there's never enough time in the day. But by adopting simple time-management principles you can maximise the time that is available.
Working with children is our chosen profession and being generous with our time is part of the job. However, if a quality service is to deliver on its promises it needs to take control of the time available and use it wisely.
Be aware of the top ten time eaters:
* Lack of objectives, priorities or planning
* Poor crisis management, shifting priorities
* Attempting too much
* Personal disorganisation
* Interruptions (drop-in visitors, telephone calls etc)
* Inability to say no
* Lack of self-discipline
* Ineffective delegation
* Meetings
* Procrastination.
Prioritise To get results you have to know your priorities. A few minutes each morning spent reviewing the priorities for the day ahead is essential to help focus. Update your 'to do' list and grade each item on the list from 1 to 4 accordingly:
1 Important and urgent
2 Important but not urgent
3 Urgent but not important
4 Not urgent and not important.
Deal with the number ones first and attend quickly to the number twos or they will become tomorrow's number ones! Threes and fours are time-gobbling culprits that can ruin your day. Do these tasks only if you have the time to spare.
Delegate
Don't be afraid to delegate. Unless you give junior members of staff the opportunities, frameworks and guidance to develop their skills you will remain overworked and unsupported. The cost of training is easily outweighed by the time savings you make when your staff become more competent and confident.
Don't overdo it!
Our work brings us into close contact with family dramas and school politics. Remember, responsibilities to families and schools should not normally extend beyond the workplace.
By keeping to vocational boundaries we make a valuable contribution to children's welfare. By over-extending ourselves, we become mediocre and may not survive in the job.
Be succinct in your communications. Information should be given once to adults and three times to children. If you feel that you need to repeat yourself to adults, ask yourself why your message is not managing to get across.
Take charge
Did you know that it takes an average of seven minutes to regain your place in focused work, such as letter writing, report reading or accounts, after an interruption?
Don't allow casual callers access to you. Be available at children's collection time for quick, informal exchanges of information. Anything more in-depth should be dealt with by appointment.
Practise these phrases that preserve relationships and time: 'I would like to give your request the time it deserves, but am unable to do that at the moment. Can you meet me at...?' 'This is important and deserves my full attention. Right now I am engaged on another matter, when would it be convenient for you to talk this matter through properly?'
Schedule office work for set times and turn your telephone message service to zero ring. Ask callers to leave a message and say when they can expect their call to be returned. Give an emergency number. It is professionally acceptable to restrict your availability as long as you respond in the time stated.
Insist on an agenda in meetings. Making notes gives confidence to the other person that they are being taken seriously. If the discussion goes off-course, write down a word that reminds you that you need to come back to it.
Time-saving tips
* Never wait more than 15 minutes for anyone who is late for a meeting
* Take phone calls standing up - they will be much quicker
* Don't entertain sales calls and bin unsolicited mail
* Offer busy parents the option of telephone appointments
* Make up witty 'do not disturb signs' for when you need uninterrupted time.
Pinpoint the problems
If you want to manage your time better, the first step is to document how you are spending it. We may think that we know how long we spend on each task, but these impressions usually turn out to be inaccurate when compared to a detailed time log.
Keep a time log for one week to gain vital insight into where your time is going. Stop what you're doing each hour and categorise the tasks you've completed, such as client care, administration, planning and staff development. At the end of the week, add up the amount of time you've spent on each category and look for patterns. Use this knowledge to dispense time-wasting activity and for accurate task planning.
Organise paperwork
An efficient filing system is essential because hunting for paperwork is a major time waster. Make sure that everyone knows where to find crucial information and that records are frequently updated.
Identify each new document by writing a priority number in the top right-hand corner so you can sort them in order of importance and urgency.
File interesting items that you don't know what to do with in a box marked 'Slush' until you have time to deal with them. Empty your slush box every few months.
Take care of yourself
Don't let work get in the way of your health. Be familiar with your body clock. If you are a morning person then get straight to critical matters early in the day. Your body clock will also tell you when to take a break.
Working late or at weekends should not become a habit. Book holidays well in advance and commit yourself mentally to having a break.
Be realistic
Schedules that are too tight will make it hard for you to succeed. There is always a temptation to take on new, exciting tasks and to underestimate how long they will take. You can't take on more without giving something up, so decide how you will make space.
Be realistic and assert your position to yourself and others when new tasks show up - making promises you can't keep is unprofessional and leads to bad feeling.
Further reading
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful lessons in personal change by Stephen R Covey (Rebound, ISBN 0613191455, 13.16).
Go to www.getahead.co.uk for e-books (8.95) and training CDs (Pounds 24.95) on management issues or go to www. balancetime.com for free articles on time management.
Jackie Nunns is a founding member and director of the Trojans scheme, a charity running out-of-school services in south London
