Time Management

A520.2.5.RB

Assess your time management skills:

As a former military officer, I have had ample opportunity to develop and refine my time management skills. More importantly, I know these skills can always get better and be used as a tool to evaluate tasks and goals to be completed. I firmly believe that planning ahead and preparing in advance is essential to task completion. Thus, in my current situation as a husband, father, and full time student, I must take into account other activities such as: my son’s dropping off/picking up from school, soccer practice, dance practice, de-conflict my wife’s work schedule and appointments, along with my own school workload and assignments. With so much activity, I maintain a calendar of events that I review daily and coordinate with my wife to ensure we don’t let anything surprise us.  “Preparation, preventive maintenance, planning, personal development, and organizing are all “non-have-to” activities that are crucial for long-term success” (Whetten & Cameron, 2016, p. 97).

Evaluate how these skills have increased your locus of control:

I relay heavy on my ability to manage time. Thus, I value the ability it gives me and my family to properly plan and enjoy a firm, yet flexible, schedule especially when it involves our kids. Furthermore, the manner in which I manage my schedule, I am able to identify events or other commitments that would jeopardize my planned tasks and allow me to avoid distraction or time conflicts.

Identify three new areas in which improved time management skills would reduce stress:

I believe the areas that could reduce stress with time management would be: 1) Personal projects: I enjoy working on my classic car, I enjoy working on the family rv, and other things around the house. Yet, I always seem to be pressed from time when trying to complete a project. Perhaps breaking up the projects into smaller projects and allocating a set time for each would help me achieve my project goals. 2) Blocking off time/communication: When attempting reflection time or creative thinking time, I rarely shut off the phone or have some type of communication device around that allows others to reach me. I believe that do so would prevent unnecessary interruptions and allow better use of time. 3) Personal reading: I enjoy reading books on various subjects. However, I find myself reading only when the opportunity presents itself. In fact, I always have a book around in the event I have some time to do reading. By scheduling some time in my day, I could better control interruptions to have a better reading experience.

Add an action plan to integrate these to your daily routine:

I would continue to write out my daily/weekly goals and categorize everything else that would be “nice to get done” in my task priority list. One new aspect I will incorporate is journaling. From my research, journaling will assist with reflection and thought creativity. I have considered this course before, but have not incorporated it into my routine. Finally, tracking how I use my time, as indicated in my schedule, throughout the day will also provide a better picture for me to see if I am “on-point” as I believe I am or am I allowing other distractions.

Reference

Whetten, David A.; Cameron, Kim S. (2015-05-20). Developing Management Skills. Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.