Delivering Time Management for IT Professionals: A Trainer's Manual: Tools, methods, and strategies for delivering effective time management training

You can begin this first key module in your time management training by sharing examples of how the management of time has made a difference in your own life, or at your company, or you can ask your attendees to share examples from their own departments or even previous job experiences.

We all have a notion of what time is, from the concrete—seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, and decades—to something more esoteric, "I'm having the time of my life," meaning you're enjoying yourself or, "Is that really worth your time?" meaning you're making the value judgment that time is equated with something that is worthwhile to do.

Those in the IT field, your workshop attendees, will probably agree that time is something that is key to how their value is measured by the companies they work for. The two basic measures for practically everyone in IT are:

Being fast—getting work done on time or in time or with plenty of time to spare or even being late because you ran out of time —is a key factor, of course, to how effective you are. But if what you deliver is wrong, outdated, inaccurate, or just plain same old, same old if innovation was required or preferred, just being on time will not turn out to be the best use of your time.

We all have to deal with time, whether you feel you don't have enough of it in general or for a particular project, or, quite the opposite, you perhaps have lost your job and suddenly you feel like you have "too much time" on your hands.

Time management is a way of approaching time that refers to a more proactive system of taking control of how you go about certain tasks in your work so you can accomplish more while being extra effective as well. There are certainly references to a greater concern about how time is handled by such inventors and observers, such as Benjamin Franklin in the 1700s, who wrote, "A place for everything, everything in its place" or by essayist Henry David Thoreau, a century later, who wrote, "Our life is frittered away by detail…Simplify, simplify."

But it is an outgrowth of the industrial revolution that time was looked at differently. As parts of the world became industrialized, it was no longer recommended that time be measured by the rising or setting of the sun, or the changes in the seasons as denoted by the growing of crops in mostly agricultural societies (or the availability of fish or meat in societies that fish or hunt by season).

Frederick Winslow Taylor's book, The Principles of Scientific Management, published in 1911, reveals his views on how to increase the productivity of workers. Some of his findings, which today may seem like common sense, back then were considered revolutionary:

With the work of Taylor, it became clearer that time management is not just how each individual deals with his or her time. It is also the way that management approaches tasks, scheduling, and even the training of the employees and how that can have a positive impact on how much is accomplished.

Just as the industrial revolution forced a dramatic assessment of how work could best be accomplished, working around the clock became possible because of the invention of the light bulb. But instead, a push to take one or two days off a week—the so-called weekend—might be a better alternative. The most widespread industrial application of the weekend is attributed to American car factory head Henry Ford who, on May 1, 1926, according to http://www.history.com/ and other sources, instituted the policy of a five-day, 40-hour week, which included granting his factory workers Saturday and Sunday off.

Today, because of the widespread availability of mobile or cell phones, which make it possible to be connected to work 24/7, as well as the ability to work at home or from home, some or all of the time, looking at "best practices" for today's workers to achieve optimum time management is crucial.

You would think that because we have smartphones that enable us to connect with people at any time of the day or night, or we have the Internet that allows us to write to each other, across time zones, and to be in touch with each other in just a few minutes or even instantaneously, that we would have fewer time management challenges. Ironically, I have observed that just the opposite is true. Theoretically having 24/7 access now puts the burden on each and every one of us as to when we will answer the phone after work, if at all, and how often we will check e-mails, not just after the official workday ends, but during the day as well.

Are you finding yourself feeling distracted—what I call "distractionitis"—or even being fragmented? When's the last time you had one whole hour, or two, or three of uninterrupted time to work, to think, to interact without phones ringing, or even phones on vibrate distracting you through the vibrations? Have you avoided the temptation of allowing your eyes to wander to the incoming e-mails, wondering whether it's a priority or something you can delay responding to till later in the day, the next day, or never?

Why is time management so important today? Not only will it increase the likelihood that you will shine and get ahead at your current job, it can make the difference in how appealing a candidate you are when you're looking for a new job. For example, Lindsey Madison, cofounder of Social Centiv, previously known as HipLogiq, shared with me how time management skills are crucial when considering a new candidate for an IT job at her company. Two questions she asks, says Lindsey, are: "What did they do for other companies and how long did it take them to accomplish that task? That really helps us find the right person for our needs."

If you are managing your time better, in most instances, you will also be more productive. Researchers have discovered that working every moment is not the secret to being more productive. That's where time management comes in. If you're on a deadline, or even if you've passed the deadline, it may be tempting to work around the clock thinking that that will lead to greater productivity. You might think that you'll even be able to catch up, as much as possible, and get that project in sooner rather than later.

Alas, working around the clock is usually a sign that someone is not managing his or her time well. Time management—the kind of time management that does lead to greater productivity—means taking breaks at regular intervals and getting enough sleep. It means interacting with your family and friends, as well as making the time for recreation and leisure time activities—measures of what we like to call a life that has a work-life balance.

