1. TIME
MANAGEMENT
PART 2
ORGANIZATION AND
TIME MANAGEMENT
SESSION 6
“TIME IS A CREATED THING. TO SAY, ‘I DON'T HAVE
TIME’ IS LIKE SAYING ‘I DON'T WANT TO’.”
–LAO TZU

2. IN THIS SESSION WE WILL
• Be discussing time management strategies
• Using calendars
• Breaking down tasks
• Creating checklists

3. TIME MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIES
To effectively manage your time you should have a couple time
management strategies in your back pocket.

4. LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE
What is it? At the beginning or every six
months/ half year (January-June &
July-December) record important dates,
events and deadlines in a sort of
calendar.

5. LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE
What can you use? A traditional paper calendar, a yearlong planner or an
online calendar (e.g. Google Calendar).
How can it help you? Knowing important dates well in advance will help you
manage your time in the short-term and the long-term. You will be more aware
of when big things are happening and you can work around them.

6. ACTIVITY
Complete the “A Big
Picture Calendar”
activity and the "Monthly
Calendar" activity.

7. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
What is it? Blocking your time means you allocate a certain amount of time
in a day to work on an/or accomplish a task.
The blocks of time are dependant on the tasks at hand.

8. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
Blocking your time can be challenging at first. But here is a guide on how to
do it successfully.
Step 1: Identify your high priority tasks
Determine which tasks need to be
completed first and prioritize them
based on deadline and importance. For
example, if you have a quiz coming up
in the two days and a job interview
coming up in two weeks prepare for
the quiz first.

9. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
Step 2: Block out time for specific tasks
Break tasks down into smaller chunks that can be completed in smaller
time blocks. Allot time blocks to specific tasks. Let your goal be to finish
each task in its specific time block.

10. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
Step 3: Use a visual tool to block time
Using tools such as a daily calendar, a day planner, a piece of paper, or an
Excel spreadsheet can help you remember and peruse your time blocks.
Using these tools, mark the blocks of time and clearly show start and stop
times.

11. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
Breaks are not bad! In fact, they should be included when you block your time.
Step 4: Scheduling breaks
FACT: Stretching, having a
snack, diverting your
attention can help your
brain refresh, re-energize,
and improve
concentration. However,
you must always remember
to return to the task at hand
and not let distractions
impede your progress.

12. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
Step 5: Limit distracting activities
During your set time blocks avoid unimportant, time-consuming activities.
Focus only on the task-at-hand.
Internet surfing
Phone calls
Emails
Watching TV
Task-at-hand

13. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
Do you like to
work…
At home? Night owl?
In the community? Early bird?
Are you a…
Step 6: Consider when and where you work best

14. BLOCKING YOUR TIME
How can it help you? Blocking your time is the most effective way to make
tasks more manageable. When you block tasks, you allow yourself to
accomplish a large goal in small sections.
30 Minutes:
Update calendar
1 Hour:
Study for quiz
10 Minutes:
Check email
40 Minutes:
Lunch

15. ACTIVITY
Do the “Breaking Tasks
Down” and the “Visualizing
Blocks of Time" activities .

16. USING YOUR FREE TIME
The phrase “I ran out of time” is extremely common. We seem to loose
time a lot and push tasks back as a result. However, every day we spend
time doing mindless things.
Here are some examples of
these mindless things:
• Sitting in a waiting room
• Waiting in line
• Taking the bus/subway
• Watching TV
• Doing the dishes

17. USING YOUR FREE TIME
When we perform mindless tasks we are not using our time to its fullest
capacity.
What is is? The “Using Your Free Time” strategy involves multi-
tasking. When performing mindless tasks try to do other things at the
same time.

