contaminated” leisure. By pure leisure I mean the same thing as Dennis Sparks and W.
Furlong when they describe, “Flow experiences.” In his article “The Flow Experience : The Fun
in Fun” (Psychology Today, 1975, Vol. 10, pp. 35-38.), Furlong wrote –

Flow experiences are activities that cause

Individuals to lose all sense of self, time, and the
external world. These experiences involve

LEISURE SURVEY

 
Just as you previously examined your attitudes toward work, you are now going to
examine you attitudes toward leisure. Complete the following sentences as thoroughly
a possible.

To play is to
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

To relax is to
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
 To be at leisure is to
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

To be at peace is to
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

To experiences solitude is to
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

If I were to increase the amount of leisure activities I engage in I would

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

If I were to improve the quality of my leisure time activities I would

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
  LEISURE ACTIVITY LOG  
Date Leisure Time Number Who did you do Predicted Actual
activity started / of hours it with ? satisfaction satisfaction
finished (If by yourself, (0% - 100%) (0% - 100%)
specify) (to be noted (to be noted
before the after the
activity) activity)
             

 
 
 

g. LEISURE RITUALS

Jean and Allan are a dual-career couple, each with high-pressure jobs. Shortly after they were
married, they took a trip just to get away from it all. Their trip was such a success that they
decided to make it an annual event, and throughout the years they have managed to keep it up.
Some years, depending on mood and finances, they go to New York City, stay in their favorite
hotel, and take in the theater. Other years, they stay at a lake resort or go camping. Jean says,
“For us it has become an important yearly ritual – no matter what is happening to us in our
careers or the current crises with our teenage children.” Allan says he looks forward to it every
year since it gives them a chance to renew themselves as a couple. Establishing your own ritual
will add motivation for you to keep up special leisure activities.

OVERCOMING THE SOMEDAY PLOY  

List 25 things you would like to do before you die. Then, go over it a second time and
mark each activity that is suffering from the someday ploy. Go over it one more time
and mark those activities you will start, no matter how small the start is.
ACTIVITY SOMEDAY START
1. ____________________________________ __________ __________
2. ____________________________________ __________ __________
3. ____________________________________ __________ __________
4. ____________________________________ __________ __________
5. ____________________________________ __________ __________
6. ____________________________________ __________ __________
7. ____________________________________ __________ __________
8. ____________________________________ __________ __________
9. ____________________________________ __________ __________
10. ____________________________________ __________ __________
11. ____________________________________ __________ __________
12. ____________________________________ __________ __________
13. ____________________________________ __________ __________
14. ____________________________________ __________ __________
15. ____________________________________ __________ __________
16. ____________________________________ __________ __________
17. ____________________________________ __________ __________
18. ____________________________________ __________ __________
19. ____________________________________ __________ __________
20. ____________________________________ __________ __________
 21. ____________________________________ __________ __________
22. ____________________________________ __________ __________
23. ____________________________________ __________ __________
24. ____________________________________ __________ __________
25. ____________________________________ __________ __________
  HINTS

 Most successful vacationers make a clear division between work time and holiday time.

 Avoid being overly optimistic in what you expect from your vacation (you will only be
disappointed).

 Do not turn your vacation into another form of work by trying to do or see too many
things; part of the reason for taking a vacation is to escape schedules and deadlines.

 Do not overdo things leading up to the holiday. Ian, for example, is a worrier. Two weeks
before his vacation he decided he wanted to get everything done at work before he went
away. He started taking fewer breaks than usual and pushed himself to work harder than
his usual frantic pace, using the excuse that his vacation was not very far away and then
he would be able to rest. Ian started his vacation exhausted. It took him the first week to
get over being exhausted, and it took him the second week to unwind, so it was not until
the time he was ready to go back to work, at the end of the second week, that he was
actually ready for a vacation !

CONCLUSION

The first step toward achieving a better balance between the value you place on leisure and your
actual leisure behavior is to develop a better appreciation of the role leisure plays in your life. I
hope this chapter and its exercises have helped you begin doing that.

