Business

Time Management Seminar Proposal

How many hours are lost per year because of people mismanaging their time? Has your company experienced a problem with people missing deadlines and costing your stores money? Poor time management is a widespread issue among working professionals, and it stems from not knowing the best ways to take care of your assigned tasks.

Background/Overview: Show that your team has a solid, research-based understanding of the topic and how it’s relevant to the success of that company and/or particular industry. Be sure to incorporate information from at least 6 of your sources.  

Benefits of Our Program

With our program specifically, the idea is to not only teach employees how to be more productive but to structure their workday in a way that is going to improve their quality of life at work. Happier employees make for more productive workplaces, and empowering your workers to have the skills necessary to not only do good work but excel and enjoy doing it is going to result in a huge net positive shift in your culture. We emphasize an environment that minimizes stressors and promotes healthy working habits. 

Learning Goals

Our learning goals are as follows:

1. Learn what time management is at a deeper level than most people understand

2. Understand the impact time management has on you, the worker

3. Learn strategies to improve your habits

4. Understand what those techniques will do for you and the quality of your workplace

Sample Agenda

Agenda:

· Introductions (1 minute)

· Background on time management (3 minutes)

· Explanation of strategies (5 minutes)

· Interactive activity (5 minutes)

· Conclusion (1 minute)

Our interactive activity will consist of each person being given a list of tasks that they must address. Each one will be assigned a deadline, and it will be up to the employees to quickly use their newfound knowledge to properly prioritize the workload in order to fit everything they need to do into a workday. There will be no grading or review of each person’s answers, but the conclusion will include our suggested priority so employees can see if they’re on the right track.

Conclusion: Provide a clear/persuasive request for the CEO to hire your team.  

Working Bibliography

Atkinson, F. (2009). Part 2: Time management tools - chapter 08: Essential time management skills. Richmond: Crimson Business Ltd. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/742656248?accountid=14541

(Jacob) Atkinson’s book on time management skills is handy when considering what skills one can use in order to promote proper time management. It goes in-depth into the qualities of a schedule he believes to be important. The chapter also explores procrastination, its sources, and what can be done to prevent it from happening. He explores concepts like list oversaturation and physical organization, and explains how understanding and addressing the root causes of the problems that occur in an office can promote good use of time from employees. The only downside of this piece was that it is somewhat dated, being from 2009, and so contained outdated and irrelevant information. It is uncommon nowadays for people to be able to “ignore a phone call when needed,” as cell phones make everyone more accessible. The information from this article was useful in constructing the learning goals of the proposal.

Francis-Smythe, J., & Robertson, I. T. (1999). On the relationship between time management and time estimation. British Journal of Psychology, 90, 333-347. doi: http://dx.doi.org.mutex.gmu.edu/10.1348/000712699161459

(Jacob) This source, from a psychology journal, went deep into detail on how people perceive time, as well as how that influences the way they manage it. It brought up an interesting concept in time estimation, which is defined as the way that people think about how much time they have to complete a project. If an assignment is due in a week, for example, the week may feel like a long time. However, if a year-long project has only a week left, that week may feel incredibly short. In this way, it is possible to manipulate one’s own time estimation in order to increase one’s productivity. When one has a long-term project to work on, it is helpful to establish benchmarks to hit along the way. This is useful because it gives a short-term goal to work towards, and each point leading up to the final product becomes a new reference for time estimation.

Khan, I. A., Khan, U. A., Ahmad, S. M., & Naseer-ud-Din, M. (2015). The effect of training on principals' time management practices: A focus on time management areas, school's level, locality and complexity. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 9(2), 82-94. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/1761253579?accountid=14541

(Jacob) This article concerned the efficacy of training on people’s time management habits. It was a unique perspective to explore for the writing of this proposal, because if time management can’t be taught there is hardly a point to attempting to do so. However, the findings of the study were very much the opposite. In fact, the people who were instructed in time management habits became much more productive employees. This was refreshing in drafting

the proposal because it reassured the group that the methods being drafted could be helpful to a workplace. It also influenced the methodology of the presentation, leading to a structured plan of which parts should be more important and therefore allocated more presentation time. The findings reflected that hands-on experience is most memorable, so a large portion of the proposed agenda is dedicated to that style.

Kneale, P. E. (1997). Maximising play time: Time management for geography students. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 21(2), 293-301. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/214757567?accountid=14541

(Jacob) A somewhat unconventional, though recently more accepted, theory is that downtime is necessary to keep a healthy mindset when working on projects. It is just as important to manage the time spent not working as it is to manage the time spent working. To do so properly prevents fatigue on a project, and it is therefore in the best interest of everyone involved for employees to take time to refresh themselves. A common misconception among managers is that a lunch break is all that is needed to stay fresh for the day. Kneale suggests a different approach: have employees take short breaks at regular intervals throughout the day. By doing so, the individual will not overwhelm themselves with too much to do all at once and has the breaks to figure out any problems they may have come across in their time working. This article influenced the lesson plan of the proposal, leading to the emphasis on including scheduled breaks throughout the day.

Wilson, B. (2016, 03). Looking at time management differently!: When it comes to time management, it’s all about energy. Personal Excellence Essentials, Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/1954816825?accountid=14541

(Jacob) Similarly to the Kneale piece from the Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Wilson’s article reflected that it is highly important for people to think of their energy throughout the day when scheduling tasks. It is critical for each person to identify when he or she is the most energetic and assign the most difficult assignments for that time. This can make the difference between going into a project with enthusiasm versus dragging one’s feet on a difficult or obtuse problem. For the proposal, this philosophy is reflected in the interactive activity, when the team members doing the presentation will encourage everyone to reflect on when he or she is most productive and create their schedule with this concern in mind.

