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- Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
In a world where IT is absolutely integral to the way business works and how it interacts with its customers, effective time management within IT is perhaps more important than in any other department. Effective and on-time delivery is essential for any IT team, and ensuring your team is able to plan and deliver results independently as well as being able to cooperate and work cohesively together is the foundation of an exceptional and productive organizational culture.
Business consultant and sociologist Dr. Jan Yager understands exactly what effective time management in IT can bring to a business. In this book she provides you with templates, tips, tools and tricks that you can use to deliver successful time management training for your team. From Agile organization to personal strategies for managing projects, this training manual will provide you with everything you and your team need to cultivate a culture where time is highly valued.
Time Management for IT Professionals: A Trainer’s Manual is designed to make the task of delivering training material easier for you. Featuring exercises and worksheets and plenty of tips that will help you to develop exceptional time management skills this book is indispensable for anyone who recognizes the value of time in a business.
Discover strategies for improving personal productivity and help your team tackle time management headaches such as procrastination with exercises and tasks to help improve personal planning and project management skills. Tackle the distractions of the modern workplace and help your team overcome issues such as perfectionism to ensure they are not only more productive but also happier and successful employees.
Along with goal setting and prioritization for personal success, explore organizational strategies and Agile methodologies with your team. Move from personal goal setting to strategic cohesion as you help your team complete the time management puzzle to see the broad picture – where both personal productivity and organizational efficiency come together.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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Table of Contents
Delivering Time Management for IT Professionals: A Trainer's Manual
Delivering Time Management for IT Professionals: A Trainer's Manual
Copyright © 2015 Impackt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Impackt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.
Impackt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Impackt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: March 2015
Production Reference: 1130315
Published by Impackt Publishing Ltd.
Livery Place
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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78300-092-0
www.Impacktpub.com
Credits
Author
Dr. Jan Yager
Reviewers
Aung Ko Ko
Keshav Kumar
Acquisition Editor
Richard Gall
Content Development Editor
Amey Varangaonkar
Copy Editors
Vivek Arora
Ryan Kochery
Project Coordinator
Venitha Cutinho
Proofreaders
Simran Bhogal
Maria Gould
Ameesha Green
Graphics
Abhinash Sahu
Production Coordinator
Melwyn Dsa
Cover Work
Simon Cardew
About the Author
Dr. Jan Yager is a business consultant and sociologist who has been researching and writing about time management since the early 1980s. She is the award-winning author of 40 books including five on time management, translated into 12 languages: Put More Time on Your Side (2014); Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover (2nd edition, 2012); 365 Daily Affirmations for Time Management (2011); Creative Time Management for the New Millennium (1999); and Creative Time Management (1984).
Dr. Yager, President of Timemasters.com, has taught at the college level, which includes teaching at the New York Institute of Technology, Penn State, Temple University, The New School, St. John's University, the University of Connecticut, and most recently at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY).
Often interviewed by print and broadcast media, her appearances have included such major talk shows as the Today Show, Good Morning America, the BBC, ABC Nightline, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS This Morning, CNN, as well as morning and evening news shows in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Some of Dr. Yager's other titles, translated into 32 languages, include additional business and relationship books, such as: Productive Relationships: 57 Strategies for Building Strong Business Connections; Grow Global; Who's That Sitting at My Desk? Workship, Friendship, or Foe?; Business Protocol; When Friendship Hurts; Friendshifts; Effective Business and Nonfiction Writing; 365 Daily Affirmations for Happiness; Road Signs on Life's Journey; 125 Ways to Meet the Love of Your Life; The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public; and Making Your Office Work For You. Dr. Yager's books are available in print, e-book, and/or audiobook formats. Follow her tweets on Twitter at @drjanyager.
Dr. Yager, a coach, professional speaker, and trainer, delivers seminars, workshops, and presentations about time management and other business topics, including work relationships, business writing, and business protocol, throughout the U.S. and internationally before corporations, associations, the public, and the government.
To book Dr. Yager for time management training, speaking, or coaching, contact your favorite lecture bureau or contact her directly: <[email protected]>.