However, if you still feel that you are not using your leisure time as well as you would like, think
about seeing a leisure counselor. They can be found at YM-YWCAs, other community
recreational agencies, university departments of recreation, some industrial and business settings,
and some mental health facilities.

You have more options than you think, but an option is not really an option until you know about
it. Your leisure counselor can help you assess you interests (or possible interests) by talking with
you, or perhaps by administering one of the many leisure interest inventories available.

Once your interests are assessed, your counselor will help you to identify those resources in the
community where you can pursue them and encourage and support you so can carry them out.

As George Sheehan states, the ultimate responsibility is yours :

 As with everything else in life, if you would
be educated, you must do it yourself. Heed
the inner calling to your own play. Listen if
you can to the person you were and are and
can be. Then do what you do best and feel best
at. Something that gives you security and self-
acceptance and a feeling of completion.

WHAT COMPANIES ARE DOING TO ENCOURAGE FITNESS

So far we have concentrated on things individuals can do to take initiative in setting up physical
fitness programs for themselves. Many companies have also developed programs and policies to
develop the physical fitness of their employees, for example :

 Xerox built a multimillion-dollar gym at its headquarters.

 Japanese workers start the day with calisthenics.

 Noon-hour fitness programs are conducted at some manufacturing plants.

 Gulf pays 80% of its employees’ costs of joining a fitness club.

 A telephone company pays for the fitness testing of its employees.

Is there a department or a person at your company who is in charge of motivating the employees
to better fitness, locating local resources, etc. ? If there is not, should there be one ? If your
company needs help in setting up this kind of program, try talking to the YM / YWCA in your
area.

TIME SURVEY
  True                 False
I am very satisfied with the way I use my time off the job
It is very important for me to use my time off the job effectively
I make the best use of my time I possibly can
I feel in control of my time
At the end of the day, I feel good about what I have accomplished.
I feel certain of whom I am and where I am going
I am willing to take a risk to get the important tasks of the day completed
I seldom find myself wasting time
I work fast and efficiently
   

 
TIME USE SCHEDULE
(Part -4 of Time Management - Ken Shah, Prof. Param J. Shah)
[Part- 2 The 24 hour Schedule Part - 3 Managing Leisure Time Part - 4 Time use schedule Part 5
Assessing your ability Part 6 - Sharing Your Time Management Skills ]  
Use either the 24-hour schedule method or the “Managing Time and Territory Program” to
fill in this chart.
Complete instruction are provided on pages 24 and 25.

Week of __________________________
Hour Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat.
7:00              
7:30              
8:00              
 8:30              
9:00              
9:30              
10:00              
10:30              
11:00              
11:30              
12:00              
12:30              
1:00              
1:30              
2:00              
2:30              
3:00              
3:30              
4:00              
4:30              
5:00              
5:30              
6:00              
6:30              
7:00              
7:30              
8:00              
8:30              
9:00              
9:30              
10:00              
10:30              
11:00              
11:30              

Costing Your Time

It is a sobering exercise to calculate exactly how much your time costs and then realize how
much of it is not being spent effectively. Use the calculation on the right to work out how much
your time at work costs per hour and per minute, and then use these figures to analyze the
relative cost of a few activities typical of your day, such as arranging a meeting yourself rather
than asking your assistant to undertake that task. Always consider whether you should delegate
tasks to others : it is generally more
cost-effective to give routine tasks to more junior staff rather than doing them yourself, since
your cost to the company will be higher.

Breaking Down Tasks

Look at the categories into which you have allocated your tasks, and divide them into groups :
routine tasks (for example, writing a regular report), ongoing projects (for example, organizing a
meeting), and tasks that would further develop your job (for example, making new contacts).
Work out the percentage of time spent on each group.

ALLOCATING TIME

To be most effective in your job, you should spent about 60 percent of your time on Group 3
tasks, 25 percent on Group 2 tasks, and only 15 percent on Group 1 projects. In fact, most people
allocate their time in exactly the opposite proportions : 60 percent on Group 1, 25 percent on
Group 2, and 15 percent on Group 3.

