SMART is a convenient acronym for the set of criteria to help you set goals.

For goals to be an actual commitment they should be written, communicated and supported by a plan that outlines probable methods of achievement. There is nothing wrong with modifying goals along the way, but never abandon them unless absolutely necessary.

SPECIFIC

MEASURABLE

ACHIEVABLE

RELEVANT

TIMELY

Prioritising Your Goals

Achieving goals and objectives takes a lot of effort. Instead of extending yourself and working on many goals at once, concentrate your attention on one goal, the most significant one.

If you prioritise, pick a goal that has the most effect and determine how long it takes to accomplish it.

A significant part of goal setting is not just identifying what you want, but also identifying what you must give up in your life in order to get it.

Characteristics of Good SMART Goals

Some Characteristics of Good SMART Goals are:

• Document your goals – Start by writing your goals so that you don’t have to rely on your memory to hold all the relevant details about your objective. Also, keep your goal visible so that your actions can be focused on achieving it.
• Articulate in constructive words – Write down what you intend, not what you don’t really want. This is so your imagination may be able to envision the perfect condition.
• Make challenging, but not too difficult – People are more motivated to achieve challenging goals that are still reachable.
• Refer to frequently and revise, if required – Your goal will need to be modified to reflect the knowledge gained or changed entirely if you feel that the aim isn’t correct for what you want. Revisiting the goal at frequent intervals and reviewing it leaves it relevant.

SMART Methodology

You can use this SMART methodology to define personal goals.

Conclusion

Good time management and effective goal setting is about knowing what to do, and when to do it.

Making a concentrated effort to manage your time can increase your productivity and recognition. It can also reduce overwhelming situations, because it lets you take back control of your time and to handle the demands of your job better.  It will bring you a long-term vision, better day-to-day focus, increased self-confidence and motivation – and the achievement of your goals! Actually, time management and goal setting is widely considered to be the most powerful tool you’ll have for planning.

When you have a set of high-priority, properly classified goals, and remove any challenges, you can see yourself moving in the right direction of your path. You’re going to question how you’ve ever managed to do without setting your goal!

Reducing interruptions allows you to concentrate on your important tasks. You can do this by establishing boundaries for yourself and by learning to say “No” politely, when it’s appropriate to do so.

Create a ‘To-Do List’s’ that breaks down your activities into manageable tasks and shows the order of priority that you need to do them in. This gives you focus, and lets you direct your energy toward tasks with maximum results.

Remember to spend some time thinking about what your top priority tasks really are and how important they are to you. Take time to make time, and you’ll be happier and more efficient as a result.

With the following tools, you can make any meeting a much better use of everyone’s time.

1. Deciding if a meeting is necessary

The first thing you need to decide is if a formal meeting is necessary. Perhaps those morning staff meetings could be reduced to a few times a week instead of every day, or maybe they could take place over morning coffee and be more informal.

If a formal meeting is necessary, one idea is to divide your attendees into two groups: participants and observers. Let people know what group they belong in so that they can decide whether they want to attend.

If you send out a report after the meeting, that may be enough for some people.

2. Using the P.A.T approach

One solution is to use the P.A.T approach to prepare for and schedule meetings.

Purpose: What is the purpose of the meeting? We usually state this in one short sentence. Example: “This meeting is to review the new invoice signing policy.” This helps people evaluate if they need to be there. It will also help you build the agenda and determine if the meeting was successful.

Agenda: This is the backbone of the meeting. It should be created well in advance of the meeting, sent to all participants and observers, and be used during the meeting to keep things on track.

Time frame: How long will the meeting be?

As a guide, typically meetings should not exceed one hour. (In fact, we recommend a fifty-minute meeting, starting at five past the hour and ending five minutes before the hour.) If the meeting needs to be longer, make sure you include breaks, or divide it into two or more sessions.

3. Making sure the meeting was worthwhile

After the meeting, send out a summary of the meeting, including action items, to all participants and observers, and anyone else who requires a copy.

Action items should be clearly indicated, with start and end dates, and progress dates if applicable.

If follow-up meetings were scheduled, these should also be communicated.

Alternatives to meetings

Sometimes, a face-to-face meeting isn’t the best solution. Let’s explore alternatives to meetings that can help you and your team save time and be more productive.

Don’t forget that even if you use a meeting alternative, you should still use the P.A.T approach that we discussed in the last module, take minutes, and distribute post-meeting notes and action items.

Instant message applications can be a great alternative lo meetings, especially if meeting members are separated by distance.

Some things to remember:

• Make sure you have an agenda and stick to it.
• The chairperson’s role in keeping things on track is more important than ever.
• Set some ground rules at the beginning of the meeting to eliminate distractions such as emoticons, sounds, and acronyms.
• Make sure you keep a record of the meeting.

1. Teleconferencing

If more personal contact and real-time sharing is needed, speak to your Manager about our teleconferencing services. Some teleconferencing applications feature screen sharing and collaboration tools.

2. Email lists and online groups

If your meeting group requires ongoing, interactive communication rather than periodic face-to-face gatherings, an e-mail list, forum, or online group can be an effective tool.

There are a few options for these online tools. Speak with your Department Manager to see if this is facility is used, such as Confluence.

A few things to keep in mind if you are going to use this sort of solution:

• Having a moderator is essential. These types of tools can quickly get out of control without proper supervision. You’ll want to make sure members stay on topic and stay professional.
• Make sure you monitor the time spent on these tools. Setting a daily or weekly update or delivery lime might be a good idea.
• Just like a meeting, an online list or group should have a purpose and stick to it.
3. Collaboration applications

A more sophisticated electronic tool that can reduce the need for meetings is collaboration applications. Systems like Microsoft SharePoint, Wrike, Pelotonics, Google Docs, and Basecamp can give users interaction and collaboration tools from any location.

These sorts of tools may be most beneficial for project meetings, or situations where users need to peer review each other’s work.

Once again, these tools must have their purpose clearly stated, and participants must make sure that these time-saving tools don’t turn into time wasters.

You will also need to discuss with your manager and IT to ensure it fits in with The Jaycar Group IT policies.

Other meeting resources:

• Interactive whiteboards
• Voice and text chat support
• Meeting recording capabilities (which can serve as minutes)

Again, remember the P.A.T. approach, and remember to keep minutes and action lists.

Although this training program is coming to a close, we hope that your journey to improve your time management skills is just beginning.

Congratulations, you are nearly done.

To finish this training, you will need to complete the questions for Time Management and Goal Setting.

Here’s a thought that we would like to leave you with:

‘Time is free, but it’s priceless.
You can’t own it, but you can use it.
You can’t keep it, but you can spend it.
Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back’
– Harvey Mackay

The hallmark of successful time management is being consistently productive each day, as many people use a daily plan to motivate themselves.

Having a daily plan and committing to it can help you stay focused on the priorities of that particular day.

As well, you are more likely to get things accomplished if you write down your plans for the day.

Creating your productivity journal

Essentially, planning is nothing more than taking a piece of paper and a pen and writing down the tasks and associated steps that you need to take throughout the day to ensure that your goal is completed.

To start, get yourself a spiral notebook and label it as your Personal Productivity Journal or your Professional Productivity Journal.

(We recommend keeping a separate journal for work and for your personal life, so you can focus on them at separate times, thus maintaining your optimal work/life balance.)

Label each page with the day and the date and what needs to be done that particular day.

Next:

• Prioritise each task in order of importance.
• Highlight the top three items and focus on those first.
• Cross off items as you complete them.
• Items that are not completed should be carried over to the next page.

Maximising the power of your journal

Some experts believe that when you write down your action list the night before, your subconscious mind focuses on that plan while you sleep.

By planning the night before, you will also start fresh and focused on the most important tasks for the day. Of course, you will want to review your list in the morning, but you will have a head start on your day.

Always have your productivity journal with you during the day to avoid becoming side-tracked. Crossing off completed tasks will give your subconscious mind a tremendous amount of satisfaction. This will also help to maintain your motivation to complete the remaining items on your action list.

If you find yourself moving uncompleted tasks over into the following day, and the day after that, then you need to ask yourself why that task is on your list in the first place and what value it has in your life. If you postpone a task three times, it does not belong on your action list.

Ready, fire, aim!

We’ve all heard the saying, “Ready, Aim, Fire!”

Often in time management planning, it is better to think, “Ready, Fire, Aim!” instead.

This is because most people aim for the target, and then they keep aiming at the target, but they never seem to fire. They get so caught up with the planning that they fail to take action. This is just another form of procrastination, which we will discuss in a moment.

Better to take a shot and see how close you were to the target.

Ready – Do not over-plan each of your actions. By the time you fire, the target may have moved.

Fire – Remember the 80/20 rule and just take action. Even if you don’t hit the bull’s eye, you’ll probably still hit the target.

Aim – Make new plans based on new information. Re-adjust your aim based on where you hit the target.

Organising your workspace

In order to effectively manage your time and to be productive each day, you must create an appropriate environment.

By eliminating clutter, setting up an effective filing system, gathering essential tools, and managing workflow, you will be well on your way to creating an effective workspace.

De-clutter

Removing clutter is itself a time-consuming task, but a cluttered workspace significantly impairs your ability to find things, and you will get the time back that you invest – and more to retrieve materials quickly, you’ll need an effective filing system that includes three basic kinds of files:

• Working files: Materials used frequently and needed close at hand.
• Reference files: Information needed only occasionally.
• Archival files: Materials seldom retrieved but that must be kept. For ease of retrieval, organise files in the simplest way possible. For example, you could label files with a one- or two-word tag and arrange the files alphabetically.

Once clutter has been eliminated and other materials have been filed, the effective workspace includes only what is essential: a set of three trays to control the workflow on your desk (see the next topic), standard office supplies, a computer, and a telephone.

Everything else, except for what you are working on at the moment, can and should be filed where it can be retrieved as needed.

Managing workflow

How do you process the mountain of material that collects in your paper and electronic in-baskets?

The answer is one piece of paper, one electronic message at a time. Many time management experts agree that the most effective people act on an item the first time it is touched.

Although difficult at first, the practice can become habitual, and is made easier with the four Ds:

• Do: If a task can be completed in two minutes or less, do it immediately.
• Delete: If the material is trash or junk, delete it. Or, if it’s something that you might use later on, file it, and move on.
• Defer: If the task is one that can’t be completed quickly and is not a high priority item, simply defer it.
• Delegate: If a task is not yours to do, then delegate it.

Remember, to take the S.T.I.N.G. out of feeling overwhelmed about a task, follow these steps:

• Select one task to do at a time.
• Time yourself using a clock for no more than one hour
• Ignore everything else during that time.
• No breaks or interruptions should be permitted.
• Give yourself a reward when the time is up (for example: make yourself a cup of coffee)

Dealing with email

Electronic communication can be managed just as easily and as quickly as paper with the four D’s that we just discussed. However, there are some other key ideas that will help you maximise your email time.

Like other routine tasks (such as returning phone calls, handling paper mail, and checking voice mail), email is best handled in batches at regularly scheduled times of the day.

Ask your email contacts to use specific subject lines, and make sure to use them yourself. This will help you to determine whether your incoming mail is business or personal, urgent or trivial.

Once you know the subject of the message, open and read urgent e-mails, and respond accordingly. Non-urgent emails, like jokes, can be read later. Delete advertising-related emails that you have no interest in, or which you consider spam.

Use your email system to its fullest potential. Create folders for different topics or projects, or by senders. Most email systems also allow you to create folders and add keywords or categories to messages, which makes information retrieval much easier.

Many email programs allow you to create rules that automatically move messages to the appropriate folder. This can help you follow your email plan.

Finally, don’t forget to delete emails from your trash can and junk folder on a regular basis.

Using calendars

To manage all the things that you have to do, it’s important to organise your reminders into a small number of calendars and lists that can be reviewed regularly.

A calendar (paper or electronic) is the obvious place to record meetings, appointments, and due dates.

People with multiple responsibilities, an annual calendar organised by areas of responsibility (e.g., budget, personnel, schedule, planning, and miscellaneous) may be especially valuable.

For each of these areas, one can list the major responsibilities month by month and thereby see/ glance which tasks must be completed in a given month of the year.

Don’t forget the productivity journal that we discussed earlier. This can be a valuable tool for organising tasks, identifying patterns, improving workflow, and recording work completed.

Goal setting is critical to effective time management strategies.

Goal setting can be used in every single area of your life, including financial, physical, personal development, relationships, or even spiritual.

According to recent studies, fewer than 3% of people have clear, written goals, and a plan for getting there.

Setting goals puts you ahead of the pack and will help you manage your time more efficiently!

The Three P’s: Positive, Personal and Possible

Setting meaningful, long-term goals is a giant step toward achieving your dreams. In turn, setting and achieving short-term goals can help you accomplish the tasks you’ll need to achieve the long-term ones.

It is also important to make sure that all of your goals unleash the power of the three P’s:

1. Positive:
• Positive goals give a greater sense of connection to your desired outcome. For example, bringing lunch to work instead of buying something can sometimes be dull but I’m saving for a holiday.
• Goals should be phrased positively, so they help you feel good about yourself and what you’re trying to accomplish.
• A better alternative might be this: “I bring my lunch to work so I can enjoy more pasta in Italy”
2. Personal:
• Goals must be personal.
• They must reflect your own dreams and values, not those of friends, family, or the media.
• When crafting your goal statement, always use the word “I” in the sentence to brand it as your own.
• When your goals are personal, you’ll be more motivated to succeed and take greater pride in your accomplishments.
3. Possible:
• When setting goals, be sure to consider what’s possible and within your control.
• Getting into a top university may be possible if you are earning good grades but unrealistic if you’re struggling.
• In the latter case, a more reasonable goal might be to attend a university or trade school that offers courses related to your chosen career.
• You might also pursue volunteer work that would strengthen your university applications.

The SMART way

SMART is a convenient acronym for the set of criteria to help you set goals.

Specific: It has often been said that “vague goals produce vague results”. In order for you to achieve a goal, you must be very clear about what exactly you want. Often creating a list of benefits that the accomplishment of your goal will bring to your life will you give your mind a compelling reason to pursue that goal.

Measurable: It’s crucial for goal achievement that you are able to track your progress towards your goal. That’s why all goals need some form of objective measuring system so that you can stay on track and become motivated when you enjoy the sweet taste of quantifiable progress.

Achievable/Attainable: Setting big goals is great but setting unrealistic goals will just demotivate you. A good goal is one that challenges but is not so unrealistic that you have virtually no chance of accomplishing it.

Relevant: Before you even set goals, it’s a good idea to sit down and define your core values and your life purpose, because it’s these tools which ultimately decide how and what goals you choose for your life. Goals, in and of themselves, do not provide any happiness. Goals that are in harmony with our life purpose do have the power to make us happy.

Timed: Without setting deadlines for your goals, you have no real compelling reason or motivation to start working on them. By setting a deadline, your subconscious mind begins to work on that goal, night and day, to bring you closer to achievement.

Prioritising your goals

Achieving challenging goals requires a lot of mental energy.

Instead of spreading yourself thin by focusing on several goals at once, invest your mental focus on one goal, the most important goal right now.

When you are prioritising, choose a goal that will have the greatest impact on your life compared to how long it will take to achieve.

A large part of goal setting is not just identifying what you want, but also identifying what you must give up in your life in order to get it.

Most people are unwilling to make a conscious decision to give up the things in their life necessary to achieve their goals.

Visualising

Emotionalising and visualising your goal will help you create the desire to materialise it into your life.

One of the best visualisation tools is a vision board.

Simply find a magazine, cut out pictures that resonate with the goal that you want to achieve, glue them onto a piece of poster board, and place that board somewhere that you can view it several times a day.

Create a list of the benefits you will see when you achieve your goal and concentrate on how that will make you feel.

Prioritising your time

Time management is about more than just managing our time; it is about managing ourselves, in relation to time.

It is about setting priorities and taking charge.

It means changing habits or activities that cause us to waste time.

It means being willing to experiment with different methods and ideas to enable you to find the best way to make maximum use of time.

The 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule, states that; 80% of your results come from only 20% of your actions.

Across the board, you will find that the 80/20 principle is pretty much right on with most things in your life. For most people, it really comes down to analysing what you are spending your time on.

Are you focusing in on the 20% of activities that produce 80% of the results in your life?

The urgent/important matrix

Great time management means being effective as well as efficient.

Managing time effectively, and achieving the things that you want to achieve, means spending your time on things that are important and not just urgent.

To do this, you need to distinguish clearly between what is urgent and what is important:

Important: These are activities that lead to achieving your goals and have the greatest impact on your life.

Urgent: These activities demand immediate attention but are often associated with someone else’s goals rather than our own.

The urgent/important matrix is a powerful way of organising tasks based on priorities.

Using it helps you overcome the natural tendency to focus on urgent activities, so that you can have time to focus on what’s truly important.

Being assertive

At times, requests from others may be important and need immediate attention.

Often, however, these requests conflict with our values and take time away from working toward your goals.

Even if it’s something we would like to do but simply don’t have the time for, it can be very difficult to say no and one approach in dealing with these types of interruptions is to use a ‘positive no’, which comes in several forms.

Here are some examples of how to say NO politely:

• Say no and then briefly clarify your reasoning without making excuses. This helps the listener to better understand your position. Example: “I can’t right now because I have another project that is due by 5 pm today.”
• Say no, and then give an alternative. Example: “I don’t have time today, but I could schedule it in for tomorrow morning.”
• Empathetically repeat the request in your own words, and then say no. Example: “I understand that you need to have this paperwork filed immediately, but I will not be able to file it for you.”
• Say yes, give your reasoning for not doing it, and provide an alternative solution. Example: “Yes, I would love to help you by filing this paperwork, but I do not have time until tomorrow morning.”