For more on Dr. Yager, or to read her blogs or excerpts from some of her writings, go to: http://www.drjanyager.com
Acknowledgments
This training manual has benefited from all the research and interviews I've conducted about time management and related topics over the years as well as especially to those interviews with IT professionals just for this project. A majority of the interviewees contacted me by responding to the various queries I posted in the free newsletter known as HARO (Help a Reporter Out), located at www.helpareporter.com. Others I contacted directly and asked them whether they were open to an interview, following up on a press release I had received or after reading a journal article, newspaper story, or discovering a book related to the various topics addressed in this training manual. I apologize in advance if anyone who contacted me, filled out my time management survey, or that I interviewed, has been unwittingly left out of this list. Also know that your time and effort are duly noted and appreciated whether or not you were quoted in the final training manual. In alphabetical order: Eugene Aronsky; Teresa Bell, CEO; Alex Bratton, Lextech Global Services; Karen Carrera, APR, TrizCom; David Chevenement, BeesApps; Jim Christian; Juana Craig Clark PMP; Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D.; Robert Cuneo; Chris Daney; Shawn Dickerson, AtTask; Matthew Edgar, QW Consulting; Diane Eschenbach; Patty Everette, CEO; Paul Fleming, Jr., Eliassen Group; Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, Falcon Valley Group; Lauren Frazier, Merritt Group; Christian Gainsbrugh, lead developer, LearningCart; Shneur J. Garb; Alex Genadinik, Founder and CTO of Problemio .com; Travis Good, M.D.; Simon Dude Granner; Roei Haberman; Kathy Harris, Harris Allied; Mark Herschberg, CTO, Madison Logic; David Hurst, Weiser Mazars; Judith Hurwitz, President & CEO Hurwitz and associates; Katie Kapler, Coursehorse, Andrea Kleinman, LaForce + Stevens; Aung Ko Ko, Human Relations Development Manager, Premium Distribution; Nick Kubik, Roasted Pixel LLC; Tricia Lall, Adobe Connect; Tony Lopresti, CEO pennington Intellinote; Lindsey Madison, Co-Founder & Chief Experience Officer, SocialCentiv, formerly known as HipLogiq; Niclas Marie; Dana Marlowe, Accessibility Partners; Liam Martin, Time Doctor, Marci McKim; Cody McLain; Tim Montgomery; Oleg Moskalensky; Linda Muskin, Clarus Communication; Eric Munoz, Mutech Computer services; Dr.Bradley Nelson; Michelle Tennant Nicholson; John Orofino; Piera Palazzolo, Senior VP, Dale Carnegie Training; Nepal Patel, CIO Synergy; Joe Petreycik; Jennifer Popovic, Public Relations Manager, Robert Half Technology; Tanya Protasova, CEO, Skwibl; Jon Quigley; John Reed, Senior Executive Director of Robert Half; Troy Rhodes; Stewart Rogers; Adam Root, SocialCentiv; Professor Wolframs Scultz, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Cambridge; Anjuan Simmons; Joseph Steinberg, Green Armor Solutions; Jason Swett, Founder/CEO SnipSalon Software; Linda Swindling; John Trendler; Donna Troy; Michael Angelo Vien; Czarina Walker, Founder & CEO, InfiniEDGE Software; Dixie Welch, Sentinel Holdings LLC COO; Hussein Yahfoufi.
In addition to everyone I surveyed or interviewed for this book, I also want to thank the staff at Impackt Publishing and Packt Publishing in Birmingham, United Kingdom, including, in alphabetical order: Venitha Cutinho, Project Coordinator; Nick Falkowski, Publishing Manager; Richard Gall, Commissioning Editor; Heather Gopsill, Academic & Rights Manager; Krunal Rajawadha, Author Acquisition Executives; Vivek Arora and Ryan Kochery, Copy Editors; and Amey Varangaonkar, Content Development Editor.
About the Reviewers
Aung Ko Ko is a doctor who turned to management. Growing up inspired by characters from video games and cartoons, he incorporates the most unconventional of training methods in sessions he designs and delivers. He was awarded the Top Paper Prize on Human Resource Management by The Association of Business Executives, United Kingdom (ABE, UK) in June 2012 and is currently working his way to a Master's in Human Resources Management.