ASSESSING YOUR ABILITY   (Part -5 of Time Management - Ken Shah, Prof. Param J. Shah)
[Part- 2 The 24 hour Schedule Part - 3 Managing Leisure Time Part - 4 Time use schedule Part 5 Assessing
your ability Part 6 - Sharing Your Time Management Skills ]  

The key to successful management is the possession of good time-management skills. Find out
how well you manage your time by responding to the following statements, and mark the options
that are closest to your experience. Be as honest as you can : if your answer is “rarely”, mark
Option 1; if your answer is “always”, mark Option 4; and so on. Add your scores together, and
refer to the Analysis to see how you scored. Use your answers to identify the areas that need
most improvement.

OPTIONS
1 Never
2 Occasionally
3 Frequently
4 Always

1. I arrive on time and prepared for meetings.

1234
2. I ensure that a clock is visible in the room where meetings are held.
1234
3. The meetings I organize achieve their purpose.
1234
4. The meetings I organize finish on time.
1234
5. I open my mail as soon as it arrives on my desk.
1234
6. I “skim-read” any relevant newspaper and magazine articles.
1234
7. I cross my name off the circulation list for magazines and journals I do not read.
1234
8. I read my faxes on the day on which I receive them.
1234
9. I am able to complete tasks without interruptions from colleagues.
1234
10. I decide how many times I can be interrupted in a day.
1234
11. I reserve certain hours for visits from colleagues.
1234
12. I close my office door when I want to think strategically.
1234
13. I tell telephone callers that I will return their calls, and do so.
1234
14. I limit the duration of my telephone calls.
1234
15. I allow a colleague or secretary to screen my telephone calls.
1234
16. I decide how may telephone calls I can deal with personally in a day.
1234
17. I “skim-read” internal memos as soon as I receive them.
1234
18. I read internal memos thoroughly later.
1234
 19. I keep the contents of my in-tray to a manageable size.
1234
20. I clear my desk of all paperwork.
1234
21. I delegate tasks to colleagues that I could do myself.
1234
22. I follow up on the work I have delegated.
1234
23. I encourage subordinates to limit their reports to one side of paper.
1234
24. I consider who needs to know the information I am circulating.
1234
25. I achieve the right balance between thinking-time and action-time.
1234
26. I make a list of things to do each day.
1234
27. I keep work to a certain number of hours every day – and no more.
1234
28. I make an effort to keep in touch personally with my staff.
1234
29. I concentrate on the positive attributes of each of my colleagues.
1234
30. I make sure I know about the latest information technology.
1234
31. I store e- mail messages in order to read them later on screen.
1234
32. I perform housekeeping checks on my computer files.
1234

CHARTING YOUR WORKING LIFE

Start first job or apprenticeship

Work in finance or accounts department ------ Take evening classes

Start a family --- Join the company’s biggest customer --- Meet students in other lines of work

Take maternity or paternity leave --- Work in sales and marketing – Take a management course

Broaden horizons  --- Gain work experience abroad – Apply for promotion

Cultivate useful contacts – Set up and run own business

MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY

Your performance levels will fluctuate according to when you feel energetic and alert, and when
you feel tired. You need to understand the mental and physical cycles that your body follows
each day in order to prioritize and plan your workload effectively. Note down the times at which
you feel most tired or alert over a few days, and record the tasks you were performing at these
times. If you were performing difficult tasks when you were tired, you were not working
efficiently. In future, try to schedule easy C-tasks for these energy dips.
Because individual energy patterns can vary enormously, many companies now operate more
flexible working hours. This allows employees greater control over their daily timetables and the
opportunity to use time more efficiently by fitting work around their mental and physical cycles.

DOING UNPLEASANT JOBS

Tasks of different types suit different personalities. A job that you find particularly unpleasant,
such as dealing with a difficult customer, for example, may be regarded as an enjoyable
challenge by a colleague. There is nothing to be gained from performing unpleasant tasks for the
sake of it, so if you can delegate appropriately, do so.

