Time management & organization skills

1. Time management & organization skills LISA M. ANDERSON, MMDS, MLS(ASCP)MB,SH

2. Objectives • Identify obstacles to efficient time management. • Explain appropriate strategies to combat poor time management. • Recognize need and benefits to utilizing organizational skills.

3. Why you need time management & organizational skills

4. Things weighing on our lives • Family • Immediate & Extended • Friends • Career • Daily work, Large Projects, & Drive/Ambition • Education • Continuing Ed & Degrees • Professional Events/Activities • Hobbies • Travel • Work & Vacation • Self-care • Exercise, Meals, & Sleep • Daily Grind • Housework, Yard, Pets, etc. And everything else…

5. How does one get more done & get more results out of each day? We always need more time, but time is set. 24 hours per day X 60 minutes per hour X 60 seconds per minute = 86,400 Seconds

6. Burn out… how to diagnosis • 4 Stages: • Physical, Mental, Emotional Exhaustion • Shame and Doubt • Cynicism and Callousness • Failure, Helplessness, and Crisis • Causes: • Lack of Control • Unclear Expectations • Dysfunctional Workplace Dynamics • Mismatch Values • Poor Job Fit • Extremes of Activity • No Hope of Change Recognize→ Reverse → Resilience http://www.helpguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm

7. Steps towards proper time management • The price of not being organized: • Missed deadlines. • Overlooked opportunities. • Wasted time. • Wasted money.

8. Step 1: Maximize your Body’s Efficiency • Make time to take care of yourself. • Exercise, good nutrition, and plenty of sleep will increase focus and energy throughout your day. • Work With Your Body Cycles- not Against Them • Work with these natural rhythms instead of fighting them. • Are you a early riser or a night owl? • Schedule activities that require the most focus at your peak times of the day. • May also help address items that you are putting off. • Try to schedule some un-interrupted time during these peak times.

9. Step 2: Examine your schedule. • Determine the best method for scheduling • USE IT. • Include personal deadlines. • Have one master calendar. • Back up electronic calendar regularly. • Write dates for follow-up on calendar. • Add a meeting as soon as you know about it. • Day planner, Google calendar, smartphone calendar, etc. What works for you?

10. Step 2: Examine your schedule. • Be realistic about what you can accomplish. • Learn to say No or take smaller tasks. • Don’t try to juggle too many things • Use your waiting time (Smartphones have revolutionized multi-tasking.) • On public transportation, On hold, the doctor’s office, When you are early Waiting for your plane, What works for you?

11. Step 3: Prioritize • Do/Diminish • Perfectionist vs. excellence • The magic of “Good enough” • Resist the temptation to do small, insignificant tasks too well. • Delegate • Outsource what you can. • Create relationships- surround yourself by people you trust • Delay • Don’t let this feed into procrastination habits. • Delete • Does that task really matter? A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.  ~John Henry Newman

12. Urgent Not Urgent I II . Crisis . Pressing problems . Deadline-driven projects, meetings, preparations . Preparation . Prevention . Values clarification . Planning . Relationship building . True re-creation . Empowerment Important III IV . Trivia, busywork . Some phone calls . Time wasters . “Escape” activities . Irrelevant mail . Excessive TV . Interruptions, some phone calls . Some mail, some reports . Some meetings . Many proximate, pressing matters . Many popular activities Not Important

13. volunteering • Volunteer with people or causes that fulfill other needs: • Meeting new friends • Learning something new • Don’t volunteer for more than you have time for. • If you find you can’t complete a task, let someone know. • Organizations should tailor jobs to interests and strengths of volunteer. • Recognize the signs of “burn out” in yourself and others.

14. Step 4: Discipline • "Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." ~William James • DO YOU PROCRASTINATE? • Recognize that you are procrastinating. Avoiding high priority tasks… instead concentrating on low priority. • Work out WHY you are. What about that task in particular makes it difficult to complete. • Get over it. Rewards, Accountability to others, Use action plan, Start in the middle, Change environment

15. Step 5: pick your tool • Activity Logs • Document and review how you spend your time. • Are there big time wasters? • Time Maps • Schedule time on a weekly basis • To-Do lists • All items should be prioritized. • Can cover a day’s tasks or a week’s • Meeting Agendas • Helps keep meetings on topic and on schedule.