Keshav Kumar is a banker working as an agriculture officer at the Bank of India. He completed a BSc (Agri) from the University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad Karnataka (2006-10). After that, he pursued a post graduate diploma, management in agriculture, from the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, in 2012. He worked as Executive Product and Market Development in Savannah Seeds Pvt. Ltd from February 2012 to September 2014.
Preface
How many employees or freelancers are telling you that they're dealing with one or more of these situations?
The time management workshop you will be offering to your employees or freelancers will help them with these and numerous other time management-related challenges.
I've been studying time management since the early 1980s, when I researched and wrote my first book on this topic, published by Prentice-Hall under the title Creative Time Management. I conducted my first time management workshop through Sacred Heart University in Fairfield County, Connecticut, in 1984, and I've continued my research, speaking, coaching, and writing about time management ever since. (My other books on time management include: Put More Time on Your Side: How to Manage Your Life in a Digital World; Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover; 365 Daily Affirmations for Time Management; and Creative Time Management for a New Millennium.)
But this new book on time management, Workshop in a Box Time Management for IT Developers, is unique in two very fundamental ways:
The fact that this training manual on time management is geared to IT professionals is significant. That's what sets this book apart from other time management books, including my own previous ones.
In order to write this new book, I of course relied on all the previous in-person and phone interviews, surveys, and observations that I have done over the years. But since I am not an IT professional myself, although I was a fulltime assistant professor for two years at a technology college, the New York Institute of Technology, to learn more about the time management concerns of IT professionals, I did interviews with a diverse group of men and women that I found by getting the word out that I was researching this new book, including using a free research tool known as HARO (Helpareporter.com). I heard back from men and women throughout the U.S. and as far away as India, the UK, France, and Singapore, working in various areas of IT, from project managers, CEOs, and SEO experts to software or website developers, programmers, and cyber security specialists, who wanted to share by e-mail, phone, or in-person. In addition to those respondents, I reached out to my LinkedIn network, which includes dozens of IT professionals around the world, as well as contacting those in the IT field whose blogs or books I discovered in researching this new book.
Secondly, this book is specifically written for you, the trainer. It is your manual. You are the reader of this manual, not those in your training program, although you will be photocopying or e-mailing materials from the manual for your attendees to fill in or print out and complete. But this is your guide and it is written with that focus in mind.
Who are the IT workers that you will be training? Of course only you know the answer to that question. There will be as many answers, and different workshop configurations or attendees, as there are trainers who are reading and using this manual. But, in general, this manual has been put together with the idea that you, the trainer, might be offering this time management training to anyone who has something to do with the storage, retrieval, manipulation, or transmission of information or data including:
Goals for this manual
Here are my goals for you for this manual:
Wasted time and getting more done
For each person attending your workshop, and even for you, there may be another application of what time management improvements will make this focus on improved productivity worthwhile. But as I point out in my book, Put More Time on Your Side, here are the fundamental goals of better time management:
The good news is that time management is a skill that can be taught. This training manual will provide you with all the necessary information, worksheets, and other tools that you need to train IT professionals who take your workshop to take better control of how they manage their time including how they go about everyday tasks as well as complex projects. A more productive worker usually means that projects get done in a more efficient way which usually means a more successful company. Since one of the definitions of better time management is a balanced life, those who manage their time well are also usually happier and less stressed.
Your role as a time management trainer
This training manual is based on a One-Day all day, 8:30 to 5 PM, training program. Each of the eleven chapters are included in the one-day training, detailed in the Appendix where you will find an agenda that starts at 8:30 a.m., with registration and networking, and ending at 5 PM with a Q&A (question and answer); review; handouts; and the completion of a training evaluation.
You will also find an alternative two-day, half-day agenda in the Appendix, for those who prefer to break up the training into two days, whether those two days are done consecutively or a week apart.
A third possible approach to covering the key information in this training manual is the 10-week course agenda, which you will also find the Appendix. This approach will have you covering one chapter in one 45-minute, one-hour, 1-1/2 hour, or 2 hour session per chapter a week. (Chapter 11, Closing the Training, is the conclusion, is also covered in the 10th week.) A 4th 90-minute shortened agenda is in the Appendix and a 5th 2-day all-day agenda.
Although the training manual is written with the basic assumption behind this training that you will be doing the one-day, two half-day, or weekly training in person, that assumption may not be true. Today, more than ever before, training is taking place over the phone, or over the Internet, through Skype or through free or fee-based online seminar programs or systems.
What's important to you as the trainer is of course how you will be doing your training, e.g. in person versus over the phone or over the Internet, as it impacts on your training style.
Each method of delivery – in person, over the phone, or online – has its own challenges and benefits. What's key to you as the trainer, however, is that you make sure your attendees get the key ideas from each chapter that you want to share in your training despite the place or style of delivery.
You will see that every chapter/every training topic has anecdotes and examples with IT professionals, primarily, and, occasionally, other types of workers, if additional contrasting examples will be useful. However, you are certainly welcome to substitute other cases or anecdotes from your company or your own past experiences, as appropriate, if it will make this training material more customized to your employees and company.
Make a note
For a more detailed discussion of your role as a time management trainer, as well as suggestions for ice breakers to start the day, and brainstorming rules to share with your attendees, see the Introduction that follows.
Pre-training daily time log for a work day
In Chapter 2, How Efficient Are You? Self-awareness of Your Body Clock and Work Style you will find three Daily time logs. If you are able to distribute one of the Daily Time Logs to your attendees before training begins, that would be ideal. If not, you can have your attendees fill out the first log during the first meeting, based on their memory of how the previous day was spent. Or if the training is a half-day session, or a series of one hour courses, have them fill out a Daily time log for the rest of the day or the following day and have them bring it back when they return for the second half of the workshop or when the next session is offered, for review and discussion.
You can also find these logs in the Appendix.
What this book covers
Delivering Time Management for IT Professionals: A Trainer's Manual is divided into the following 11 chapters and sections:
An Introduction directed at you, the trainer or workshop leader, is the first chapter.
In Chapter 1, Why Time Management Is More Important Than Ever, you will learn the definition of time and of time management as well as how time management relates to productivity. After a brief overview of the study of time through history, you will learn the consequences of poor time management and the benefits of more effective time management. You will share the agenda for your workshop with your attendees based on whether you will be following the one-day, two half-days, or weekly class approach to this time management training. The philosophy that time management is a skill that can be taught, and mastered, is emphasized in Chapter 1; it is the justification for this time management training.
In Chapter 2, How Efficient Are You? Self-awareness of Your Body clock and Work Style, you will learn the importance of being aware of how you currently spend your time so you can assess where time is being wasted or not used effectively, as well as having a base line to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. In this chapter, you will have a pre-training self-assessment to ask workshop attendees to fill out. You will also have two daily time logs for workdays as well as one for the weekend for attendees to complete if they have not already completed one or more Daily Time Logs in advance of the training.
Make a note
Please note: Workshop attendees who are attending the one-day training may have been provided with the pre-training self-assessment and at least one daily time log, mentioned above, one day or even one week before the training begins. If they did complete those materials in advance of the workshop, remind them to bring those materials with them for the workshop or for the first of two half-day sessions, or for the first course of a 10-week course.
This chapter ends with a discussion of helping attendees to figure out their energy highs and lows so they can use that information to maximize their work effectiveness.
In Chapter 3, Setting Goals and Prioritizing, you will teach your attendees how setting short- and long-term goals will make them more efficient. Pareto's 80/20 rule for prioritizing will be discussed as well as how to properly use "to do" lists to prioritize plus what the ACTION! system is, and how it can enhance productivity.
In Chapter 4, Getting Organized, attendees will learn organizing principles; causes of disorder and how to overcome each one; clearing the clutter; and creating a filing system that is organized.
In Chapter 5, Identifying and Overcoming the Top 15 Time Wasters, you will teach the top 15 time wasters, causes of each one, and ways to overcome them including procrastination; perfectionism; poor planning; poor pacing; fear of success; fear of failure; depression; over-valuing or under-valuing your worth; jealousy; and blaming others. Attendees will also be asked if there are any other time wasters that were not covered that they are grappling with; what are those habits including the possible causes and solutions.
In Chapter 6, Dealing with Distractions, Interruptions, and Handling Change, you will teach a better understanding of your brain and how to improve concentration and focus; dealing with distractions; ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and how that impacts on concentration; coping with interruptions; and handling change. This chapter also explores multitasking.
In Chapter 7, Enhancing Your Verbal and Written Communication Skills for Efficiency, you will teach how body language impacts on how our words are perceived; how improved verbal and written communication skills enhance productivity; how to write more effective e-mails; how to listen better; making the most of meetings; and better use of the phone including a smartphone.
In Chapter 8, Setting and Meeting Deadlines, you will teach guidelines for setting realistic deadlines; working with a project manager; strategies if someone realizes the deadline he or she agreed to is unrealistic; and developing a more positive attitude about deadlines.
In Chapter 9, Improving Your Work and Personal Relationships, you will teach how to get along better with others at work including how to collaborate for innovation and efficiency; and successful delegation.
In Chapter 10, Cultivating a Work-life Balance, you will teach what work-life balance is and whether or not it is attainable. In addition to the top 4 ways to develop work-life balance, you will learn and teach why vacation time aids work productivity, and how to make better personal use of one's evenings and weekends.
In Chapter 11, Closing the Training, the Conclusion, you will teach how to keep up with technology. You will also learn and teach how culture impacts on how we manage time including gender, age, and cultural issues to consider when doing business globally. In addition to the top twelve time management ideas that IT professionals will find especially useful, this chapter will help your attendees to create a work and personal self-improvement plan to keep them moving forward with the time management skills they learned through your workshop.
In the Appendix, there are five agendas: an all-day time management seminar; for the two half-day agenda; for the 10-week course schedule; a 90-minute program, and an expanded two-day all-day one. You will also find blank master daily time logs; daily phone logs; a blank ACTION! Plan, a blank course evaluation; and a glossary with concise definitions of key terms related to this time management training.
Who this book is for
This training manual is for anyone leading a time management workshop for IT professionals including in-house or outside trainers; HR staff; managers, vice presidents, or CEOs; time management speakers; trainers; and other speakers.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "clicking the Next button moves you to the next screen".
For Reference
For Reference appear like this
Lists
Lists appear like this
Action Point
Action points appear like this
Make a note
Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.
Tip
Tips and tricks appear like this.
Reader feedback
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book—what you liked or may have disliked. Reader feedback is important for us to develop titles that you really get the most out of.
To send us general feedback, simply send an e-mail to <[email protected]>, and mention the book title via the subject of your message. You may also contact the author directly as well: <[email protected]>.
If there is a book that you need and would like to see us publish, please send us a note via the Submit Idea form on https://www.impacktpub.com/#!/bookidea.
Piracy
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Please contact us at <[email protected]> with a link to the suspected pirated material.
We appreciate your help in protecting our authors, and our ability to bring you valuable content.
Introduction
In this chapter, geared to you, the trainer, you will find an overview about presentation and facilitation skills and in particular how these skills apply to this time management workshop, seminar, or course for IT professionals. If you are new to training, this will be a way to start gaining the skills that will help you to effectively lead a program on time management. If you are already a seasoned trainer, please see this material as a review; you might also pick up a few useful tips.
Getting ready to present this workshop
In this section, directed at you, the trainer and workshop leader, you will learn some basics that can be applied to this time management training.
Working on your training and facilitation skills
The first decision you have to make in preparing your time management training for IT professionals is: What will be your presentation style? Lecture? Audience participation? Facilitator?
Presentation skills basics
This training manual is not a substitute for learning how to be a better public speaker or trainer. That is a topic unto itself. Fortunately there are lots of available resources to help you to be a better speaker or trainer. The National Speakers Association (NSA) (http://www.nsaspeaker.org), through its annual conference and monthly events offered through various state chapters, is one place to start. Toastmasters International (http://www.toastmasters.org) is another well-regarded association dedicated to honing your public speaking skills. The Association for Talent Development (ATD), previously known as American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), is a premier association focused on trainers and training.
As I pointed out in my book, The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public, the two key concerns of anyone who speaks, or trains, is what you want to say or impart (teach, inspire, educate) and how you will deliver that information. The "how" refers to your speaking style or, in the case of conducting a workshop, your approach to training.
