The Importance of Effective Time Management - Assignment Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Institution: Date: Managing Yourself Q1. The Importance of effective time management Time management is the process of administering and coordinating individual activities. In this case, time management includes the process through which one develops a structure through which their activities and time use is detailed. The development of such a plan is imperative in a number of ways. On one hand, time management allows individuals to prioritise their operations. In this case, it is vital to understand that individual face a variety of responsibilities and duties. More often than not, the available time is not always enough to undertake all the required duties. Hence, through a proper time management once is able to prioritise on activities to undertake the most vital activities first due to the time essence element. Secondly, time management allows individuals increase their productivity (Limoncelli 18). In this essence, productivity is described as the amount of work and duties undertaken by an individual over a specific period of time. In this regard, time management ensure the efficient and proper use of time by individuals. As such, a reduction in potential time wastage implies that individual are able to accomplish more over a specific period of time, as contrasted to those who like such a time management structure. Further, time management enables individual acquire rest times. In any situation, human rest is a critical component to ensuring a person’s health and well being as well consistent productivity. As such, through proper time management, one is able to prioritise their activities, increase their productivity, and create room and time for rest and recuperation respectively. Q2. Strengths and Weaknesses in Time Management Although time management as illustrated above s a critical tool for any individual persons in the global market, me included have their diverse strengths and weaknesses in managing time (Limoncelli 24). On one hand, in terms of time management strengths, I have discipline. In this case, I have a personal trait of discipline. This implies that once I am faced with the need to follow set rules and regulations, in most cases I fit in with minimal conflicts to the existing rules. In this regard, my discipline focus empowers me to fulfil my set time management plans. As such, I am able to follow the set time management plan to the letter, making it a success in most of the cases. Moreover, I have skills in prioritisation of duties. As such, I have an objective and critical mid focus. In this regard, this enables and empowers me to effectively priorities and organise activities based on my duties and expectations. As such, this allows me the skill and ability to develop an effective time management process. However, despite my key strengths in time management I have a key challenge in obsession with work. I this case, over the years I have realised that I am never contented or rest peacefully if my targeted workload is unaccomplished. As such, this has often led to my misuse of my rest period in other activities. As such, in most of the instances, although I plan and allocate myself some rest time, I fail to rest over this period of time. Q3. Priorities for personal SMART objectives to achieve team goals In order to promote my time management goals both at a personal and team level, I develop a series of SMART goals to support me in this process. The setting up of the goals is aimed at serving s a road map to support and aid my development process towards increased success into the future. The goals appear in order of prioritisation. 1. Seek time management training short course. This goal seeks to develop my skills in time management, especially in the management of leisure and rest times. In this case, the success measure for the training program will be my effective management of my leisure and rest timelines. This is achievable in the sense that the training sessions have worked successfully in the past, and thus realistic. Additionally, it is specific as it is based on specific short course training on leisure time management. Finally, the goal is timely in that the time management short course runs over a specific period of time for 3 months. 2. Develop functional Support sub-teams. In order to achieve the strategic goals of the overall team, I advocate for the development of sub-teams to support the team operations. In this case, the sub-teams should be formulated with the specific mandates of performing the specifically allocated duties. His will ensure on the simultaneous execution of team mandate and goals that do not rely on one another to be actualised. 3. Encourage social interactions between the members. The creation of interactions will have the intended measurable impact of increasing the teams understanding of one another. In this case, the process allows for the creation of a joined understanding of the team goals and objectives in the market. In this context, the process is hedged on the process of creating a joined vision for all the team members. This enhances the reduction of conflict of interests. Q4. Time management technique for achieving objectives An effective time management technique to use in order to achieve the set team and personal development objectives is the adoption of a thing to do list technique. In this case, the things to do list technique are a strategic approach through which individuals organise and effectively plan for their activities and duties in the market. In this regard, the process includes the development and determination of all the required and expected activities (Franz 53). Once all the targeted activities are established, the second process in the review is to prioritise the activities in order of their relevance. In the case of the personal and team goals attainment, the key list of activities is acquiring leisure management skills, creating sub-teams, and creating social relations between the team members. In this regard, the creation of social relationships between the team members is a linked activity to the development of social relationships. In this case, it is through training hat I can participate effectively in leisure and social relationships with other team members. Hence, I the prioritisation process, the training on leisure time use is prioritised and have to be completed first before the socialisation in teams’ aspect. However, the development of key teams is an independent activity that