Time management is a series of skills that can be taught
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 4th possibility as shown in the sample agenda in the Appendix, is as a 90-minute workshop. A 5th 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.)
