TIME MANAGEMENT. 1 The Process for Effective Time Management 2 Barriers to Time Management 3 SMART Goals 4 The POWER Model e. Section 1.

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1 Prsonal Dvlopmnt Track Sction 1 TIME MANAGEMENT Ky Points 1 Th Procss for Effctiv Tim Managmnt 2 Barrirs to Tim Managmnt 3 SMART Goals 4 Th POWER Modl In th Army, w spak of rsourcs in trms of th thr M s mn, mony, and matrials. To ths thr, w must add. Howvr, thr is a distinct diffrnc btwn tim and th thr othr rsourcs. If w do not us our mony or matrials today, thy ar availabl tomorrow. To a lssr dgr, this is also tru of mn. It is not at all tru of tim, for tim is a highly prishabl commodity. An hour lost today is lost forvr! GEN Bruc C. Clark

2 Tim Managmnt 71 Introduction To succd as a ladr, you must comptntly manag your rsourcs popl, matrials, and information. But prhaps th most prcious rsourc you must manag is tim. You can t rplac tim onc it s gon. Tim managmnt can also b calld prsonal managmnt, sinc you ar th only thing you can control. Th tim-managmnt skills you dvlop as a Cadt and studnt will st a pattrn for you as a futur Army officr. That s why you must cultivat a procss for ffctivly managing tim today. As this sction points out, you will ncountr significant barrirs to ffctiv tim managmnt. But you can ovrcom thos barrirs by stting goals and using systmatic tchniqus. Th Procss for Effctiv Tim Managmnt Tim managmnt is a systm for gtting things don as fficintly and productivly as possibl. As you assum ladrship rsponsibilitis in th Army, your tim will bcom vn mor valuabl and its managmnt mor complx. You will nd to manag not just your own tim, but also th tim of thos you lad. Whn you put an fficint timmanagmnt systm into action, you bcom a mor ffctiv ladr bcaus your tam mmbrs prciv th valu you plac on both your tim and thirs. Th rspct you show for thir tim will support vryon s fforts to bcom mor fficint as th unit works toward mting task dadlins and complting th mission schdul. But it all starts hr in ROTC, whr your collg studis rquir significant timmanagmnt skills. Your succss at cultivating good tim-managmnt skills dpnds on your ability to st asid nough tim for ach of your classs, sports, and othr activitis. Doing this fficintly rquirs that you: 1. Rcogniz tim wastrs (black hols) 2. St goals that will rduc pattrns of wastd tim 3. Adopt a systm lik th POWER modl. Th POWER modl, discussd latr in this sction, will mov you toward your prsonal, profssional, and carr goals. Barrirs to Tim Managmnt Hav you vr hard of a black hol in astronomy? It s a point in spac whr a massiv objct pulls in all light nar it. Nothing can scap. Critical Thinking Why do you think good tim-managmnt skills in an officr fostr a productiv work thic among Soldirs in th officr s small Army unit? How dos th valu you plac on tim managmnt translat into your tam mmbrs wasting lss tim? Is thr a trickl-down ffct?