16. Step 5: pick your tool • SBAR • Naval tool adopted by Healthcare • Standardize patient hand-off http://www.saferhealthcare.com/sbar/what-is-sbar/

17. Step 5: pick your tool • 5S http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_methodology

18. Step 5: pick your tool • Lean • Six Sigma http://www.lean.org/Admin/KM%5Cdocuments/76dc2bfb-33cd-4ef2-bcc8-792c5b4ef6a6-ASQStoryonQualitySigmaAndLean.pdf, W W W . A S Q . O R GM A R C H 2 0 0 2 H O W T O C O M PA R E S I X S I G M A , L E A N A N D T H E T H E O R Y O F C O N S T R A I N T S

19. Step 5: pick your tool • International Organization for Standardization • Founded in 1947 • Published +19,500 International Standards • Covering almost all aspects of technology and business • ISO 15189: Medical Laboratories • Quality and competence in medical laboratories • ISO 22870: POCT • Labs seek accreditation • Application, Self-Study, Inspection • 3-year renewal cycle http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm

20. Step 5: pick your tool • Per CAP website: • Customer satisfaction and quality of care • Quality management of test and calibration data • Validity and appropriateness of test methods • Traceability of measurements and calibration to national standards • Technical competence of staff • Testing environment • Suitability, calibration, and maintenance of test equipment • Sampling, handling, and transportation of test items http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm www.cap.org

21. Step 6: stay organized • Know your system. • Personalize it to you. • Color code, Alphabetize, Organized Files/Piles • Don’t keep the clutter. • Unless there is a reason and place for keeping it- get rid of it! • Re-evaluate your system routinely. • New projects may need different system. • Is it really working? • Don’t judge others’ systems. What works for you?

22. Long range goals

23. Life’s goals • AT 5 TO 10 YEAR INTERVALS • Raise your self-confidence, recognize your abilities at achieving goals • Create big picture of your future • What are the priorities of the next phase of your life • What large-scale goals do you want to achieve • Consider all areas • Artistic, attitude, career, education, family, financial, physical, pleasure, public service • Make sure goals are true to self… not for others “Happiness is not a goal...it's a by-product of a life well-lived.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

24. Steps to long term goals • State each goal as a positive statement. • Follow SMART Goals. • Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound • Write goals down. • Keep somewhere safe so that you can revisit throughout time frame. • Set performance goals, not outcome goals. • You want to have as much control over the goals as you can. • Ex. Prepare for a 5K race by running 3x a week. • INSTEAD of winning a 5K race. • Consider celebrating as you complete each goal. • Share with others for additional support in reaching goals. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ― Albert Einstein

25. Final thoughts

26. Burn out… Prescription • Analyze path to burn out • What got you to this spot? • Reevaluate priorities • Focus on outside-work activities • Take care of yourself inside and out • Exercise, eat well, and sleep • Seek support from others • counseling, coaching, or mentoring • Recognize your limits • Talk to your boss Recognize → Reverse → Resilience http://www.helpguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm

27. References • Smith, Melinda M.A., Segal, Jeanne Ph.D., etal. “Preventing Burnout: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies. Helpguide.org, August 2013. Web. 08/23/2013 • Maslach, Christina., Wilmar B. Schaufeli, and Michael P. Leiter. “JOB BURNOUT” • Annual Review of Psychology Vol. 52 (Volume publication date February 2001) : 397-422. • Wood, Ben D. “Burnout among Healthcare Professionals” Radiology Management November/December 2007: Pages 30-34. Web. 08/23/2013. • McGhee, Sally. Take Back Your Life! Using Microsoft Office 2007 to get organized and stay organized. Redmond: Microsoft Press, 2007. • http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards.htm • Stephen Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill, First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.