This week’s DISCOVER session has Harpreet Datta, Vice President WWIL Human Resource, speak about the subject ‘Managing time for effectiveness.’
We all receive the same amount of time each day but each of us differs in the way we use it. To effectively manage time, the first and important thing to understand is that time is a fixed resource – there are 24 hours in a day (not one minute more not one minute less), 7 days in a week and so on. This only means that we can never manage time, we can only manage ‘ourselves in relation to time’. Differentiating and prioritizing the activities which we need to do and being disciplined are the most important factors which are essential to manage both, our professional and personal lives. This was stated by Harpreet Datta, Vice President – Human Resources at the DISCOVER lecture series in Noida campus on Friday, March 5, 2010.
Speaking on the subject, ‘Managing Time for Effectiveness’, Datta said that we need to be conscious of the need to manage ourselves effectively to enable us to manage time, as this would be critical for us to achieve our set targets and goals. It is we who have to change ourselves in order to manage time effectively.
Demonstrating examples of how effective time management skills are for any human being, Datta said, that we need to think through whether we are achieving our goals, whether we are utilizing our potential to the best of our abilities, do we think that we can improve and above all do we feel the need to be able to achieve what we want to achieve in our lives. If we have all the answers in place then it will be easier for us to balance between time and task management in order to produce effective results. We also need to be clear as to what we want to do, how much time we have invested in understanding our own values, aspirations and goals and above all, the efforts we are willing to put in to accomplish the task.
Datta highlighted that there were four generations of time management which have enabled people to manage themselves better. The first generation included notes and check lists, where the efforts were to create some semblance of the demands that were placed on time and effort employed. The second generation consisted of calendars and diaries, which made an attempt to look ahead and schedule events and activities. The third generation was based on prioritization and goal settings, leading to tight timeline management.
The above three generations of time management had been found inadequate in many ways leaving little scope for people to lead a balanced and empowered life. The fourth generation hence focused on empowering people to do what they needed to do, based on their personal values and priorities in life. This was highlighted with the use of an Activity Matrix, which helped to differentiate between the Important and Urgent activities on the basis of our wants and needs, hence moving focus from being re-active to the environment and circumstances to taking a pro-active approach towards it. If we go through proper planning and implementation, we can not only finish the task in a particular time, but can also finish it systematically and effectively.
It was also important to verify our own inabilities and reasons why we have not been able to execute the work which has been assigned to us. It could be because we don’t prioritize what is important for us, inability or desire to organize around the assigned priorities or even lack of discipline and above all not being proactive.
Datta said, that understanding the Circle of Concern, the Circle of Influence and the ability to work towards increasing the Circle of Influence made people more effective in the roles they played in their personal and professional lives, hence making them effective users of time.
DISCOVER is a knowledge bank of Essel Group, through which CEOs and vertical Heads will share their learning experiences on varied topical issues. The interactive sessions are open to employees of all the group companies at NOIDA campus for participation every Friday evening from 5.15 pm to 6.30 pm in the auditorium.
The next session will be held on Friday, March 12, 2010 which will be delivered by Anjali M. Nanda, Senior Vice President-Marketing, Dish TV on Brand Management and Product Positioning in Evolving Industries.
Report by: Mrinal Sapre
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