I2 mag: Time management 101: Time management techniques for better efficiency (2015). . Chatham: Newstex. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/1694909222?accountid=14541

(Grant)Time management 101: Time management tips for better efficiency was written by Karen Chopra on the Newstex Trade and industry blog. The post expands on multiple aspects that

contribute to both effective and contributive aspects that better a worker’s ability to be successful with time management. The article argues that with the advent of a constantly expanding and revolving global economy, it is beyond evident that businesses and professionals are faced with continually rising expectations and tasks that contribute to their respective success across the entire professional world. This rise in task leads to the need for organized prioritizing, the article points out that success is found in listing priorities and accomplishing them based on the plan. Karen Chopra also points out that the rise of interconnectedness has created a dearth in parts of time management, advising to steer clear of distractions when the need arises. Finally, the article supposes the need for understanding delegation, and how professionals should strive to accomplish what they can effectively, not absolutely. These tips are essential to the philosophy of effective time management.

Time management. (2014, Jul 21). Financial Times Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/1554774910?accountid=14541

(Grant) The simply titled Time Management published in the london-based Financial Times explores a brief and fascinating professional perspective on the need of time management for professionals facing the multiple constraints that the modern world imposes on them. The article laments on the position a young professional has in regards with time management, how the expectations of both her position within the banking industry and the duties of being a student weigh heavily on her day-to-day actions. And the article asks the reader to look introspectively, to understand the priorities of their path and recognize the tools they have to face ever changing challenges. This can be helpful to understand time management and why it is important for the professional, and reinforces that with case study into executives.

Hill, A. (2018, Jul 02). The madness of executives' obsessive time management usa region]. Financial Times Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/2081213 315?accountid=14541

(Grant) The madness of executives' obsessive time management by Andrew Hill was published in the london-based Financial Times and delves into the fascinating conception of time management at the executive and higher echelons of the business world. The article specifically explores the research and discussions leading business professors of Harvard University have with major firm executives from many spheres of business. More specifically, their explorations into the lives of these high-performance professionals and how they manage their time to the maximum efficiency of their roles.It seeks to understand and highlight the importance of time management to many executives both with their professional duties, but also with the wants and goals outside of their positions.

Time management tips and time management strategies for achievers: Getting results the agile way. getting results the agile way is a simple time management system for meaningful results in work and life. (2011, Oct 28). PR Newswire Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/900751804?accountid=14541

(Grant) Time management tips and time management strategies for achievers: Getting results the agile way. getting results the agile way is a simple time management system for meaningful results in work and life was retrieved from a newswire video organized by a Eileen Meier. The source presents a new method of time management and then explores the current use of that system with professionals in the time management industry. The source shows that the method of time management has been instrumental to the improving of the business practices as well as the method has become fundamental to the culture of the business as the professionals change their habits for more effective time management. The Source should be limited to its function on how time management methods can be both helpful for the work but also good for the happiness and competency of the professionals. For the research it shows that the conscious effort of time management has been useful for professional environments.

Crotti, N. (2014, May 26). Commentary: How to: Time out for time-management tips. Finance and Commerce Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/1530257548?accountid=14541

The Top 10 Life Benefits of Time Management. (2013). Time Management Ninja. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://timemanagementninja.com/2013/10/the-top-10-life-benefits-of-time-management/

Maleeha

This website wrote an article summarizing the basics within time management, and their beliefs on the most effective ways to make use of time management. They begin discussing how obtaining ways to create more value for yourself and your team is the overall objective.  They then go on to list out 10 benefits from a successful time management use, for example “less stress, less rework, more free time, and more opportunities”. They end the article with brief statements of hoe managing your time will lead to improving your life. The quality of this source is is subpar i would say, it's quite short and general, however it does have good information. Limitations from this source is that it does lack more tips on how to manage your time, and focuses mostly on benefits from time management. This is useful to my research because I believe it gives a good summary of  benefits from managing your time.

Klein, C, (2011, December). Central Authentication Service (CAS) - CAS – Central Authentication Service. (2019). Search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2019, from https://search-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/docview/927746066/fulltext/AB9AE87B2BBC4ABDPQ/3?accountid=14541

  

Maleeha

In this scholarly journal its written from the view of a professor discussing how he taught his students about time management. He discusses his frustrations with giving students ample time and reminders to work on certain assignments, and how his students end up waiting last minute to complete it. The next following sections he goes on to discuss his idea on improving how his students use their time with a “time card”, helping them focus on their goals of the day and certain milestones they want to have done by the end of the day. The quality of this article is well thought out and different, most professors don't go out of their way to help their students with their time management and expect them to figure it out on their own. The only limitations to this source would be that it's too personal, maybe having more structural advice rather than all experience based would be more effective. This is very useful because it gives a perspective from a professor and helps us use examples from different people. 

Juneja, P. Benefits of Time Management. (2019). Managementstudyguide.com. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://www.managementstudyguide.com/time-management-benefits.htm

Maleeha

This article written by Prachi Juneja is mainly focusing on the benefits from time management, in contrast to the other benefits article, this one is more detailed and specific on how these benefits come about. She starts out by saying that an individual that manages time enables

them to do the right thing at the right time, this stood out to me because this is an inner benefit that an individual gets from managing their time, she also mentions how time management plays an important role in one's professional and personal lively hood. She then lists 9 benefits from time management and the ones that stood out to me where “boots individuals morale and increases confidence, becoming a better planner, and gives less anxiety and stress” these benefits were not mentioned in the previous article which gives it its own importance in this research. The quality of this article is very strong, focuses on benefitting mentally and not just productively, as opposed to other articles. This is a very useful source because not many articles are mentioning how this benefits your mental health by reducing anxiety and stress this is a huge part in today's society, and this article discusses how time management can be a support in that.