Page 6 - Leadership Basics 8

Managing Time: Details to Consider

Before we begin discussion, take a few minutes to complete the following brief questionnaire. It is
designed to help you start thinking about how you spend your time.

Items Yes No Items Yes No
1. I have a great memory, I never write 11. You can almost see the top of my desk.
things down.   It is covered with all the projects I am  
presently working on.

2. I never throw anything away, I never 12. I pride myself on my work. I never
know if I will need it at a later date.   leave any task until it is perfect.  
3. I don’t seem to be able to finish a 13. I like to put off making decisions; it
telephone conversation, they go on   gives more time to think about what I  
and on. will do. I certainly don’t want to make
a mistake by rushing.
4. I get very little time to exercise, I’m 14. I am so busy I rarely have time to go
simply too busy.   out with family or friends. This is the  
price of success.

5. I always make time for teachers and 15. If I don’t particularly like a task I tend
students. My door is open no matter   to put it off.  
what is happening.
6. I don’t ask my staff to do any difficult 16. I often have so much to do that I do
tasks, after all I can do them much   nothing at all.  
better myself.

7. When I chair a meeting I make sure 17. I spend a lot of time walking around
everybody gets a say. I don’t mind if   aimlessly and taking long coffee  
they run over time. breaks.
8. I keep a calendar to keep track of 18. I try to handle each piece of
where I should be and for how long.   correspondence only once.  

9. I often leave tasks to the last minute. 19. I set deadlines for myself and stick to
I work much better when I’m under   those deadlines.  

pressure.
10. I put some time aside every week 20. I have time to relax and spend time
when I can think about important   with my family and friends.  
aspects of my job.

Scoring key:

If you answered ‘yes’ to numbers 8, 9, 10, 18, 19 and 20 and ‘no’ to the remaining points, you
are probably managing your time fairly well. If you answered ‘no’ to the numbers listed above
or ‘yes’ to any of the remaining points, you are more than likely wasting a considerable amount
of your time.

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