There is no better time to be an IT professional throughout the world. Facebook just agreed to pay a company started by two former Yahoo employees, the app Whatsapp, $19 billion—that's billion with a "b"—for their company. (It also turned the 50+ employees into instant millionaires as well.)

There are oodles of other IT-based millionaires and even billionaires, such as the developers of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a 2014 article posted at Times.com, "These are The Five Most In-Demand Jobs Right Now," includes software developers, systems software in the number three slot.

So the numerous jobs in the IT (Information Technology) field are in demand, and growing, in industrialized and emerging countries around the world (although the recession did take its toll in the IT field as it did in most fields). Fortunately, as the worldwide economy is improving, so too is the need for IT professionals.

There's a useful book entitled Time Management for System Administrators by Thomas A. Limoncelli. The edition I have been reading was published in 2006 and there are, of course, certain pieces of advice Limoncelli offers that are somewhat outdated. For example, he says that the central tool for time management is your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) such as a Palm Pilot, Zaurus, or similar product.

If you share that with your workshop attendees you will probably hear many of them saying, "What? A Palm Pilot? What about my iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy?" But the iPhone wasn't even introduced until June, 2007 so when Limoncelli was finishing up his book in 2005 or 2006, the smartphone that was about to change the landscape for how phone calls are placed and information is accessed, retrieved, and even stored was still in development or beta testing at Apple.

Limoncelli, who has a degree in Computer Science, points out some aspects of being an SA (System Administrator) that justify having a separate time management book just for those who are SAs. Here are the three ways he sees SAs having different time management concerns from others:

Although I agree with Limoncelli on bullet points 2 and 3, I disagree with him about bullet point one. Perhaps before smartphones and the increasing habit of checking e-mail constantly to the point of addiction, SAs may have had more interruptions than others. But today, it is rare to find anyone whose job does not include the potential or reality of constant interruptions. How you handle those interruptions, and whether or not those interruptions can be deferred to someone else, or avoided completely, is something that each and everyone one of your workshop attendees have to explore.

Another interesting trend is the necessity of non-IT professionals to learn IT skills. This is an intriguing development because it impacts on what kinds of individuals you may have in your training programs for time management. You can no longer assume that everyone who works at an IT company, or in the IT field, is someone who majored in computer science or IT. For example, I know a psychology major who had a series of jobs as a journalist and in public relations. But a recent writing job for a company website required him to learn HTML coding. So in addition to writing and editing, he was also, basically, a programmer. Another example is that those who do marketing are being asked to learn Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Some in HR are also being asked to learn HTML basics. Being a tech-savvy professional is becoming a requirement for more and more individuals beyond a more narrow definition of who is an IT professional that might have been true previously.

This is a useful idea to keep in mind: be careful what assumptions you make about who is in the audience for your time management training. That is also why I especially like the ice breaker at the beginning of a workshop that I discussed in the introduction. By asking attendees to say their name, and their job title, especially if it is training that has participants from a variety of departments or job categories at the company, you will have a better idea of what types of jobs your trainees have. You will also learn how many in your training are more likely to have a shared IT background.

In this training manual, and in the workshop you are conducting, I will try to point out technology that will help your attendees to save time as well as changes in their way of thinking because, as Limoncelli points out, SAs—and I would generalize from that to those working in the IT field—are more inclined to find technical solutions to their challenges, in this case their time management challenges, than nontechnical persons would. But you will still benefit from an understanding and application of more general time management principles.

There are two reasons for that. The first is that technology is known to fail or to be discontinued. So if you're reliant on a particular app or technology to help you with a time management concern, such as scheduling, if that app is discontinued, or if your electronic device loses its power, you need a backup plan so you don't miss all your meetings.

The second reason is that you may have to interact with those outside of your IT world who are uncomfortable with a particular technology solution or using technology in general. How will you communicate or solve your scheduling challenge without an overreliance on technology? Will you alienate them or fail to make the appointment that you both need to schedule or will you turn to the old-fashioned telephone or put an appointment in your calendar through an e-mail communication instead of the calendar app that you personally swear by?

If you look over the table of contents of Limoncelli's book, Time Management for System Administrators, almost all the chapter headings, and the subheadings, such as Stress Management, Eliminating Time Wasters, Prioritization, and The Cycle System: Life Goals, would apply to anyone in business.

But there are also a few chapters, such as Documentation and Automation, which are geared specifically to IT workers.

The book Death March by Edward Yourdon focuses how time specifically impacts on IT professionals as it highlights a key IT time management issue. Published in 1997, Yourdon, who at that point had spent 30 years working in the software industry, explored the causes and solutions of finding oneself working on a death march project in his book. Just what is a death march project? In a nutshell, it's an IT project that should take 12 months, but you've been given just six to complete it; the budget is way smaller than what's needed to do the job and there are fewer people and resources assigned to it.

