Course Outcomes

This productivity and time management course will:

  • Help participants identify the factors that prevent them from effectively managing their time.
  • Introduce techniques for determining what is important and what is not and tools for keeping track of tasks.
  • Provide language for saying “no” and effectively delegating tasks to others.
  • Prepare participants to run efficient and effective meetings.

Course Overview

We all have the same amount of time each day, so why is it that some people manage to get more of the right things done and others don’t? This course won’t give you more hours, but it will teach you how to be mindful and deliberate about your time and to work with purpose.

During this hands-on workshop, you will learn the fundamentals of time management: understanding the value of time, using proven ways to get the most out of a day, balancing work and home, eliminating time wasters, conquering procrastination, and more.

Taming the Time Monster: How to Stop Procrastinating, Start Planning, and Get More Done is one of the oldest and most popular courses in the Business Training Works’ library. We’ve facilitated the program dozens of ways onsite and, upon request, can tailor it to your group’s specific needs and goals.

Interested in instructor-led training in an online format? See Productivity Basics and Beyond: Time Management Tactics for Getting the Right Things Done and Tackling Time Management: Productivity Fundamentals. Both courses are web-based and cover similar concepts and content.

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • List barriers to successful time management.
  • Understand and demonstrate the use of to-do lists and the ABC prioritization technique.
  • Explain the benefits and drawbacks of various calendar systems.
  • Manage voicemail to reduce time spent checking messages.
  • Write SMART goals and explain their benefit.
  • Demonstrate how to say “no.”
  • Delegate tasks and assignments.
  • Develop an action plan for better use of time.
  • Begin implementing goals created during the session.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s).

Workshop Outline

Everyone Has 24 Hours a Day: The Realities of Time

What would you do with more time?  If you don’t know, you hardly have a reason to manage your most valuable resource better.  In this introductory discussion, participants will evaluate and articulate their immediate, short-term, and long-term time-management goals and the group will confirm the agenda for the day.
 

Jump Start Your Day: Proven Time Tools That Work

This seminar segment focuses on six easy steps participants can take to maximize their time: turning commuting time into productive time, staying on time, properly using a calendar, keeping track with to-do lists, and more.
 

Time Stealers Be Gone: Eliminating Time Wasters for Good

The telephone, voicemail, uninvited guests, and other distractions can ruin a well-planned day.  In this course component, participants will learn techniques to reduce time stealers and how to get back on track.
 

Procrastination Pest: Killing That Bug for Good

“I’ll put it off.” “I’ll wait until tomorrow.” “I’ll do it later.”  Sound familiar?  Procrastination is a problem many people constantly battle.  This part of the workshop looks at why we procrastinate and offers techniques for conquering the problem once and for all.
 

Be SMART: Goal Setting for Peak Performance

Delegating and setting realistic, manageable goals are critical skills for expert time managers to possess.  This portion of the program explores the components of SMART goals and allows participants to practice developing long- and short-term goals.
 

I’m Drowning: A Lifejacket, Please

When there is truly too much to do and not enough time, prioritization is key.  This course segment focuses on ways to better prioritize a heavy workload, communicate to others that it isn’t all going to get done, and ask for help when it’s needed.
 

Working Better with Others: Meetings, Delegating, and Saying “No”

In this part of the program, participants will discover how to work better with others: what to do to prepare for a meeting, how to delegate work to others, and how to say “no” to frivolous and unrealistic requests.
 

I’m Exhausted When I Get to Work: Tactics for Managing Home Time Better

Sometimes work feels like a vacation, especially when home is more stressful than the office.  In this concluding portion of the course, participants will look at practical ways to balance work and home, techniques for reducing home chores, and tips for streamlining activities.
 

At the program’s conclusion, participants will have an understanding of time-management techniques: using a to-do list, prioritizing the items on it, stopping procrastinating, and working better with others through delegation.