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Time managementTIME MANAGEMENT SCENARIOSTake 15 minutes to read the following scenarios and to write down what you would do next ineach case. You may like to also consider whether what you would really do differssignificantly from what you think you ought to do, looking at the habits listed above.EXERCISE 2.3Scenario 1THE SCENARIOS8.00am Monday morning, uggh! You had a fantastic week away at a conference, anddidn’t get back until 2.00am last night, having stopped off at a friend’s house to break upthe drive home, but wish you hadn’t. You have got a whole afternoon of meetings, ateam presentation to organise for tomorrow to give to another department on the workyour team does, and a report to get in by the end of the week. You make your waydownstairs to make a cup of tea, and ooooh, there are about 10 letters waiting for youon the doormat. You idly turn on your computer as you wait for the kettle to boil, andyour curiosity is aroused by 17 e-mails waiting for you, and one looks as if it is about apossible project idea that you have been pursuing, which might lead to a lucrative newcontract. You get out your briefcase, and notice two documents that should be back atyour work library in two hours, and it will take you 50 minutes on the tube to get intowork. As you open the fridge to get out the milk, oh no, it’s stale, and there is nothingelse in the fridge, you forgot to shop, and yes, the calendar next to the fridge remindsyou that you offered to have your team round for dinner tonight. As you start gettingdressed, your heart starts to pump and you can feel that knot of anxiety beginning toclench in your stomach. Oh no not another of those days where you run round like aheadless chicken, panicked out and getting nowhere.How do you spend your first hour?Scenario 211.00am Monday morning, and you are sat at your desk at work trying to get on withyour report.‘Hi, how did the conference go? I’m dying to hear all the news, and I’ve got some ideason that plan you were presenting.’ It’s Mike, a member of your team, come for a quietchat. You would so love to give him the rundown on how it all went, but say:‘I’m so busy.’‘Oh I know, tell me about it, it’s so hectic around here, you will never believe what hasbeen going on, I’ve got a really juicy bit of news to tell you.’ And he makes to sit downand start launching into his story.What do you do and say?Scenario 3You are just getting back to your report when you realise that you have left some of themost important statistics that you had downloaded from the Internet, at home. As yousearch in vain through the pile of papers on your desk, you find a visa card statementthat you need to pay off today, and the bank is only five minutes away. You also find49A free sample chapter from Personal Effectiveness by Diana Winstanley. Published by the CIPD.Copyright © CIPD 2005All rights reserved; no part of this excerpt may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting restricted copying in theUnited Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.If you would like to purchase this book please visit www.cipd.co.uk/bookstore.