When it is unavoidable, try to do a difficult job when you are in a positive frame of mind. Do not
put it off until the end of the day, when you may be tired, or wait until just before the deadline.

PLANNING LONG-TERM

Many tasks on your master list will not disappear when they are done. Tasks in the working year
often recur in cycles – for example, you may want to aim a certain product at certain customers
at the same time every year. To allocate regular time to recurring tasks, you need a long-term
back up to your short-term planner, such as a color-coded wall chart. Use bright colors to map
out regular events so that you can see how busy you are at a glance, and can plan ahead
accordingly.

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS

With a positive attitude to life, it is much easier (and quicker) to manage your time and solve
problems at work. Start focusing on feeling good about yourself and your life, and you will be
less likely to interpret the problems of others as your own. This will help you to be objective and
constructive in coming up with methods of dealing with tight deadlines and budgets, and
resolving conflict.

CASE STUDY

Anthony, a sales executive, had been asked to attend a high-pressure meeting, which included
staff from other departments among its participants.
A week before the meeting, Anthony realized that he had been convincing himself that it would
go badly. He decided it was time to try to change his pattern of negative thinking into positive
thinking.

First, he used various prioritizing techniques to ensure his material would be prepared well.
Then, he set about positively visualizing the meeting and its outcome. He “saw” himself stand
up, clear his throat, and give the report he had prepared. He then imagined himself successfully
answering all of the questions that came from the other participants at the meeting. Finally, he
visualized the approval on the faces of his colleagues, especially the ones that he usually felt
intimidated by.

On the day, the meeting went just as Anthony had imagined- and this boosted his confidence. 

PROJECTING AN IMAGE

You can tell a great deal about the occupant of an office from the arrangement of items on the
desk, the use of color, and the general level of tidiness. Superiors, colleagues, and subordinates
alike will form their first impressions of you from the state of your workspace – so ensure that
the impression you give is positive. If you regularly receive visitors at your desk, make sure that
the image you are projecting is the one that you want them to see. You will never convince a
well-organized outsider than an untidy work space reflects anything other than a disorganized
mind.

PROCESSING DOCUMENTS

Think of your desk as an assembly line. Raw materials (mostly in the form of paper) come in at
one end to be processed by a machine (your mind) before they are sent off to the next stage. The
just-in-time logistics that companies apply to manufacturing processes can also be applied to
your desk. This means being aware of how urgent papers are and where they need to go. Glance
at documents as soon as they come in : if  they are urgent, take action or delegate at once. Place
non-urgent papers that are waiting for something else before they can be processed into a
pending tray, and put all other non-urgent papers into your in-tray to be processed next time you
go through it.

Organizing Paperwork

Set up a system for keeping up to date with all the paperwork that appears on your desk. Deal
with urgent items immediately. For non-urgent items, set aside sometime each day to go through
your in-tray. If you need to take any action, write it down on your master list of things to do. File
away other items to read later (or keep them for reference), and throw away anything that you do
not need or have already dealt with.

Organizing work Space

The objects in your workspace (desks, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, lamps) should be organized
to suit you. Think about your work patterns and what you use your office for. If you have a lot of
visitors, place your desk so that you can see the door and be aware of people approaching. If you
regularly hold meetings in your office, arrange the furniture so that visitors can sit comfortably.

If possible, your workspace should contain only those files to which you refer regularly. Keep
these near you desk, preferably so that you do not need to stand up frequently to reach them. The
files that you look at rarely should be put in a special storage space, or, if this is not available, in
an out-of-the-way corner of the office.
 TOP

ORGANIZING YOUR FILING

A filing system has to work in the same way as a computer’s search function. Key words have to
trigger off thought sequences in your brain that lead easily to the place where a paper is filed.
Such sequences will be determined by the nature of your work. If you are an exporter with
markets in 70 different countries, your basic classification may be along geographic lines, so you
might have five big filing cabinets – one for each continent. If you are a sales manager for a
small company producing stationery products, you may divide your customers into two filing
cabinets – one for domestic customers, the other for overseas. Customers will be allocated their
own folder.