3 72 SECTION 1 Your Calndar Crat your own smstr calndar that includs all classs, ky assignmnts, fitnss workouts, sports vnts, xtracurricular activitis, social vnts, and any othr important tims for th coming smstr. Us this calndar to dtrmin how much tim you still hav opn and to idntify wks (usually during midtrms and finals) whn you will nd to plan and work ahad to avoid bcoming ovrwhlmd. Critical Thinking Pick a goal you hav st for yourslf: Mak nough mony to buy a car; graduat with honors; land a summr intrnship at th stat capital; improv your forign languag skills. Now turn it into a SMART goal using th modl blow. What did you larn about yourslf and your goal? In your schdul, black hols ar spacs of tim that at into your productivity and prvnt you from raching your goals and th goals of othrs you work with. Black hols dvour productiv tim and consum your fficincy. Th ability to idntify black hols is th first and most important aspct of good tim managmnt. To do this, you should conduct an informal invntory of how you us your tim. Considr a typical wk and, within that wk, a typical day. Most popl ar surprisd at how much of thir tim is unfocusd and unstructurd without a spcific goal or purpos. Two causs of black hols ar procrastination putting things off and distractrs things that tak you away from your plannd work or activitis. On way to fight procrastination is to raliz that it will only mak things wors. As Gorg H. Lorimr, ditor of th old Saturday Evning Post, onc put it, Putting off an asy thing maks it hard, and putting off a hard on maks it impossibl. Distractrs ar oftn subtl. Thy might b talking on th phon with frinds or rlativs, losing track of tim whil Instant Mssaging or playing vido gams, or hlping othr popl on thir projcts. Or you may fac an unxpctd chang in your work schdul. Larning to dal with distractrs saying no whn ncssary; turning off your cll phon, th IM, or th vido gam; ngotiating your schdul with your suprvisor; vn finding a diffrnt spot to work or study away from distractions builds th disciplin that hlps you stay on cours. Trying to ovrcom ths two sourcs of black hols in your lif gos a long way toward improving your us of availabl tim. Additionally, th bttr you gt at complting work on schdul, th bttr you ll gt at schduling tim for rcration, hobbis, social activitis, and othr things you njoy. SMART Goals Goal stting is a critical part of managing your tim. If you don t know whr you ar going, how can you possibly calculat how long it will tak you to gt thr? TABLE 1.1 Th SMART Modl Spcific Masurabl Achivabl Ralistic Tim-bound mak th goal concrt and clar dcid how you will masur succss in raching th goal kp goals rasonabl milstons ar hlpful considr othr factors that may affct th goal mak yourslf accountabl for a spcific dat

4 Tim Managmnt 73 TABLE 1.2 Th POWER Modl Prpar Organiz Work Evaluat Rthink st SMART goals kp a calndar to know whr you ar, whr you v bn, and what s ahad work on stablishing boundaris for your tim prioritiz activitis, avoid procrastinating, larn whn to say no, and kp track of how long important tasks tak rviw how you r spnding your tim xplor bttr and bttr ways of managing your tim idntify what you nd to chang Th SMART modl for goal stting, splld out in Tabl 1.1, is a usful starting point for filling up black hols with usful activitis activitis that gt you whr you want to go on your mission, in your carr, and in your lif. Th POWER Modl Onc you hav stablishd your goals, you nd to apply an ffctiv tim-managmnt systm to rach thm. Th POWER modl outlind in th tabl abov provids you with such a systm. Practic tchniqus of good tim managmnt, such as complting tasks bfor moving to th nxt itm or limiting distractions whn doing xrcis or homwork. Som usful tools includ a calndar, a wkly schdul, and a To-Do list. You can find sophisticatd tim-managmnt aids at an offic-supply stor or prhaps your studnt bookstor. Your prsonal computr may also hav usful tim-managmnt softwar. In applying any tim-managmnt stratgy, it s a good ida to kp in mind that you must b flxibl. Sinc no on can fors th futur, you nd to b willing to modify your plans to accommodat vnts and vn a fw surpriss. Tools for Productiv Tim Managmnt: 1. Calndar 2. Wkly Schdul 3. To-Do List. Tim managmnt is a systm for gtting things don as fficintly and productivly as possibl.

5 74 SECTION 1 CONCLUSION Succssful ladrs such as GEN Bruc Clark rcogniz that using tim mor fficintly than th nmy is th first rquirmnt for victory. Thy also raliz that succssful tim managmnt is a nvr-nding procss. As a Cadt and futur Army ladr, you must adopt tim-managmnt systms that allow you to nvision how to achiv goals and objctivs, plan to rach thos goals, organiz your tim, and continu to improv. It s tim to tak control of your tim using th SMART tchniqu and POWER modl you v larnd. Start today! Larning Assssmnt 1. Trad on of your prsonal goals for this smstr with a fllow Cadt in th class. How spcific is his or hr goal? Is it masurabl? Achivabl? Ralistic? What is th timtabl for achiving th goal? Brif your partnr on your SMART obsrvations about his or hr goal. 2. Dscrib th POWER modl for ffctiv tim managmnt. List som of th barrirs you might ncountr and how you would plan to ovrcom thm.

6 Tim Managmnt 75 Rfrncs Clark, B. C. (1973). Guidlins for th Ladr and Commandr. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpol Books. Ellis, D. (2003). Bcoming a Mastr Studnt (10th Ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Hughs, R. L., Ginntt, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (1999). Ladrship: Enhancing th Lssons of Exprinc (3rd Ed.). Nw York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.