- •ChapTeR 1. Individual work technique: ноw то мaкe up for lost time
- •1.1. Lack of time
- •Results of the Research
- •From Whom to Learn
- •Waste of Working Time
- •What to Begin with
- •What Will the Recommendations Give You
- •1.2. Recommendations for organizing time
- •Rule 1. Make a daily schedule listing all jobs in the order of their importance.
- •Rule 2. Take up first of all the most important and urgent affairs.
- •Rule 3. Escape from routine work and try to stay alone at least for an hour.
- •Rule 4. Don't scatter your attention, concentrate on one job at a time.
- •Rule 5. Try to make over as many tasks as possible to others.
- •Rule 6. Update the system of control.
- •Rule 7. Don't allow the papers pile upon the table.
- •Rule 8. Use the effect of 7 "small things'
- •1.3. On thc applicability of recommended rules
- •Some Tips
- •1.4. Do not let us linger!
- •Habits Dominate over Us
- •Inertia Is Rooted in the Truth That It's Easier to Go on with a Job than Begin a New One.
- •Unpleasant job
- •Complicated job
- •Uncertain situation
- •Снaртer 2. Business communication
- •2.1. Business conversation, talks
- •Importance of business communication
- •2.2. Ten rules to prepare for and carry on a business talk
- •Rule 4. Choose the right place.
- •There should be nothing to disturb or divert you;
- •The place should correspond to the aims of the talk.
- •Rule 5. Objectives of the first part of a talk: a) to have the participants focus their attention on the subjects; b) to create the atmosphere of mutual confidence.
- •Rule 6. Bring your tactics in line with the aims.
- •Rule 7. Try to keep your partner talking most of the time.
- •Rule 8. Rise to the occasion.
- •Rule 9. Fix the information obtained.
- •Rule 10. Stop the conversation right after reaching the set purpose.
- •6.3. Particulars of various kinds of business talks
ChapTeR 1. Individual work technique: ноw то мaкe up for lost time
1.1. Lack of time
The problem of lack of time worries everybody. How often we return from work with the feeling that the day was wasted... The words "Routine is to blame!" are one of the most frequent excuses for the job undone.
Results of the Research
It is of interest to compare the data of the managerial staff working overtime with the efficiency of their using working time in the proper way.
One of the most thorough researches of these problems was undertaken by sociologists of a large industrial area. It turned out that the length of the managers' working week was 1,23— 1,5 times larger than that of 41 hours'. At the same time the index of efficiency ranged from 0,68 (with directors) to 0,77 (with shop foremen). By multiplying the average length of the managers' working week (4/3) by the average index of their useful time efficiency (3/4), we obtain the weekly working load (l).
This simple calculation brings out the troth of the statement: "One is always pressed for time if he doesn't know how to use it."
From Whom to Learn
Thus, there is every reason not to ignore the reserve of working time and the opportunity to increase the efficiency of using it by 1/3.
But isn't the idea of 100 % using of time no more than a delusion? Are there businessmen who manage to do everything (and do it in a proper way), in their fixed working hours?
Yes, such people do exist and they are successful. The technique of their personal work and the way they arrange their time naturally arouse a great interest and are thoroughly studied and analysed by specialists because the gift of this personal organization is one of the most important factors of success and is of benefit to society. The regularities revealed as a result of this study form the basis of the following recommendations concerning the, best way of arranging one's working time.
Waste of Working Time
But before going over to the recommendations proper, we need to name the main kinds of waste of working time. They fall into intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic reasons are — lack of experience, insufficient education or professional skill, poor organization, ill-considered schedule. The main reasons are lack of organization and ill-considered schedule.
Extrinsic reasons: too many meetings we have to attend, the chiefs summoning to briefings and all other kinds of official talks, writing various reports and unnecessary accounts, doing things that are outside your regular duties. This kind of activities account for 20 to 40 % of the middle managers' working time. Business meetings take, on the average, 25 to 35 % of time (often much more). The working process is considerably disorganized by things that suddenly crop up: the less organized the manager is the more unforeseen business comes his way.
What to Begin with
As the first step towards increasing your self-organization it is extremely useful to make a self-recording of your working day, i.e. write down every job you do and the amount of time it takes.
After calculating all time spent on business during the day, nearly every manager is sure to be short of a few hours. This shows that you have personal reserves and you will undoubtedly be egged on to use them. Having collected such data during a week, you will know the structure of your time-schedule, i.e. the correlation between "time you have spent" and "results you have obtained". When you begin moulding a new style of work, the comparison of such records made regularly after certain periods of time, will show you the progress of efficiency of using your working time.
There is another, more effective way of getting objective information — it is a record of your working day made by one of your colleagues. But only a man who is friendly to you can be asked to do this, because you trust him with gaining certain negative information about you. The fact is that in the vast majority of cases the record gives discouragingly bad results. But the worse they are, the stronger is the stimulus to improve the situation. But we are so callous in our habits that nothing less than a strong shock can bring us to change them... In this respect a self-record may turn out to be a stronger stimulus to self-perfection.
Thus, to begin with, you should have a strong desire to change the situation "with your time. Without such desire all our efforts will come to nothing, owing to our conservatism and unwillingness to change the fixed working habits.