does not rely on the completion of any prior activity, making it high on the priority list. Q5. Causes of stress and state their impact on the workplace There is numerous cause of work stress for employees in organisations. One of the key factors in the venture includes the factors unique to the job conditions. As such, these include elements such as the employees’ workload where the employees are overworked. In this case, when the employees are overworked, they lack enough time to rest and recuperate. Consequently, this leads to employees lack of ret time. Psychological experts argue that employees who lack enough rest periods are often at the edge in the workplace and stressed. Moreover, elements such as employee lack of appreciation and under career development such as the lack of promotion has negative implications on the employees. In this case, the desire to develop their careers and seek appreciation leads to increased employee workplace stress. Additional causative elements in the workplace setting include the lack of a work life balance systems and increased employee conflicts respectively. Increased employee stress in the workplace has numerous effects on both the employees and the served organisations respectively. On one hand, for the employees, increased stress has the overall impact of reducing the employees’ workplace motivation. Motivation can be described as the drive and desire that pushes the employees to perform and execute their duties in the market. As such, this reduces both their internal motivation, due to pre-occupation with stress. On the other hand, with respect to the organisation, there is the risk of reduced productivity. In this case, it has been illustrated that stressed employee are less productive that peers without tress. Q6. List symptoms of stress in the workplace The elements of employee stress in the workplace can be illustrated through a number of aspects in the organisational workplace. In this regard, there are a number of aspects. First, there are a number of health issues that affect the employees. In this regard, the employees face health complications such as high blood pressure and ulcers to the employees. This is especially as a result of the lack of a work life balance, denying the employees an opportunity to rest and care for their health. In addition, employee stress related issues result to employee psychological impacts (Elkin 7). One such aspect is that the employees are edgy and emotional. In this regard, the employees are often emotional and are prone to workplace conflicts. In this regard, employee management and organisational behaviour elements indicate that the employees face increased employee conflicts in the workplace in the market. Finally, employee stress faces the challenges in their workplace execution system. In this respect, the employees often make errors in their duties execution. In this case, employee stress creates a disturbed and distracted workforce, reducing their concentration and effectiveness in time the execution of their duties. Q7.A simple stress management technique that could help to reduce stress As illustrated in the analysis above, it is apparent that the element of stress in the workplace has a wide range of negative implications on both the organization and the employees. In this case, it is of vital importance that the organisational management develops avenues and strategies to counter and reduce the stress elements in the long run period. In this case, this review recommends the organisations can use one of the approaches on the creation of a work life balance policy. In this case, the policy should have a series of components including the creation of employee rest time, encouragement of an employee social life and the development of a healthcare management system in the workforce (Clutterbuck 63). On one hand, the creation of an employee rest time will be aimed at ensuring that the overworking stress related issues such as errors and conflicts are eliminated. Among the alternative for creating ret times would be providing breaks in course of the employee working hours. As such, the employees should be encouraged to take the breaks as a means of ensuring that they relieve their work tension by taking walks and having chats over the break periods. Moreover, alternatives to creating employee rest periods would be the use of shifts system as a means of ensuring that he employees get their desired rest periods. The second element of the technique for the creation of a work life balance would be to encourage social interactions for the employees. This can be achieved through the creation of a social place and location. This serves as an assurance that the employees acquire the opportunity to social interact and relate with one another, developing a scheme and tendency for relationships, thus eliminating the silence related stress and workplace conflicts that breed stress. Q8. Sources of support available in the workplace or elsewhere for stress management In the workplace, there are numerous sources of support for the implementation of a balanced workforce stress management system. The sources hat support such an organisational system includes the existing HR management systems. In this case, h HR function is charged with the role and mandate of coordinating the employees’ organisational systems in the workplace. As such, this implies that if there are proper support systems, the HR function can allow and implement the use of work life balance systems as a means of reducing the overall employee stress in the workplace (Mathur 12). The second element and source of support is the existing organsiational culture. In this case, for the organisations that have stakeholders’ management approaches, they are focused on supporting their employees, besides acquiring profits. In such a case, he organsiational culture supports the implementation of a work life balance stress management system. Works Cited Franz, Timothy M. Group Dynamics and Team Interventions: Understanding and Improving Team Performance. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print Limoncelli, Tom. Time Management for System Administrators. Beijing: O'Reilly, 2005. Print. Clutterbuck, David. Managing Work-Life Balance: A Guide for Hr in Achieving Organisational and Individual Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2003. Print. Mathur, Ashish. Organization Culture and Stress Management. S.l.: Grin Verlag, 2013. Print. Elkin, Allen. Stress Management for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, 1999Print Read More