1. TIME MANAGEMENT
BY JESSICA JAY LANGE
CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS PRACTICES – BUS 150- 71873
PROFESSOR NANKIN
Date of Submission: 14 th October 2013

2. ABSTRACT
The following presentation focuses on the importance of
time management and developing priorities through an
overview of time management theories and tools, as well
as a personal time management account and analysis using
Covey’s Time Management-Based Matrix as a focal point.
The overall results of the personal time management
account displayed fine time management skills, with
little development needed, and the overall presentation
contributes to existing knowledge on time management
theories and tools for proper time management skill
development and understanding.

3. YESTERDAY IS A CANCELED
CHECK, TOMORROW IS A PROMISSORY
NOTE; TODAY IS THE ONLY CASH YOU
HAVE. SPEND IT WISELY.
-ANONYMOUS

4. TABLE OF CONTENTS
•
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………p1
•
Effective Time Management………………………………………………………………………………………p2
•
20 Rules for Effective Time Management……………………………………………………p4
•
6 Basic Steps for Effective Time Management………………………………………p6
•
Covey’s Principle-Based Time Management Matrix………………………………p8
•
Personal Time Management Account……………………………………………………………………p12
•
Averaged VS Ideal Personal Time Management………………………………p13
•
Description of Ideal Personal Time Management………………………p14
•
Analysis of Personal Time Management Account…………………………p16
•
Overcoming Distractions……………………………………………………………………………………………p17
•
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………p18
•
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………p19

5. INTRODUCTION
Time Management is the process of planning, organizing,
and controlling the amount of time spent on specific
activities, especially to increase effectiveness,
efficiency or productivity.1
Central to the entire discipline of time management is
Covey’s Principle-Based Time Management Matrix, which
divides time-spent into four quadrants, ranging in
different urgencies and importance.
The focus of the presentation will discuss how to manage
time effectively, as well as conduct and analyze a
personal time management account using Covey’s PrincipleBased Time Management Matrix and other significant time
management tools and theories.
1. Source: D., Zeller, 2013. Effective Time Management In a Day For Dummies. New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
1

6. EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT
1
•
Time is the only resource that people cannot
borrow, buy or barter. Everyone uses different
amounts of time to accomplish results however,
everyone is endowed with the same amount of time
each day; 1440 minutes.
•
The ability to manage your time effectively and
to invest greater amounts of time into a specific
goal, objective, or even weakness can tip the
balance of success in your favor.
•
It can be a tricky skill to master, but time
spend doing this is not wasted and rather
immediately gives you more time to effectively
achieve objectives.
1.Source: D.A., Whetten and K.S., Cameron, 1998. Developing Management Skills, 4th
Ed. New York: Addison Wesley Educational Publishing Inc.
2

7. ASK YOURSELF:
• Do you make a to-do list or use a daily
planner?
• Are you flexible with your plans?
• How often do you accomplish what you plan?
• Do you plan for things that are personally
important for you?
• Do you make plans in order to keep things under
control?
• How often are your plans hindered by
interruptions?
3

8. 20 RULES FOR EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT 1
1. Read selectively
2. Make a list of things to
perform each day
6. Make a list of some 5 or
10 minute discretionary
tasks
7. Divide up large projects
3. Have a place for everything
and keep everything in its
place
4. Prioritize your tasks
5. Do one thing at a time but
several trivial thing
simultaneously
8. Determine the critical
20% of your tasks
9. Save your best time for
the most important matters
10. Reserve some time during
the day when others do not
have access to you
4

9. 11. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE
12. Keep track of time use
16. Reach closure on at least
one thing everyday
17. Schedule some personal
time
13 Set deadlines
18. Do not worry about
anything continually
14. Do something productive
while waiting
15. Do “busy work” at one
set time during the day
19. Have long term objectives
20. Be on the alert for ways
to improve your management of
time
1. Rules are modified from the following source: David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron, Developing
Management Skills, 4th Ed., (New York: Addison Wesley Educational Publishing Inc., 1998).
5