Labeling Clearly

It is helpful to have a system that indicates immediately, by means of color or typography, the
level or classification of each file. For example, a sales manager could file documents relating to
export customers in red files tagged with red labels and those relating to domestic customers in
blue files with blue labels. Each label would be annotated with the name of a customer.
Whatever system you adopt, it must be easily understood by you and any other users, so keep a
printed list of the sections, subsections, and their contents for easy reference.

Avoiding Interruptions

Sometimes interruptions are welcome, but everyone needs to work undisturbed at certain times.
Make your working day as productive as possible by discouraging interruptions by colleagues,
and reorganizing your office so that you are less visible.

Listing Interrupters

To reduce the number of unnecessary interruptions you receive, first draw up the following lists :

 People who may interrupt you at any time, such as your boss or important customers;
 People who may interrupt you when you are not particularly busy, such as colleagues;
 People who may not interrupt you at all.

Keep these lists in mind, and give copies to your support staff and relevant colleagues. Ask them
to follow these lists as much as possible.

MAKING PHONE CALLS

There is hardly a business in existence that does not depend on the phone and, increasingly,
voice mail for rapid and direct communications. Their effective and appropriate use can
dramatically improve your efficiency and performance.
CHOOSING WHEN TO CALL

Set aside a specific time of day for making phone calls, and list all the calls that you need to
make every day. Be clear about the purpose of each call, and draw up a brief agenda for each as
if the call was a meeting. Then make sure that you cover all the items on the agenda during the
conversation. Prioritize your calls in order of importance, to ensure that you concentrate your
time and resources on the most important and urgent calls.

KEEPING ON TRACK

Do not let a phone conversation stray too far from your agenda unless there is a good reason,
such as dealing with an unexpected problem. Take notes, and tick off items on your agenda as
they are covered. You may find it easier to lead your conversation if you stand up or walk about.

It is easy to lose track of time when speaking to someone whose conversation you enjoy, but try
to keep this in check. Assess the purpose of the call – for example, can you be brief or do you
need to spend time building up a rapport or placating an angry customer ? As an exercise, use a
timer for a week to monitor the length of time you spend on each call. This can be sobering, both
because of both the cost of the call itself and the cost in terms of your time.

USING A VOICE MAIL SYSTEM

Corporate answering machines, also known as voice mail, are becoming commonplace. Some
people dislike the impersonal nature of voice mail, but you need to understand how the system
works and how to make efficient use of it. It is an ideal tool for arranging internal meetings or
eliciting a response from a busy colleague. Avoid bargaining or making deals by means of a
seemingly endless series of voice-mail messages, since you need to speak directly to customers
or suppliers to gauge reactions and find areas of compromise and agreement.

TAKING PHONE CALLS

Receiving phone calls is very different from making calls. Incoming calls can take you by
surprise and interrupt you when you are unprepared. Develop techniques to reduce the time
wasted and enable you to deal with callers when you choose to do so.

MAKING TIME FOR CALLS

Phone callers have the upper hand in deciding when they want to make a call, but modern
technology is shifting the balance of power between caller and called. To some extent you can
now dictate the time when you receive calls, enabling you to arrange your working day, as you
prefer. If you have an answer machine or voice-mail system, leave a short message on it saying
when you will be in your office, and that callers should ring back at that time. If you have a
secretary, route all your calls via him or her, with instructions regarding to whom you wish to
speak and when it would be most convenient.
DEALING WITH COLD CALLERS

If you have secretarial staff, brief them not to transfer cold callers through to you. If a persistent
caller does succeed in getting through, politely but firmly inform him or her that you are not
interested in what they are offering. Remember that, however annoying it may be to have
interruptions from cold callers, they are only doing their job and you should always treat them
courteously.

HOLDING MEETINGS 

Meetings consume a large proportion of the average working week. Typically, a manager spends
up to half of each week in meetings. Making sure that meetings run smoothly and achieve their
purpose is an essential ingredient of time management.

TOP

MEETING ONE TO ONE

One-to-one meetings are more flexible than large, formal gatherings, and their duration is more
easily controlled. Nevertheless, you need to achieve a delicate balance between cutting a meeting
too short, leaving the other person feeling frustrated, and allowing it to go on so long that both
parties feel their time is being wasted.

TIMING SMALL MEETINGS

Some one-to-one meetings have a very specific purpose, such as recruitment or staff assessment,
and in these cases there usually tends to be a well-understood format and duration. Less formal
one-to-one meetings tend to be either short and focused, in response to a particular situation
(such as a reprimand), or more general and of indefinite duration. In these latter cases, avoid
unnecessary time wasting for both parties by deciding informally on an agenda and time frame
for the meeting beforehand. Be disciplined in adhering to it. This way, both parties’ expectations
of the meeting’s purpose will be clarified, minimizing the need to spend time resolving
misunderstandings afterwards.

PLANNING LARGE MEETINGS

Make sure that everybody attending a meeting knows, in advance, its purpose and their role.
Circulate an agenda well beforehand to tell participants which subjects are to be discussed. This
will allow them to prepare any necessary information and gain an idea of the duration of the
meeting. It will be easier for the chairperson to control time-wasting tactics if everybody is aware
that the agenda must be covered within the set time limit. Your agenda will also help to define
the amount of time allocated to individual items.
PREPARING AN AGENDA

The order in which items appear on an agenda can have a powerful effect on a meeting’s timing.
Avoid heading an agenda with a contentious subject, since the participants in the meeting may
spend too much time discussing it instead of moving on to the next item. Instead, being with
routine and straightforward business, which offers easy decisions. This gives the meeting a
feeling of achievement and the impetus to progress rapidly.

AVOIDING TIME-WASTING

Time wasting in meetings costs more than just the participants’ time; the monetary cost of a
meeting may be considerable when the combined salaries of those present are taken into account.
So it is imperative that time is not lost by people attending unnecessary meetings, by meetings
being disrupted, or by meetings failing to achieve their objectives. Do not tolerate tactics such as
lengthy, irrelevant speeches by fellow participants, or to endless revising of points. If you are the
chairperson, it will be your role to recognize such tactics and ensure that the meeting is kept
moving.

KEEPING TO SCHEDULE

Meetings should start punctually; being without latecomers, and do not waste time recapping for
them when they arrive. Keep a careful track of time throughout a meeting to ensure the agenda is
covered in the allotted time. In general, defer overrunning items until the end of the meeting so
that other items can be dealt with on schedule.

ASSESSING NEED

Before making plans to travel, ask yourself a number of questions about the trip. Am I making
the best use of my time by going on this trip ? Will a phone call or letter suffice instead ? Can I
send someone else ? Can I persuade the people I need to see to come to me ? Can I meet them
half   way ? If the answer to any of these is yes, seriously question the time-effectiveness of your
trip.

PACKING EFFICIENTLY

Effective packing requires you to make an accurate assessment of your needs based on the
duration of your trip. For a short trip, take just enough clothing and accessories with you to cover
the number of days you anticipate being away. This way you do not have to spend money on
laundry services. However, if you are going to be away for more than a few days, it may be
better to take only one or two changes of clothes and have them cleaned on the trip, rather than
burdening yourself with heavy suitcases.
UPDATING YOUR NOTES

Most of your time on business trips will be spent attending meetings; the longer the trip the more
meetings you will attend. It is crucial to update your notes every day, otherwise all your meetings
will have merged into each other by the time you return to your office; you will not be able to
recall who agreed to what and when. Allow time each day to write up the day’s meetings, noting
any decisions made and action to be taken.  

TAKING DAILY BREAKS

Some business leaders include a regular period in their day when they briefly take time off.
Similar to the siesta, it is often taken after lunch. Their doors are shut to interruptions, allowing
them to take a short period of semi-sleep (only about 10 minutes), which has a recuperative
effect on the body. Schedule a set time each day to switch off; pick a quiet period that fits in with
your personal energy rhythm and work obligations. With practice, you will be able to reduce this
rest time.

