A520.2.6.RB_DiazBrian

My time management skills are atrocious.  This is something I have been aware of for some time and my wife is more than happy to remind me of.  I seem to treat the way I manage my time for school and work similarly but to varying degrees.  I think in both realms I find myself managing my time poorly.  At work I will focus all of my attention to one or two main areas.  This means at the end of the day because of my lack of time management, I am rushing to complete my final reports and prepare properly for the following day.  Sometimes I might not finish my reports completely and rely on the beginning of the next day to get caught up.  This is a self repeating cycle that makes me feel like I am in the movie Groundhog Day. Each day is the same and I can't seem to change my processes.  But the funny things is that I can.  When it comes to school I have become accustomed to procrastination.  This for me is somewhat of a double edged sword because I am trying to make room for other aspects of my life.  It is imperative that I give my son the attention he wants and needs.  He is in a critical stage in his development and I am cognizant of his need to have daddy pay him attention and interact with him.  I also make sure that I make time for my wife.  I at least try to sit with her for an hour each evening before she goes off to sleep.  By this time I am exhausted from my day and this is when the procrastination sets in.  "I can always do that tomorrow" I tell myself which leads to me completing my assignments later rather than sooner.

I am quite aware that I have the power to change this pattern I have fallen into but it is up to me to take the steps necessary to effectuate this change.  I always feel as if time is slipping through my hands.  In this week's discussion, we learned about a company named SAS.  We considered the stressors and life-balancing strategies SAS employees we afforded and how we could relate to them.  Toni Dammer provided some great insight into the company and she wrote that "They are providing their employees with extra time to spend with their families and health attention. In many companies employees begin to get burnout due to time management, as there are not enough hours in the day to complete assignments and spend quality time with their families"  This statement reflects how I personally feel about work.  I feel as if there is never enough hours in the day.  I hope exploring some time management skills will help to change this perception I have.

Whetten & Cameron (2011) wrote "In addition to approaching time management from the point of view of effectiveness, it is also important to adopt an efficiency point of view.  Many techniques are available to help managers utilize more efficiently the time they have each day.  One way to enhance efficient time use is to be alert to your own tendencies to use time inefficiently." (p. 124).  If I could improve my time management skills maybe I can feel less exhausted all the time.  Negative stress is taxing not only emotionally but studies show that we can be affected physically as well by them.  I tend not to worry about many things but time is definitely always a concern for me because of my belief that I am always fighting it.  If I improve my time management skills maybe I will feel better.  It would definitely free up time for me to take the bike rides I enjoy so much.

As a result of my poor time management I am susceptible to encounter stressors.  While I have made it a point to spend as much time as possible with my family, truth be told that if I managed my time better (especially with school) I could dedicate more time to them as opposed to working on homework Saturday's and Sunday's.  By confronting my time management issues now, I can be better prepared for future leadership positions.  I can't think of a successful leader in my organization that does not manage their time efficiently.  Additionally if I managed my time better at work I wouldn't constantly be thinking about going in on the weekends to get things done that I should have completed during the regular work week.

I need to initiate a proactive strategy in order to better manage my time.  At work we have student aides which we are free to delegate responsibilities to.  I think it would be a step in the right direction for me to utilize these student aides to help me achieve some goals I have for myself at work and also to free up some of my time to attend to other matters.  I also need to develop a strict school schedule.  I am half way through my degree program and I know what things I need to work on in order to be an effective leader.  Time management is at the top of the list.

Here is the action plan I intend to initiate:

I am a big proponent of technology and apps.  I found the app above in the Apple store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/productivity-wizard-action/id670870972?mt=8. 
I intend to develop and personalize my own action plan and sync it across my devices (which of course I go nowhere without).  This way I can track my progress and have a clear plan of what needs to be done and when.  I look forward to using this app and reflecting on it in a few weeks.  I am excited about the potential to take back a part of my life that I have been neglecting, my time!

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall/Pearson.