You have probably delivered a speech before, but have you previously conducted a workshop? There is, of course, a big difference between delivering a 20 minute or even a 45 minute speech versus running an all-day or two-half day trainings. Although the basic principle of engaging your audience, rather than just lecturing to them, will apply, whatever the length of your workshop, it's essential that you avoid straight lecturing if you have an all-day seminar for several reasons. First of all, you may just lose your voice after a certain number of hours. Second of all, you may find your audience tuning out or literally falling asleep if they fail to actively engage in the learning process. Recently I conducted an all-day time management training that lasted from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. When I broke up "straight lecture" with asking the attendees to contribute their own experiences to the discussion, it was clear that their interest level in the subject matter was enhanced.
Third of all, without audience engagement, the training will be less satisfying to those in the workshop, and even for you. If you involve your trainees, you will be a learner as well as a teacher. If you only lecture, it will be a one-way learning experience. By having a more interactive approach to conducting a workshop, not only do you learn from your attendees, and they learn from you, but they are more likely to learn from each other.
If you are used to educating adults, you are probably already aware that we have learned things about how adults learn that has impacted how to best present an adult workshop. You'll find some basic information about adult learning in a section that follows.
If you haven't presented to adults before, or recently, it is important to read through those points about how to structure your workshop so it will appeal to adults. This is not the place to provide you with an in-depth training skills program. But if you feel insecure or uncomfortable about your presentation or facilitation skills, you might want to consider getting a coach to work with you, reading books about training, or taking a one-day or longer course in training to hone your skills. If you have the time, in-person is best. But if you're pressed for time, there are online programs to consider taking. See the Resource section in the back of this chapter for a list of organizations that offer programs for becoming a better trainer or speaker.
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) (https://www.td.org), has extensive materials related to training that you can purchase. They also have an annual international conference with dozens of educational sessions related to training as well as targeted additional conferences throughout the year. You will find the details on their website. Although there is a discount if you buy material or attend any conferences if you are a member, materials and conferences are still open to non-members as well.
Here, however, are some general guidelines before you start offering the training to your staff or freelancers:
Understanding how adults learn in a nutshell
Some of you are professional trainers, so what I will share now will be old hat to you. But others will be training for the first time. Or, if you've done training before, you may not have liked your approach to training. That is because so many of us were raised with the out-dated notion that you train by lecturing to your audience. You impart to them all the knowledge that you have and maybe you throw in a question and answer period so it seems like it's more interactive.
Research into adult learning, however, has resulted in a revised view of training especially when you are training adults. During the 5-day training certificate program I participated in, sponsored by ATD, I learned this about adult learning:
Pre-training time management self-assessment
If you are able to take this self-assessment yourself now, as well as give out the pre-training self-assessment to your attendees in advance of the workshop, that would be ideal. This will enable you to get to know your own time management strength and weaknesses and also to offer the attendees a pre-training starting point for their time management skills. (But it's okay to keep what you find out about yourself to yourself.)
Pre-training time management self-assessment/self-quiz
To help you determine just how productive you really are, take this five question self-evaluation. On a piece of paper, or on your computer, answer each question with a yes, no, or sometimes:
How many questions did you answer yes to? If you answered "yes" to those five issues, your time management skills are excellent. But if you answered "no" or "sometimes" to one or more questions, you will benefit by improving your time management skills.
You may already suspect that how you handle your time could be enhanced since you are probably more stressed than you would like to be, busier than usual though getting less done, or finding yourself saying, more and more often, I just don't have the time.
Do you have specific time management challenges that were not included in the five questions? If yes, write down those challenges now:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Make sure one or all of those challenges are addressed in the time management training ahead. If for any reason one or all of those concerns are not discussed by your trainer, pro-actively bring up those time management concerns so you can get the help with those issues that will positively impact on how you manage your time.
Make a note
*Excerpted and adapted from Creative Time Management for the New Millennium by Jan Yager (Hannacroix Creek Books, 1999). (Edited from the version of this self-quiz that is posted at http://www.drjanyager.com.)
