DEALING WITH PROCRASTINATION

Managers may procrastinate due to many reasons- the task at hand may be an unpleasant one, the decision may be a difficult one to make, there may be a lack of support from seniors and subordinates, or there could be a quest for perfection. Whatever the reason, there are some techniques to deal with procrastination. SALAMI OR SLICING TECHNIQUE: In this technique, a big task or decision is broken into several smaller decisions, which can be tackled one by one. This reduces the fear of major failure and enables managers to focus on one task at a time. BALANCING ASPECT TECHNIQUE: In this technique, all the positive and negative aspects of a decision are listed out. A decision is then made, depending on the analysis of the information. INCENTIVE TECHNIQUE: This is another technique in which a reward is involved. Managers are motivated to take a rational decision due to the driving force of the reward. GROUP TECHNIQUE: This technique involves a group of people shouldering the responsibility of taking a decision. It reduces the individual responsibility of the manager.

TIPS TO HANDLE INTERRUPTIONS

Managers spend most of their time dealing with interruptions from internal and external visitors. These interruptions consume 60% of their work hours. Managers spend around thirteen hours per week on just communicating on the telephone. They rarely find uninterrupted time. They spend a significant amount of time talking to someone, answering calls, or attending meetings. They are always preparing themselves to meet sudden request and appointments. Hence, they may not have time to concentrate on work. The office environment should be austere and should convey a massage of a serious work place. A manager should retain a sense of time when talking to unexpected visitors. This will help them prevent long conversations and discourage regular visits. The desk of the manager should face away from the door. This will discourage people from disturbing them. A manager should have half-closed door rather than an open door; this will serve to discourage anyone who wishes to drop by. A manager should set aside specific time for meetings and visitors.

QUADRANT I
Requires immediate attention. It consists of both vital and immediate activities. This quadrant is called the Quadrant of Crises. Some managers spend most of their time in this quadrant. It involves a lot of crises handling and results in stress for these managers. A manager in this quadrant is obsessed with meeting deadlines, plans for dealing with crisis and solving problems. A crisis arises when important issues are neglected. Therefore to avoid crises, time has to be allocated to important issue. Managers in this quadrant should spend more time on planning for important issues without procrastinating.

QUADRANT II
Is vital but not immediate. This quadrant is called the Quadrant value. A manager in this quadrant is involved in long-term planning, anticipating, and preventing problems and spending time for personal time for personal development. Here, the manager learns new skills and develops interpersonal relations. A manager neglecting this quadrant will increase chances of facing crisis situations at a later stage, Hence, a manager must plan t deal with the not so urgent but important issues.

QUADRANT III
Is immediate but not vital. It is called the Quadrant of Misconception. Managers who spend too much time in this quadrant tend to think they are doing vital activities. These immediate activities may not be important and are often based on the priorities of others. For instance, a manager may be spending time solving the problems of his/her colleague. Managers in this grid may also face some problems. For example, a manager may respond to a telephone call in the middle of meeting with client, because of this the client has to wait for him/her to finish the call. When such situations happen regularly, the relations between the manager and the client can worsen.

QUADRANT IV
Is neither immediate nor vital. This quadrant is called the quadrant of Times Wasters. Managers in this quadrant are potential time waster. They spend most of their time gossiping, reading magazines and pursuing pleasant activities (like watching TV). These pleasant activities do not, however, lead to self-development. Selfdevelopment takes place in Quadrant II. Managers in this phase need to learn effective time planning by following Quadrant II Activities.

TIME LOG
(FROM DD/MM/YY TO DD/MM/YY) TIME SPENT EACH DAY AT WORKPLACE (HRS/ MIN)

TASKS Working on the actual task Use of telephone (work related) Use of telephone(personal use) Use of Internet(work related) Use of Internet(personal use) Meetings / Seminars attended Tea / Coffee breaks/ Lunch at work Preparing for seminars / presentations Socializing with colleagues Meetings visitors Filing and maintaining records Time spent on solving others problems Work related travels (to meet clients/customers) Reading and analyzing Reports TOTAL HOURS SPENT AT WORKPLACE

MON

TUE

WED

THURS

FRI

ARE YOU AN EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGER?

ANSWER YES OR NO TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:1. Do you plan your time daily? 2. Do you prepare your long term, short term plans? NO 3. Do you allow time for unforeseen situations in your plan? / NO 4. Do you u differentiate between your work hours and personal time? / NO YES YES YES / NO YES /

5. Do you work overtime regularly? 6. Do you postpone the activities listed in your schedule? / NO 7. Do you reach office on time? 8. Do you reward yourself on reaching the milestones in your plans? / NO 9. Do you stick to every task you have started? NO 10. Do you feel in control of your time?

YES / NO YES

YES / NO YES

YES /

YES

/ NO

TIME LOG
DATE: TIME:

START

END

TOTAL

ACTIVITY

WITH WHOM

INITIALATION

ACTION/NOTES 9.00 10.00 60 C DATA MGR.

S DISCUSSED

DETERIORATING MARKET SHARES. RECORDS DUE NEXT WEEK.

10.05

10.15

10

TP

BILL HOLDER

PROBLEMS WITH Q. C.

WANTS BETTER LATE ACCESS.

INITIATION

ACTIVITY CODES

O= OTHER S=SELF

TP= TELEPHONE C= CONFERENCE W= WRITING