Time Management and Organization

Employee Engagement Committee

Abigail Kellar, Ann Sprouse, Elizabeth Randles and Zach Berry

Agenda

• What is Time Management?• Why is it important?• Multi-tasking• Prevent• Plan– Using Planners

• Organize– Outlook tips and tricks

What is Time Management?

• Time Management refers to the way that one organizes and plans how long they will spend on specific tasks.

Why is it important?

Benefits of managing time effectively: Greater productivity

More efficient work flow Less stress

Improved quality of work

Click Below

Multi-Tasking

• Task Switching Our brains have the inability to multi task effectively because our brains can only focus on one process at a time.

• Every time we switch between tasks, four steps must occur in sequence:– Shift Alert– Activation for task #1– Disengagement– Activation for Task #2

• Studies show that a person who is interrupted takes 50% longer to accomplish a task. Additionally, he or she also makes up to 50% more errors.

• To avoid this, refrain from partially completing tasks. It is okay to switch from one task to the next as long as it is complete.

Have a plan!• Organization encourages you to be more productive, saves time,

and can reduce work-related stressors

• When it comes to organization, the most important thing is to find a tool or process that works best for you

Planning Tips

• If you have a hard time maintaining your focus on one task at a time try “Time Boxing”– “Time Boxing”: You can do anything for 15 minutes

• How much time you spend on a task will depend on the energy it will take to complete that task

• Label tasks (Hard, Medium, Easy) to determine the amount of focus/energy needed to complete each one

• You will be more productive when you have the most energy• Schedule your harder tasks for the times when you have the most energy

Planning TipsTimelines and Deadlines

To reach a deadline, a timeline is established in order to meet the goal that needs to be accomplished:

• Write down what needs to be done by the deadline• Divide the goal into steps

• Estimate how much time the steps will take• Add up your estimates to determine the total time needed to meet the

deadline• Add the due dates to your calendar

• Monitor your progress on the smaller steps to meet your end goal

A timeline is a chronological list of items or tasks that need to be completed to

reach a deadline.

A deadline is a time by which a task needs to be completed

Tips for Organizing Work Logs

• Sort by age with the oldest items at the top to work first• Hide columns that you will not be using or need in order

to reduce the amount of information you are looking at• Format by payor and/or provider• Color code or organize work log items based on

– Level of difficulty– Type application

• Notification Letter• Straight to the payor• To provider

• Make sure to mark the items that you have completed!• Find what process works for you in order to best

organize your work log

Tips for Organizing Work Logs

Tips for Organizing Follow-Ups

• Arrange follow-ups by payor• After arrange by payor organize follow-

ups so that all the providers that are in the same group are together– This makes it easier when calling the payor so

that you are not going back and forth between TIN’s and also that all items you need to follow up on with a specific provider are listed together

Tips for Organizing Follow-Ups

Organization with Daily Planners

Planning Examples

What will work for you?

• Finding the tool/process that works best for you is key.

• Each individual is different in what works for them. What works for your co-worker may not work for you and vice versa.

• Don’t be afraid to use some trial and error until you find the best way to stay organized and for your daily planning!

Outlook Tips and Tricks• The average office worker spends

28% of their workday on email*

• If you work 40 hours per week, that’s over 11 hours spent in your inbox*

• The average corporate email user sends and receives over 100 emails a

day*

Stay out of your inbox! Try checking your email three times per day*

• First thing in the morning, before/after lunch and before you leave the office

If checking your email three times a day won’t work for you, try only checking once every hour• 40 minutes of focused work, then 20 minutes of inbox management

Disabling Desktop Alerts

Adding Flags with Reminders

Using calendar for task reminders

Creating RulesFrom the Inbox, right click on an

email from the specific sender you would like to create a rule for Rules Create Rule. You can also manage

rules by opening the email then selecting Rules Manage Rules &

Alerts

There are various options for rules based on how you want to sort your emails. For

example, if you want all incoming emails from Nathan Schepman to automatically go into the “Manager” file on your sidebar, you

would select “from Schepman Nathan”.

Categories and Colors

Using Folders in Outlook• From the options tab in an email you can choose

where the sent item or the

received item will be stored. • You can also

drag the email from your inbox/sent

folder directly to the folder you wish to move it to

The key to being successful is to manage your time in order to manage

your manageable objectives. Of course, to properly manage your

time, you need to manage your time in order to have time for time

management, which in turn needs to be time-managed in order to allow

you time to better manage your time for optimal time management in

order to manage the managed time for your manageable objectives.

References

*Vanderkam, L. (2012, October 8). Stop checking your email, now. Retrieved February 24, 2015.