18. USING YOUR FREE TIME
Here are some examples of using free time…
Read a chapter of a
book while riding the
bus
Correct your resume
while sitting in a
waiting room
Complete small
sections of a task on
commercial breaks

19. USING YOUR FREE TIME
Here are some examples of using free time…
Organize your day in
your head while
waiting in line
Walk and recite
important information
that you need to
remember
Do the dishes and self-
reflect on what you did
well that day and what
you should improve

20. USING YOUR FREE TIME
How can it help you? If you use the time in which you do mindless tasks
to multitask you can add a few more hours of productiveness to your day.
You won’t find yourself saying “I ran out of time” or “I don’t have enough
time” as much. You will also gain more leisure time to do things you love.

21. BEING PREPARED
What is it? Preparing what you need to complete a task in advance is an
effective way to manage your time. Before you step out the door be prepared
for the day ahead of you.

22. BEING PREPARED
Item Question
Work Clothes Are your work clothes clean?
Can you find them easily?
Equipment Do you have all the
tools/equipment/items you need for
the day?
Are the tools working?
Food Do you need to bring your lunch
with you?
Transportation When do you need to leave to
make it to work on time?
How will you get there?
Here’s some questions that can help you be prepared

23. BEING PREPARED
What can you use? To help you prepare for the day ahead create a small
checklist. Once you have prepared an item on your checklist cross the item
out.
How can it help you? Being prepared for the day ahead allows you to get
straight to tasks. This helps you be more efficient.

24. TO-DO LIST
This strategy is simple yet it is considered one of the most
effective time management tools!

25. TO-DO LIST
Step 1: Write it all down
Write down all the tasks you have to do in a specific time period. Include
even the smallest ones that you don’t think are important.
Hints!
• The trick is to make lists regularly!
Making a list once a day or once a
week works well
• Keeping lists in the same spot can
also help. For example, use the
same notebook, word document,
white board or time planner

26. TO-DO LIST
Step 2: Estimate your time
For each item on your list, estimate the amount of time you believe it will take to
complete.
This can be quite challenging but
don't get discouraged! Even if
your estimate was way off don't
sweat it. The key is to keep track
of how long the task actually took.
Here are some rules to help you
estimate your time…

27. TO-DO LIST
Step 2: Estimate your time: RULES
Add a safety margin to
the total hours you expect to
work on a task. This allows
time for unexpected events
like getting sick. A good rule
of thumb is the 50% Rule.
Example: 10 hours + 50%=
15 hours.
Divide your total amount of
hours (with your safety zone)
among the amount of time you
have to complete the task.
Example: 15 hours÷ 3 weeks=
5 hours/week
1. Safety Margin 2. Division of Time

28. TO-DO LIST
Step 3: Prioritize
Decide which tasks are the most important. You can either
number them in order of highest importance or you can colour
code them based on their level of priority.

29. TO-DO LIST
Step 3: Prioritize: IMPORTANT QUESTION
"How do I know which
tasks are the most
important?"
Answer!
The answer to this question completely
depends on you. Consider what are
your most important goals in life. Where
do you want to be? What do you want to
be? What do you want to accomplish?
What do you need?
A good strategy to answering this
difficult question is looking to the end
results of each task. Which task will
bring you closer to what you want to
accomplish in life?

30. TO-DO STEP LIST 4
Step 4: Listing other tasks
It is important to list other tasks in your life that are not academic or
work related.
Why?
Because life is full of so much more than work and academics!
To have a clear picture of how
much time life really takes, consider
writing appointments, family
obligations, get-togethers, trips,
parties, bill dates, etc. on a
calendar, a yearlong planner or
dated event list.

31. ACTIVITY
Use the template
provided to create
a checklist of all
the things you
need to do
tomorrow.

32. MILESTONE 28
Complete Milestone 28 to show
your progress!

33. QUESTIONS

34. CREDITS
This Power Point was created by Laubach Literacy Ontario.
The resources can be downloaded free of charge
at www.laubach-on.ca.
This Employment Ontario project was funded by the Ontario
Government. 2015
All website links were accurate at the time of original distribution-
March 2015.
All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from
Clipart.com and Microsoft Office.com.