In my previous
blog, we saw that for small design firms, time management is a
valuable business skill. It helps you become better at utilizing your time
wisely. However, each of us is different and therefore the way we manage time
is also different.
To illustrate how concepts of TIME differ among people in routine life, let’s look at some following interesting questions. Try to answer them in your mind while reading them:
- How often during
the day, do you look at the time on the clock?
- Do you walk
faster than most people? Do fellow walkers sometimes ask you to slow down?
- Do you talk too
fast? How rushed is your speech?
- Do you eat faster
than your partner?
- Do you get
excessively annoyed in slow traffic?
- Are you addicted
to planning and maintaining schedules?
- When preparing
for a trip, do you make a list of things to do or things to bring?
- Are you a person
who becomes irritable when you sit for an hour without doing
something?
- Do you get
easily annoyed if you have to wait in a long queue?
- Do your friends
often tell you to ‘slow down’ or ‘take it easy’?
Are some of the above situations
known to you?
Various theories exist about how
different people from different backgrounds and culture, perceive time. You
must have observed some people around you who likes to do several things at a
time; while some can only concentrate and like to do one thing at a time. These
conflicts are well-known as “M-Time (Monochronic) and P-Time (Polychronic)”
concept. Its features can be pictured as below:
Another popular
concept in TIME-Management style is brought by Mary Miscisin who suggests to
take her True-Color test to understand one’s own personality style(described as
Gold/Blue/Green/Orange colors) and therefore understand the time-behavior of
each. She describes some general
characteristics of time-behavior associated with these 4 color styles as below:
|
GOLD:
● Pay attention to details
● Plan ahead and be prepared
● Accurate in estimating how much time
is needed to do something
● Prefer to work on and finish one
project at a time
● Punctual and Predictable
|
BLUE:
● Relationships are the highest
priority
● Make decisions about time based on
how others will be affected.
● May fall behind on their work
because they take on other people’s problems
● Are frequently over-committed
● Their schedules are often disrupted
by ‘emergencies’ involving other people
|
|
ORANGE:
● Want things done now, yet also may
have a tendency to wait until the last minute
● Frequently underestimates how long
it will take to do something.
● Are rarely on time for appointments
● Work at an irregular pace: a burst
of energy, then a lull
● Like working on several things at
the same time, they thrive on change and hate routine
|
GREEN:
● View time in an objective orderly
way
● See the whole picture as well as the
individual parts
● are good at creating strategies for
completing individual tasks according to priority
● Want to make decisions based on
facts, need time to review all the information
|
Of course, there are many other
styles and types of time-management habits among people. But above example is
shown to make you aware that you and the people around you behave and perceive
time very differently. So, your strategy in the organisation must set aside as
well as control these conflicts.
Further reading:
[4] Survey: Sample Leadership style survey
No comments:
Post a Comment