How Good Is Your Time Management?

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Are you keeping track of time?

How often do you find yourself running out of time? Weekly, daily, hourly? For many people,
it seems that there's just never enough time in the day to get everything done.

When you know how to manage your time you gain control of what you achieve.

Take this self-test quiz to identify the aspects of time management that you need most help
with. The results will point you to the specific tools that will help you to work more
efficiently.

Instructions
For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Answer the
questions as you actually are, rather than how you think you should be, and don't worry if
some of the questions seem to score in the "wrong direction." When you are finished, click
the "Calculate My Total" button at the bottom of the test.

1 The tasks I work on are the ones with the highest priority.

2 I find myself completing tasks at the last minute, or asking for extensions.

3 I set aside time for planning and scheduling.

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 4 I know how much time I spend on each of the various task I do.

5 I find myself dealing with interruptions.

6 I use goal setting to decide what tasks and activities I should work on.

7 I leave contingency time in my schedule to deal with "the unexpected"?

8 I know whether the tasks I am working on are high, medium, or low value.

9 When I am given a new assignment, I analyze it for importance and prioritize it

10 I am stressed about deadlines and commitments.

11 Distractions keep me from working on critical tasks.

12 I have to take work home in order to get it done.

13 I prioritize my To Do list or Action Program.

14 I confirm my priorities with my boss.

15 Before I take on a task, I check that the results will be worth the time put in.

Total = 0

15- Ouch. The good news is that you've got a great opportunity to improve your effectiveness
30 at work, and your long term success! However, to realize this, you've got to fundamentally
improve your time management skills. (Read below to start.)

31- You're good at some things, but there's room for improvement elsewhere. Focus on the
45 serious issues below, and you'll most likely find that work becomes much less stressful.

46- You're managing your time very effectively! Still, check the sections below to see if there's
75 anything you can tweak to make this even better.

As you answered the questions, you probably had some insight into areas where your time
management could use a pick-me-up. The following is a quick summary of the main areas of
time management that were explored in the quiz, and a guide to the specific tools you can
use for each.

Goal Setting

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(Questions 6, 10)

To start managing time effectively, you need to set goals. When you know where you're
going, you can then figure out what exactly needs to be done, in what order. Without proper
goal setting, you'll fritter your time away on a confusion of conflicting priorities.

People tend to neglect goal setting because it requires time and effort. What they fail to
consider is that a little time and effort put in now saves an enormous amount of time, effort
and frustration in the future. Mind Tools has two great articles on goal setting that are must-
reads for everyone. If you are serious about time management, we suggest you start
with Personal Goal Setting and The Golden Rules of Goal Setting. We also
recommend Treasure Mapping.

Prioritization
(Questions 1, 4, 8, 13, 14, 15)

Prioritizing what needs to be done is especially important. Without it, you may work very
hard, but you won't be achieving the results you desire because what you are working on is
not of strategic importance.

Most people have a "to-do" list of some sort. The problem with many of these lists is they
are just a collection of things that need to get done. There is no rhyme or reason to the list
and, because of this, the work they do is just as unstructured. So how do you work on To Do
List tasks – top down, bottom up, easiest to hardest?

To work efficiently you need to work on the most important, highest value tasks. This way
you won't get caught scrambling to get something critical done as the deadline approaches.
For information on how to start prioritizing your tasks, see Activity Logs, Prioritized To Do
Lists, Prioritization, The Action Priority Matrix, and Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle.

Managing Interruptions
(Questions 5, 9, 11, 12)

Having a plan and knowing how to prioritize it is one thing. The next issue is knowing what
to do to minimize the interruptions you face during your day. It is widely recognized that
managers get very little uninterrupted time to work on their priority tasks. There are phone
calls, information requests, questions from employees, and a whole host of events that crop
up unexpectedly. Some do need to be dealt with immediately, but others need to be
managed. Our article on Managing Interruptions discusses how you can minimize your
interrupted time.

However, some jobs need you to be available for people when they need help
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– interruption is a natural and necessary part of life. Here, do what you sensibly can to
minimize it, but make sure you don't scare people away from interrupting you when they
should.

Procrastination
(Questions 2)

"I'll get to it later" has led to the downfall of many a good employee. After too many
"laters" the work piles up so high that any task seems insurmountable. Procrastination is as
tempting as it is deadly. The best way to beat it is to recognize that you do indeed
procrastinate. Then you need to figure out why. Perhaps you are afraid of failing? (And some
people are actually afraid of success!)

Once you know why you procrastinate then you can plan to get out of the habit. Reward
yourself for getting jobs done, and remind yourself regularly of the horrible consequences
of not doing those boring tasks! For more help on recognizing and overcoming
procrastination see our guide to Beating Procrastination.

Scheduling
(Questions 3, 7)

Much of time management comes down to effective scheduling of your time. When you
know what your goals and priorities are, you then need to know how to go about creating a
schedule that keeps you on track, and protects you from stress.

This means understanding the factors that affect the time you have available for work. You
not only have to schedule priority tasks, you have to leave room for interruptions, and
contingency time for those unexpected events that otherwise wreak chaos with your
schedule. By creating a robust schedule that reflects your priorities and well as supports
your personal goals, you have a winning combination: One that will allow you to control
your time and keep your life in balance. To learn specific scheduling skills, see our articles
on Pickle Jar Theory and Scheduling Skills.

Key Points
Time management is an essential skill that helps you keep your work under control, at the
same time that it helps you keep stress to a minimum.

We would all love to have an extra couple of hours in every day. Seeing as that is impossible,
we need to work smarter on things that have the highest priority, and then creating a
schedule that reflects our work and personal priorities.

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With this in place, we can work in a focused and effective way, and really start achieving
those goals, dreams and ambitions we care so much about.

This self-test is just one of a large set that helps you evaluate your abilities in a wide range
of important career skills. Click here for other self-tests.

This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just
one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free
newsletter, or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!

Ratings
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Non Member 2019-06-12 08:33:09

Non Member 2019-06-12 03:58:26

pattigoldenson 2019-06-11 23:44:01

This really opened my eyes - this was great!

ssofowor 2019-06-11 15:41:25

Non Member 2019-06-11 11:34:51

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