10. 6 BASIC STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE TIME
MANAGEMENT
1
•
STEP 1: Assess your strengths and weaknesses: invest time
in honing and maintaining your strengths, and improve the
weaknesses that you need to overcome to reach your goals.
•
STEP 2: Set specific and definable goals for yourself,
both academic and personal.
•
STEP 3: Create a calendar with all events including major
events or deadlines.
•
STEP 4; From this, create a weekly schedule: that reflects
all activities you are responsible for on a weekly basis.
6

11. •
STEP 5: Create a to-do list for each day: this should
follow the basic understanding of Covey’s Principle-Based
Time Management Matrix, which the next part of the
report will discuss.
•
STEP 6: Control: remember not to procrastinate and if
any tasks are not completed on the day, rescheduling
the event is important as long at the event is of
importance.
•
NOTE: A schedule will only work if you utilize it.
Simply committing a list of activities to paper will
not suddenly create a situation in which you can manage
your time better. Keep your schedule in a prominent
location where you can see it daily and refer to it
several times throughout the day.
1.Adapted from source: S., Felton and M., Sims, 2009. Organizing Your Day: Time
Management Techniques That Will Work for You. Mississippi: Revel.
7

12. COVEY’S PRINCIPLE-BASED TIME MANAGEMENT
MATRIX
Covey’s Principle-Based Time Management Matrix is a
representation of his theories which describe that the
effective self-manager establishes goals that are based
on personal and ethical principles. To “begin with the
end in mind” and to develop a persona mission statement
or philosophy or creed that “focuses on what you want to
be and to do and on the values or principles upon which
being and doing are based”.
Once this is established you can manage time around a
decision-making core of what is truly important vs. what
is simply urgent.
The essence of this idea is illustrated in the following
matrix:
8

13. COVEY’S PRINCIPLE-BASED TIME MANAGEMENT
MATRIX
Urgent
Important:
Not Important:
Not Urgent
I. Important/Urgent
Crises; Pressing problems;
Deadline-driven projects.
II. Important/Not Urgent
Principle Centered Activities;
Planning; Prevention;
Relationship building;
Opportunity Recognition;
True Recreational Activities.
III. Not Important/Urgent
Imminent pressing matters;
"Popular" Activities (i.e., activities
that you think will make you
popular with others); Personal
Interruptions; Some calls and
mail; Certain meetings and
reports.
IV. Not Important/Not Urgent
Time wasters; So called
"Pleasant" activities that are not
really pleasant (e.g., drinking to
excess) that are actually
escapes from
responsibilities. Trivia, busy
work. Some types of mail/phone
calls.
9

14. DESCRIPTION OF COVEY’S PRINCIPLE-BASED
TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX
•
Quadrant I: (upper left)
This quadrant describes urgent matters that are deadlinedriven that require immediate attention. The importance
of this and the other quadrants refers to producing
results by contributing “to your mission, your values,
and your high priority goals”.
•
Quadrant II: (upper right)
This quadrant is where one classifies planning,
innovating and developmental opportunities; matters of
extremely high importance, but not urgency. One should be
a Quadrant II dweller as by performing these activities,
we not only avoiding wasting time, but learn how to
better deal with Quadrant I, and prevent occurrences that
force us into Quadrant III.
10

15. •
Quadrant III: (lower left)
In this quadrant, time is spent on unimportant matters
that are “urgent” simply because others make it appear
that these matters are important. Those who spend their
time in this quadrant usually think they are in Quadrant
I, however they are actually basing the sense of urgency
on the priorities and expectations of others.
•
Quadrant IV: (lower right)
Quadrant IV activities, such as excessive drinking and/or
gambling, should be avoided at all costs. It is a highly
ineffective way to spend time better spent in the other
quadrants.
11

16. PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT
Time Management
Monitor: Day 1
12.5%
25%
56.25%
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Time Management
Monitor: Day 2
Quad
Quad
Quad
Quad
86.67%
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Quad
Quad
Quad
Quad
The graphs above show my personal time management account for two days during
the week from the 1st to 2nd October 2013. My time spent has been organized into
appropriate quadrants from Covey’s Principle-Based Time management Matrix for
further analysis and interpretation.
12