Introducing yourself to the attendees
Starting the training off on the right foot is pivotal whether you are offering a full-day, half-day, or one hour weekly course format for this training. A proven positive way to start off training or a course is by introducing yourself to your attendees and doing it in a way that your attendees feel welcomed by you as well as impressed with your background, and why you are the right person to be offering this training. You also want your attendees to be excited about what they will be learning during the hours or hours ahead.
What is your role? Manager? Trainer? Owner?
Be prepared is the motto of the Boy Scouts. It is also the name of a song from Disney's The Lion King, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice. But to a trainer, those words, "be prepared," are pivotal to a positive training experience with a greater likelihood of an excellent outcome.
A big part of the training, fortunately for you, I have already done for you by creating three detailed sample agendas for your time management training. For anyone who has done training, you know that creating the detailed training agenda is a very important big first step.
You also have worksheets and additional content related to each of the chapters to help you to provide meaningful content in all the areas that this manual is covering.
But there are some areas where only you can create the content, and introducing yourself to your attendees is one of those areas.
Just how important is your introduction? As I point out in my book, The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public, how you are presented to your attendees, whether it's a workshop of 25 or an annual meeting of an association audience of 2,000, is pivotal. It should not be left to chance.
First of all, decide what role you will be playing in the training. Will you be the trainer? Will you be supervising someone else who is doing the training? If you are the trainer, but you are also the owner of the company, will you be conducting the workshop in both roles or only one?
Second, write down the key information about your background that is important for those in your training to know about you. Whether it's where you worked before, your educational background, or any of your known or lesser known accomplishments that should be highlighted, have it all written down.
If possible, get your introduction to someone who will be in the training, or another staff member who could be trusted to stop by at the beginning of the training, to give your introduction. If they have it in advance, they should be able to memorize it so they can deliver it in an engaging way. Whether you ask someone in advance who has time to read your prepared introduction or someone you ask right at the beginning of the training, try to have the key details you want shared written down.
Keep your introduction a short as possible and walk that fine line between sharing the important details and explaining why you're qualified to give this workshop versus bragging or boasting. Let the attendees know what it is in your background that gives you an appreciation of what they are going through. When I do a time management training, in addition to sharing about my credentials, I usually add that I was raised by a workaholic father who was a dentist and a workaholic mother who was a kindergarten teacher. When I left home at 16 to attend college, my parents were basically strangers to me. We had gone on three vacations as a family during my entire childhood. I vowed that when I became a parent that I would find a way to practice a better work-life balance. I let them know that the tools I learned through studying time management helped me to better combine family relationships, work, a strong marriage, and even friendship.
If you are not used to the trainer role, it's okay to say that, without creating too much anxiety in your audience. Tell them you look forward to their help with the training if you are doing anything that they think you need some help with, such as when to take a break.
Housekeeping/ground rules – brainstorming and sharing without judgment
Before you get to the ice breaker part of the initial training, you want to share with your attendees about housekeeping or ground rules. The housekeeping will relate to where the bathrooms are, the exit signs, as well as what is expected about cell phones—turn it off, put it on vibrate, and let calls go to voicemail unless you are expecting an important call or you see from caller ID it is an emergency call that you have to take. In that case, suggest your attendee goes into the hallway to answer it.
Remind attendees that, if possible, they should wait to go to the bathroom when there is a break but if it's an emergency, just go and be as unobtrusive as possible about leaving and returning. (You might point out that if someone is expecting an urgent call, or has bladder issues, they might want to sit on the end of the aisle or near the back.)
Also share the following brainstorming rules:
If your style is to ask for questions to be "held" till the end of a "module" that you've being discussing, or till the end of the day, let everyone know that. Encourage them to write down the question they want to ask, on paper or in their computer or smartphone, so they don't forget their question. But if you're okay with questions being asked throughout the workshop, where and when someone has a question, or a pertinent comment, let everyone know that's your training style.
Using an ice breaker
Whenever you attend a workshop, you have probably found that your leader starts the training with some type of an ice breaker. Whether it's just having everyone say their names and introduce themselves to the leader and their fellow attendees, or it's an interactive activity as a way to get the group warmed up, using an ice breaker can help set a positive tone for your time together learning about time management.
Using an ice breaker to have the group become more comfortable working together
Here are four sample popular ice breakers:
