chapter 11 | Time Management 161shopping, and cleaning. Previously, Alinore never
asked him for help. Cooking meals was clustered:
Alinore made all the meals in 1 day and then froze
and labeled them to be used later. This left time for
other activities. Alinore graduated at the top of her
class and subsequently completed her BSN. She
became a clinical preceptor for other associate degree
nursing students on a pediatric unit in a county
hospital. She never did get to Tahiti, though.Employers pay nurses for their time. Does that
mean that nurses “sell” their time? If so, then nurs-
es “own” their time. Looking at time from this per-
spective changes the point of view about time, as
nurses then manage their own time to accomplish
patient care tasks.
Time management means handling time with a
measure of proficiency. Therefore, time manage-
ment means meeting patient care needs skillfully
during a nursing shift (Navuluri, 2001). Organizing
work eliminates extra steps or serious delays in
completing it. Organizing also reduces the amount
of time spent in activities that are neither produc-
tive nor satisfying.
Working on the most difficult tasks when you
have the most energy decreases frustration later in
the day when you may be more tired and less effi-
cient. To begin managing your time, develop a
clear understanding of howyou use your time.
Creating a personal time inventory helps you
estimate how much time you spend on typical
activities. Keeping the inventory for a week gives
a fairly accurate estimate of how you spend your
time. The inventory also helps identify “time
wasters” (Gahar, 2000).
MacKenzie (1990) identified 20 of the biggest
time wasters. Some of these come directly from the
work environment, whereas others are personal char-
acteristics. To avoid time wasters, take control. It is
important to prevent endless activities and other
people controlling you (American Bar Association
Career Resource Center, n.d.). Every day, set priori-
ties to help you meet your goals. Ten frequent activ-
ities that infringe on time are in Box 11-2.
Lists
One of the most useful organizers is the “to do” list.
You can make this list either at the end of every day
or at the beginning of each day before you do any-
thing else. Some people say they do it at the end of
the day because something always interferes at the
beginning of the next day. Do not include routine
tasks because they will make the list too long and
you will do them without the extra reminder.
If you are a team leader, place the unique tasks
of the day on the list: team conference, telephone
calls to families, discussion of a new project, or in-
service demonstration of a new piece of equip-
ment. You may also want to arrange these tasks in
order of their priority, starting with those that
must be done that day. Ask yourself the following
questions regarding the tasks on the list
(Moshovitz, 1993):
■What is the relative importance of each of these
tasks?
■How much time will each task require?
■When must each task be completed?
■How much time and energy have to be devoted
to these tasks?
If you find yourself postponing an item for several
days, decide whether to give it top priority the next
day or drop it from the list as an unnecessary task.
The list should be in a user-friendly form: on
your electronic organizer, in your pocket, or on a
clipboard. Checking the list several times a day
quickly becomes a good habit. Computerized
calendar-creator programs help in setting priori-
ties and guiding daily activities. Many of these
are found on the Internet or intranet of an insti-
tution. These programs can be set to appear on
the desktop when you turn on your computer to
give an overview of the day, week, or month. This
calendar acts as an automated to-do list. Your
daily list may become your most important time
manager (Box 11-3).box 11-2
Ten Frequent Activities That Infringe
on Time- Managing by crisis
- Telephone calls
- Poor planning
- Taking on too much
- Unexpected visitors
- Improper delegation
- Disorganization
- Inability to say no
- Procrastinating
- Meetings
Adapted from the ABA Career Resource Center, http://www.abanet.org/
careercounsel/prelaw/5timeprelawtips.pdf