17. AVERAGED VS IDEAL PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Averaged Personal
Time Management
9.59%
15.84%
71.46%
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Quad
Quad
Quad
Quad
Ideal Personal Time
Management
5%
15%
80%
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Quad
Quad
Quad
Quad
The graphs above show my two recorded days of time management, average, as well
as an educated estimate on the typical ideal personal time management one would
be encouraged to mimic. The purpose of these graphs are for comparison, and
further analysis and interpretation of effective time management.
13

18. DESCRIPTION OF IDEAL TIME MANAGEMENT
The Ideal Personal Time Management graph is based
according to a student’s lifestyle.
The 15% spent in Quadrant I is necessary due to the
amount of deadline-driven assignments and projects that
are continually given to a student.
However, generally it is important to spend around 80% of
one’s time in Quadrant II, and only 5% in Quadrant III
for meetings and calls/mails.
No time should be spent in Quadrant IV.
14

19. KEEP YOUR BALANCE
Every schedule or personal time
management strategies, regardless of
style or design, must have balance.
Every student, no matter what their
personal desires and goals may
happen to be, need a balanced lifestyle in order to be more
efficient, successful, healthy and
happy.
15

20. ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT
Reviewing the results
MANAGEMENT slide, one
to the ideal personal
less time in Quadrant
•
shown on the AVERAGED VS IDEAL PERSONAL TIME
can clearly see that generally I am very close
management standards, however, I need to spend
III and use that time in Quadrant II.
Strengths:
-Have a clear set of goals and objectives to work by.
-Abide by many and most of the 20 Rules for Effective Time Management .
1
-I am very self-motivated and career-driven, so I enjoy achieving
objectives, setting goals and managing my time effectively for maximum
results.
•
Weaknesses:
-Spend little time relaxing, and may eventually become exhausted and
over worked.
-Can sometimes get distracted by insignificant happenings.
1. 20 Rules for Effective Time Management. Rules are modified from the following
source: David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron, Developing Management Skills, 4th
Ed., (New York: Addison Wesley Educational Publishing Inc., 1998).
16

21. OVERCOMING DISTRACTIONS
1
One of my weaknesses is being distracted. Although these
distractions don’t last very long, they are still a waste
of time that could be used more effectively and
efficiently. Here are a few ideas to overcoming these
distractions:
•
Allow time to be spontaneous.
•
Be realistic in one’s planning, set aside free time.
•
Take advantage of one’s natural cycles and schedule the
most difficult activities when one it at one’s best.
•
Learn to say “No” to people.
•
Reward oneself for effective time management.
1. Source: D., Zeller, 2013. Effective Time Management In a Day For Dummies. New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
17

22. CONCLUSION
Evidence from this presentation suggests that developing priorities is crucial
to any successful time management technique. Without priorities it can be
difficult to get anything accomplished or focus on the most critical tasks.
In general, therefore, it is important to remember to always allow room for
flexibility, as some things are inevitably going to occur out of one’s
control, and while one cannot plan for these occurrences, one can leave enough
room in one’s schedule to adjust plans for unexpected events.
Avoiding procrastination is as simple as developing better decision making
skills and techniques. The reality is decision-making is not a complex issue and
rather is nothing more than choosing one course of action from several
possibilities.
It is very important to learn how to delegate, successful managers and leaders
make it an art form.
Taken together, these findings support strong recommendations to pursue good
time management as it will enable one to respond appropriately and be flexible
enough to ensure that even problems won’t completely derail one’s goals.
18

23. BIBLIOGRAPHY
•
D.A., Whetten and K.S., Cameron, 1998. Developing Management Skills, 4 th Ed.
New York: Addison Wesley Educational Publishing Inc.
•
D., Zeller, 2013. Effective Time Management In a Day For Dummies. New Jersey:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
•
S., Felton and M., Sims, 2009. Organizing Your Day: Time Management
Techniques That Will Work for You. Mississippi: Revel.
19