It can be difficult to find a suitable place to take such a break. Open plan offices lack privacy and
are noisy, making it difficult to relax. Try to find a vacant room or office away from all
disturbances.
 

TAKING TIME FOR YOURSELF

Do not rush straight back to work after a hectic meeting – take a break in a
café, or go for a walk. Time out will allow you to clear your head and restore
your energy.

PLANNING AHEAD

Good time management means planning ahead. Scheduling holidays in advance allows you to
organize your workload around your breaks. At the start of each year, take the time and effort to
organize your diary. Work out when you are likely to be busy and when your workload will be
lightest. Look ahead at the year as a whole, and plan your holidays accordingly. Ask everybody
in your office to do the same with their own schedules, and you will soon be able to see if any
conflicts of time are going to arise.

SHARING YOUR TIME-MANAGEMENT SKILLS

(Part -6 of Time Management - Ken Shah, Prof. Param J. Shah) [Part- 2 The 24 hour Schedule
Part - 3 Managing Leisure Time Part - 4 Time use schedule Part 5 Assessing your ability Part 6 -
Sharing Your Time Management Skills ]   Managing Your Manager

Everyone should know how to manage their managers if they want to be able to make the best
possible use of their own time. Learn to do this discreetly so that your seniors do not feel as
though they are being undermined or manipulated.
“Be aware of your boss’s working patterns, and try to adapt to them.”

Building a Relationship

The first thing you need to know is exactly what your manager expects of you. Do you have the
sort of manager who delegates a task to you and then gives you the freedom to get on with it, or
are you expected to report back every day and to wait around until they are free to hear you ?
Discuss this matter tactfully with your manager early on. That way you can tailor the way you
work to fit in with your boss’s expectations.

If you decide you would like more autonomy, persuade your seniors to trust you by establishing
a strong relationship with them. When you have a good relationship with your manager, you can
be less formal, and communication becomes easier, more direct, and therefore more efficient.

Sorting out Queries

Take the initiative and arrange a time to see your manager, rather than waiting for your manager
to come to see you. They may be so involved with their work that they do not realize that you
need help from time to time.

In any relationship with your seniors, there is an implicit assumption that they are busier than
you, and that the claims on their time are more pressing than the claims on yours. When you
have something to discuss, make your communication brief. Get to the point quickly, and try to
anticipate any queries that your seniors may raise. Keep your conversations high on factual
content and low on your personal opinions.

Getting Your Own Way

As you build up a personal relationship with your manager, you will learn what it takes to get
your own way – and thus work more efficiently and with a greater amount of satisfaction. Of
course, the priorities of your manager will alter all the time (as will your own), and it is your job
to keep abreast of those changes and adapt sensitively to fluctuating demands. Remember that
there is little to be gained in being abrasive towards your seniors. This will simply irritate them,
making them feel defensive, less willing to listen to you, and unsympathetic to your viewpoint.
Try to be aware of the pressures that your manager is under, and be sympathetic.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do arrive at meetings well prepared and with any relevant documentation.

Do take relevant notes, and give your boss a copy.

Do gather together queries to avoid constantly interrupting your manager.

Do work out whether your manager prefers written or spoken information, and supply it in that
way.
Don’t volunteer your opinions unless they are requested or you  feel they are important or
relevant.

Don’t present any problems without offering some viable solutions to them.

Don’t be late for meetings with your manager.

Don’t mistake your boss’s occasional thoughtless action for maliciousness.

Knowing when to offer Advice

It is a useful tool to think of communication with your manager in terms of the AID acronym :
Advice, information, and Decision. Offer your boss advice either when it is asked for, or when
you feel it would be welcomed. However, you should give relevant or important information
without constraint. It is often possible to influence your boss to make a different decision to the
one he or she was going to make. Remember, though, that there may be reasons behind a
decision of which you are unaware.

“Doing more thing faster is no substitute for doing the right things.”

“Write a mission statement.”

“Work while you work, play while you play,

one thing each time, that is the way.
all that you do, do with you might;
thing done by halves, I am not done right.”