Time Management Essentials

What is this course about?

This course provides strategies, tools, techniques and tips to set priorities and manage the daily pressures of meeting important and urgent commitments in your life. The course does not incorporate a standard time management tool or a one-size-fits-all model. Instead, it provides a Time Manager's Toolkit for you to use in developing a personalized time-management system, tailored to your needs and habits.

How does this course differ from traditional time management training?

This course emphasizes the importance of utilizing a whole-brain approach versus the more restrictive perspective offered by many time management courses. Participants develop a clear sense of purpose, set goals and learn to structure their priorities in order to meet their commitments and achieve their goals.

Who will benefit from this course?

Anyone who wants to focus on the important things in their professional and personal lives will find this course beneficial. Both non-managers and managers at all levels will be able to create a personal time-management system that works for them.

This course is important for individuals who are not working effectively due to interruptions, excessive meetings, changing priorities, appointments, schedules and deadlines. The tools and techniques presented will help as you build the necessary foundation to further your career.

What background do I need?

No special background is required for this course. People from all industries can benefit, including technical and non-technical, private and public, military and civilian, small and large organizations.

Why is time and priority management important?

If you often feel overwhelmed by the many time requirements life demands, this course provides the basic framework to dramatically improve your ability to manage time.

Individuals need effective time-management skills to succeed today. Regardless of the position in an organization, success hinges on the effective use of time.

Can you really learn to manage your time and priorities?

Yes. All of the following ineffective behavior patterns can be overcome:

• Difficulty saying "no" to a request for your time
• Procrastinating and losing things
• Swimming in sticky notes
• Juggling several things at once
• Enjoying project start-ups, but finding difficulty completing them
• Daydreaming often

While these behavior patterns are not easy to change, they can be changed with practice. This course provides opportunities for you to create the necessary framework for addressing those factors that work against you. This course helps you dig deeper into your daily schedule and determine areas for improvement. It helps you to minimize or eliminate the obstacles that stand in the way of your goals.

How much time is spent on each topic?

How much time is devoted to the workshops?

You spend 75 to 80 percent of class time in activities, including:

• Self-assessments
• Video presentations
• Self-planning exercises
• Applying tools and techniques to your own personal situation
• Group activities and discussions
• A time-challenge workshop, which synthesizes all the techniques, tips and tools from the course

Is Course A344, Time Management Essentials a self-paced course?

No, Course A344 is an instructor-led course taught synchronously with other online participants and includes full support, guidance and feedback from the course instructor. This course also incorporates multiple tools and technologies for collaboration with remote attendees, including chat pods, interactive live surveys, online audio breakout rooms and virtual whiteboards.

I've never taken an online course before. Will I learn as much if I take the AnyWare only version of this course?

Absolutely. Course A344 is customized for an online audience and leverages specially designed tools for an online learning environment. Through live video streaming, just as if you were in a classroom, you participate in the course with other attendees and follow the instructor's presentation in real time. You take notes in the extensive printed course materials sent to you prior to the course; communicate with the instructor and your classmates both by voice and through the use of chat pods; perform the activities; participate in attendee discussions; and engage in collaborative breakout sessions.

Will I learn the same things if I attend Course A344, Time Management Essentials instead of Course 344, Time Management Essentials?

Yes. Course A344 includes tools and technologies unique to the online delivery method, and all of the activities have been modified and enhanced for an online learning environment. While Course 344 is delivered in a traditional classroom setting. After attending either course, you will be able to master your time, increase your productivity and make informed time management choices.

Is this course applicable toward a Project Management Institute (PMI) certification?

Yes. Though this course is not designed as preparation for an exam, it is beneficial to anyone working toward, or maintaining, a PMI certification. Most PMI certifications require a specific number of PDUs in order to obtain and maintain the credential. Completion of this course provides 11 professional development units (PDUs).

Learning Tree offers several courses that help you prepare for PMI certifications, including Course 276, Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Exam, which prepares you for PMI's most popular certification. For more details on these courses and PMI certifications, please see the Learning Tree PMI Registered Education Provider Q&A.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

This course is part of the Learning Tree Management Curriculum. Consider any of the following courses if you want to improve your communication skills and personal effectiveness in the workplace:

• 244, Assertiveness Skills: Communicating with Authority and Impact offers the skills to develop a positive, assertive style
• 246, Managing Information Overload: Techniques for Working Smarter provides the skills needed to process fast-paced information to develop a competitive edge.
• 297, Personal Skills for Professional Excellence offers a proven set of professional skills needed to handle the multiple demands faced in today's high-pressure working environment.
• 284, Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving provides the skills needed to make better decisions, spur creativity and implement that innovation in a practical way in the workplace.
• 296, Project Management: Skills for Success offers the skills to produce a project plan for successful delivery
• 340, Project Management for Software Development provides the skills to deliver successful software projects that support your organization's strategic goals
• 248, Preparing for the PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® Exam offers the skills to build schedules and budgets that transform project constraints into project success
• 294, Influence Skills: Getting Results without Direct Authority focuses on the specific skills, behaviors and attitudes that enable you to achieve desired results without relying on the use of authority.
• 292, Communication Skills: Results through Collaboration emphasizes specific tools and techniques for improving listening skills, delivering effective messages and bridging different communication styles