5 Responses

1. Start with a quiz
   Hi Janis
   I have written distance learning materials on this subject and the concept would adapt well to e-learning. You would start with a very simple quiz/needs analysis so the individual can pinpoint his/her major TM problem. Areas could be: prioritising, planning, procrastinating, saying no, organising workload, dealing with interruptions etc. Once the quiz has been analysed the learner goes straight to his/her are of need.
   This approach ensures that individuals find their own way in to TM, rather than starting where the designer things they ought to start.
   Good luck!
   Jane Smith

2. keep a diary
   E-learning for time management lends itself to active work. It’s useful (as well as the quiz which I fully agree with) to have a space for participants to fill in a chart of a week/ a day with their activities.

   If you also have a prioritising exercise (“which are the most important of your activities from the point of view of your job/the organisation”) , then they can take a robust look at how they are choosing to spend their time.

   Another useful activity which can go well online is a “what makes something important, what makes you choose to do it” exercise, with a set of little scenarios.

   Some of the material on Time mgt in my book “Managing more with less” (butterworth heinemann, available on Amazon) would convert well to e-learning.

   Good luck with it.

3. Some sugestions
   I always think of a time management course covering:

   – current practice (keep a detailed diary for 1-2 weeks before the course and review it at the end to identify areas for improvement)

   – Life goals (long term career goals etc)

   – Monthly and weekly goals and daily ‘to do list’ (setting goals and reviewing them daily/weekly etc)

   – Prioritisation (either ‘urgent vs important’, the 4 d’s – delegate, dump, do now, diarise, or ‘ABC’ system)

   – Time Bandits: identifying them and how to deal with them.

   – Outlook hints and tips. How to use meeting request, tasks etc.

   I also add in the following at the introduction stage:

   – 80/20% rule
   – A & B type
   – Sharing best practice in the group
   – mind mapping (for right brained people, so not always working on ‘lists’

   And sometimes I cover:
   – Assertiveness (saying ‘no’
   – Communication (how to let others know where you are on projects/tasks)

   Hope this gives you some more ideas.

   There are already a lot of elearning Time Management courses around. So if this is a commercial venture you’ll have to offer something different – an online ‘goals’, todo list and review mechanism (with traffic lights?) may be useful.

   Annah

4. It’s not about time management!
   I tend to start from the premise that you CANNOT manage time – it happens whether you like it or not. This is more than a piece of linguistic pedantry – if we deal with Workload Management it puts the issue more internally to the client and helps them understand that it is THEIR workload that needs managing.

   That, of course (he asserts!), must then start from Values and Goals. Only when these are clear are people really empowered to be assertive, say no, prioritise etc.

   So please can we, as a Community, start to redefine the issue and stop talking about time as if we coudl manage it?!

5. Schedule of study & learning objectives available
   We have a course plan and that may be of help to you. Contact me for further details.