Time Robbers

1
Time RobbersWho/what is stealing your time and
what can you do about it?
2
Time Robbers
Time robbers steal valuable time away from us.
Some of these time robbers are imposed upon us by
others. These types of time robbers can fall
anywhere between total control to no control.
Other time robbers are self-inflicted. In
other words, we rob ourselves of
valuable time. As such most of
these time robbers are within our total
control. Lets begin by looking at those time
robbers imposed upon us by others.
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Interruptions

• Possible Solutions
• Unnecessary Avoid or terminate immediately
  (in a pleasant manner, of course!)
• Necessary Respond to the interruption How
  can I help you? What can I do for you? In other
  words, try to get the individual to get directly
  to the point to save both of you time.
• Untimely Reschedule for another time.

• Unnecessary Drop-ins or phone calls from
  individuals mistakenly assuming that you have
  information they need.
• Necessary Interruptions from individuals about
  those things which you have responsibility for.
• Untimely Necessary but at an inconvenient time.

4
Waiting for Answers

• Possible Solutions
• Call person who you are waiting to hear from and
  stress the importance of the response.
• If no responsetake the issue to the next level
  for a response.

• Simply put, this is the time spent waiting for
  someone else to respond to our questions or
  requests.

5
Unnecessary Meetings

• Possible Solutions
• If you are running the meeting, create an agenda
  and stay focused.
• If you question your need to be at a meeting,
  check to see how essential your attendance is.
• Remembersome meetings are necessary, so make the
  most of the ones you attend!

• Over 11 million meetings are held each day in
  America. Many are too long or unnecessary.

6
Too Much Work

• Possible Solutions
• The solution for this is simplelearn to say
  NO. Remember, you cant do everything. Rather
  than committing to many things and giving them a
  50 effort, decide which things you have time for
  and give them a 100 of your time and energy.

• Overload youve got too much going on at
  once!

7
Equipment Failure

• Possible Solutions
• Preventative maintenance can be very helpful when
  it comes to all of the equipment we use. If you
  notice the slightest problemdeal with it before
  it escalates to something greater.
• Many glitches are the result of a lack of
  planning on our part. Keep extra printer
  cartridges and other equipment supplies on hand
  to save time and avoid unnecessary stress.

• Computers, printers, cell phones, palm
  pilotsthe list goes on. The more technology we
  have the greater our chances for the occasional
  glitch.

8
Red Tape

• Possible Solutions
• Accept that red tape exists. Dont waste time
  worrying about those things that are out of your
  control.
• Plan ahead! Be sure to make time to deal with
  all of the systems and procedures.

• Red tape is all of the policies, procedures,
  systems, etc. that we must go through to
  accomplish certain tasks.

9
Staff and Resident Demands

• Possible Solutions
• Plan your day properly so youll know what you
  will and will not have time for. Be honest with
  residents and staff. If your day is really
  hectic and their request can be taken care of
  tomorrow, let them know that youll take care of
  it the next day. Dont promise something you
  cant deliver.
• Crisis situation? Determine what you can
  eliminate from your schedule to effectively
  handle the crisis.

• Many Resident Directors like to have an open
  door policywhich is great!
  However keep
  in mind that this level of
  availability will
  lead to an increased
  level of requests
  and demands.

10
Disorganized Supervisor

• Possible Solutions
• Communication is the key. Make sure that your
  supervisor knows what you are doing and that you
  understand what he/she expects. Ask questions if
  the information provided by your supervisor is
  not thorough enough to meet your needs.

• You are an organized individual. Your
  supervisor is not very organized at all. The
  result STRESS! You may also get stressed when
  working with staff members and co-workers who are
  less than organized.

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Self-inflicted Time Robbers

• Those things that we inflict upon ourselves
  also rob us of valuable time.

12
Procrastination

• Possible Solutions
• Dont invite interruptions
• Break things down into small tasks
• Set deadlines for yourself
• Dont let perfectionism get in the way
• Do the unpleasant part of the task first
• Reward yourself when youve completed the
  unpleasant task

• Procrastination is the most common time robber
  putting things off until later. Why do we do
  this? Some tasks are unpleasant or require us to
  leave our comfort zone. As such we avoid them
  thus delaying their completion.

13
Personal Disorganization

• Possible Solutions
• Put things that matter in some sort of order that
  makes sense to you.
• Stick with your organizational plan. Even when
  you may be in a rush, the extra minute or two it
  takes to put something in the right place will
  save you a lot of time in the long run.

• Where did I put my keys? What did I do with
  my cell phone? I know I put that report
  somewhere on my desk. The more disorganized we
  are, the more time it will take to accomplish
  tasks.

14
Absentmindedness

• Possible Solutions
• Dont rely on your memory. Write things down so
  that you will remember them.
• Develop a system for following-up on all of the
  reminders you write down each day.

• Have you ever uttered the following, Oh, Ill
  remember that, only to find out a few hours or
  days later that your memory wasnt as great as
  you thought it might be? Forgetfulness can
  result in lost time.

15
Socializing

• When you live and work in a residence hall,
  socializing with others is a given. As an RD,
  you need to invest a
  certain amount of time
  socializing with your staff and
  residents. Not all socializing is bad but too
  much is unproductive.

• Possible Solutions
• Monitor how much time you spend socializing.
  If you find yourself running late or getting a
  late start on work projects, tasks, etc. because
  youre socializing too much, you need to develop
  a plan to limit your socializing. Stick to your
  plan to avoid being robbed of valuable,
  productive time.

16
Fatigue

• Possible Solutions
• Schedule time for physical activity. Exercise
  will give you the energy boost you may need.
  Avoid the urge to remove time scheduled for
  exercise to accommodate others needs.
• Eat well.
• Try to get enough sleep.

• Youre tired. You dont have a lot of energy.
  Its hard to be productive when youre exhausted.

17
Lack of Self-Discipline

• Possible Solutions
• Start small try to break large tasks into small
  steps so they dont look so overwhelming.
• Set tasks and work to accomplish them. Take
  things one at a time.
• Recognize how good it feels to get something done!

• You know what you need to do, yet you seem to
  have a hard time accomplishing things. A lack of
  self-discipline not only prevents us from getting
  things done, but it is not good for our
  self-esteem.

18
Paper Shuffling

• Possible Solutions
• When you receive paperwork, mail, etc. place it
  into one of three stacks (1) VIP Very Important
  Paperwork (2) Important (3) Trivial
• Deal with VIP paperwork first. If time permits,
  take care of the Important paperwork next.
  Trivial items should take little to none of your
  time.

• RDs tend to deal with lots and lots of
  paperwork. Handling paper too many times is
  time consuming.

19
Poor Planning

• If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
• Trying to pull things together without any
  plan or direction is time consuming.

• Possible Solutions
• Plan and prioritize your time and tasks.
• The extra time you commit to planning each week
  will save you time in the long run.

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Perfectionism

• These copies are not centeredIll have to do
  them over.
• The e on this poster doesnt look right.
  Ill have to re-do the poster.
• Sound familiar? Perfectionism is said to be
  paralyzing at times as it can slow down or even
  put a stop to productivity.

• Possible Solutions
• Do the job/task to the best of your ability and
  move on.
• Dont dwell on minor imperfections. Chances are
  great that you may be the only one who notices
  them.

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