In revisiting the time management assessment I took from the book this week, my skill level is a very mixed bag, and not a highly developed one at that. I can say with certainty that I get at least one thing done a day, that I schedule some "me time", and that I'm cognizant of increasing my daily efficiency whenever I can. I can also say with certainty that I've never taken advantage of a time log, nor have I ever done much in the way of a cost-benefit analysis for my daily tasks. The rest of the prompts I rated as being very midland, and I usually only do things like making lists and taking on a "get it done" attitude when I'm at work. The prompts for working meetings and utilizing subordinates are also relatively new ideas to me. Once at home, I tend to get very complacent, and while my work and academics don't usually suffer, I don't often feel like I'm accomplishing very much towards my personal goals.
When I do take time management measures, such as setting personal deadlines, making lists, prioritizing, and keeping an orderly workplace, I believe that does increase my internal locus of control and allows me better control and accountability for what I get done. The most important action I take at the office on the daily basis is keeping my notepad handy to write down my personal list of "check boxes" to establish my priorities for the day and give an at-a-glance overview of what's left. Something I do engage in frequently by the nature of my work is delegation and letting others take credit. Due to the sheer number of tasks and technical expertise required, there's no way I could do everything in my section by myself. Thus, I let my subordinate experts work the issues they can at the lowest possible level, have credit for their individual performance, and I'm content that the work is complete while I still have credit for supervisory authority.
I think that if I were to give more structure to my meetings, that might give me a bit more certainty about our focus for the week and reduce my stress from ambiguity, as well as maybe allowing my staff to more quickly get on with their day. I would also like to be more vocal about the initiative my subordinates can take so they can engage issues with reduced administrative turnaround and perhaps even feel a measure of trust and empowerment. Both of these points would also serve to increase my external locus of control. Finally, I'd like to integrate more of my work practices into my daily personal life, as increasing my productivity and accomplishments at home will lead to reduced stress across the board, and lead to more positive quality of life.
Starting tomorrow, I'll see about writing myself a reminder note in my notebook cover to keep myself cognizant of the improvements I'd like to make, and I would also like to give myself more permission to be less of a perfectionist and take some reasonable risks to try some other management approaches. It seems like these improvements are something that will hold once I've done it enough times for it to become routine. I also think, given that keeping a list helps out at work, that I might have to invest in a sturdy notebook or memo pad to carry with me at home.
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