But no one wants to say no, or to ask for more time, out of fear that they will be seen as lazy or inefficient. Yourdon also makes a case that the Death March type of project that results in working 13 to 14 hour days, six days a week, rather than the normal 40 hours work week has, for software developers in the IT field, become the norm. (There was a consensus in the interviews I did with a range of IT professionals that the Death March situation is quite common, and is a situation that most have had to deal with at least once, or more frequently, in their careers.)

Although it is also my observation that the Death March projects that Yourdon writes about have become a norm for more than just for IT software developers, such as association managers, sales professionals, a whole range of service providers, since this training manual is focused on IT professionals, let's stay focused on the more typical IT population. Hopefully this training will help all those in the IT field in your workshop, including software developers, to hone the practical time management skills to reverse the death march trend.

Just within the past year, we've seen the horrific example of how poor time management can lead to an early death. It wasn't an IT worker; it was an intern based in London working for a major international bank, and the official cause of death was ruled epilepsy. But the 21-year-old student's father believes that the epileptic seizure could have been brought on by his son's lack of sleep from the grueling schedule he was keeping as an intern. Pacing oneself, including getting enough sleep, is one of the cornerstones of excellent time management. Burning out, or worse, are dramatic consequences of poor time management.

Here are some other examples that denote the consequences of poor time management:

Applying the pros and cons of effective time management to yourself

Consider yourself and your average work day. When did you show poor time management and what were the consequences? Use the space in Worksheet #1 to write down an example of what you did (for example, missing a deadline, getting in late, failing to take a lunch break, pulling an all-nighter, agreeing to an impossible deadline, and so on) that showed poor time management and another situation where your time skills were excellent.

By contrast, here are some examples of how different is the outcome if you evidence commendable time management habits in work or personal situations:

Here is a chart that shows, on the left side, examples of poor time management and, by contrast, on the right side, the preferred way to behave that is an example of excellent time management:

During our formative years, at least till now, few are taught time management. (There are exceptions, of course, including the weekly Saturday course I once taught over several weeks to ten year olds.) For most, however, we learn how to manage our time by observing our parents or by studying those at school or in the workplace who seem to handle their time well in contrast to those who do it poorly.

Of course there are countless books on time management available, as well as workshops that you can attend. You may have read one or more of those books. You may have attended one or more of those workshops.

The good news is that time management consists of skills that can be learned. Whether this is the first time you're systematically looking at your time management skills, or the third, it's a skill that can always stand improvement. Also, time management is not frozen in time. What you need to do today to have a better handle on your time is going to be somewhat different than what you might have done ten or twenty years ago, not just because technology has changed, as well as the world, but you have changed as well.

In the next workshop module we'll look at how you are currently spending your days, evenings, and weekends. You'll also look at the work and personal demands on you now so you can figure out what the best way to handle your time today is, not tomorrow or two years ago.

The time management skills you will be learning, or reinforcing, in this workshop, will help you on your journey to achieving more in less time and with less stress.

Training agenda

This workshop can be presented in one of five basic ways.

One way that you could present this time management training is as an all-day seminar, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with registration and networking, and ending at 5 p.m. It could also be presented as two half-day workshops, with day one from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and day two from 8:30 am. to 12:30 p.m. (If you prefer, of course, the two half days could take place on two afternoons, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., rather than over two mornings.)

The third way this workshop could be presented is as a weekly course, for 10 weeks, with one topic per week. (Content from Chapter 11, Closing the Training (Conclusion) can be merged with that from Chapter 10, Cultivating a Work-life Balance.) The sessions can last from 45 minutes to an hour, or an hour and a half, depending on your style of presenting, how much time you want to devote to the training, and how interactive you want the sessions to be.

Note

Tip

A 4^th possibility as shown in the sample agenda in the Appendix, is as a 90-minute workshop. A 5^th way is a 2-day all-day retreat.

You may want to photocopy the Agenda from the Appendix that matches the workshop schedule that you will be following. Have your workshop attendees look over the agenda with you. Discuss it, in a general way, and ask whether there are any questions. (You can also have your attendees download the agenda if you are using the electronic version of this manual.)

Here are several activities for your attendees to do, which are related to this chapter. The activities begin at a more elementary level, with the second activity more intermediary, and the third for someone who has more advanced time management skills. But you can also have everyone do all three activities if you like. The benefit of having all the attendees do all three levels of activities is that they are getting two or three times the reinforcement of the ideas that they learned in this module. The negative aspect of having attendees do all three exercises is that it will take two or three times as long to complete the activities.

Here are the top ideas in this chapter: