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production reviews are done, Chief Taylor completes
scheduled paper work and goes home. The weekend
finds the entire zone, including Chief Taylor, enjoying
a family picnic and celebrating the success of the
month.
DIVISION OFFICER
PLANNING GUIDE
In addition to your required planners, you may
want to order a division officer planning guide from
supply. These guides are extremely helpful as ticklers
for general military dates and deadlines. They also
contain helpful reminders for providing feedback to
subordinates.
ZS PLANNING TICKLER
Appendix II provides a planning tickler for ZSs.
Many items on the list can be used at the RINC level
as well. ZSs can use the tickler as it is or transfer the
information to index cards to make their own working
tickler file.
The tickler can help save you from
last-minute projects that interfere with a well-planned
schedule.
You can undoubtedly add items to the
planning tickler to make it work better for you.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR
IMPROVED
TIME MANAGEMENT
Time is a great equalizer of people. No one has
more of it than anyone else. Some, however, have
learned to make better use of their allotment than
others.
Time must be viewed as a valuable
commodity. Once used up, it cannot be regained.
The good news is each day will bring a renewed
resource and we can learn to make wiser choices for
its use. The following hints are provided as food for
thought:
l Make a “to-do” list for tomorrow before you
secure each day.
l Prioritize each item on your list by
importance and urgency.
l Determine if any of the activities can be
delegated.
l Set a starting time for projects on your to-do
list.
l Don’t procrastinate.
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
Try doing unpleasant tasks first to get them
out of the way.
Avoid distractions that eat up your time.
Don’t let paper work pile up. Leave a clean
desk each day.
Free yourself from clutter.
Get rid of what you don’t need.
Handle incoming paper only once; act on it,
file it, or throw it away.
Keep organized files so you won’t waste time
finding what you need.
Control your telephone and socializing time.
Don’t be shy about telling others that you are
busy.
Don’t put off decision making. Small matters
should be decided on quickly. Larger issues
may need time for research, but don’t delay
the decision after you have the necessary
background. You are not only wasting your
time, but possibly your subordinate’s as well.
Complete one task before you start another.
Don’t overcommit yourself.
Identify sources of wasted time and make a
plan to reduce or eliminate them.
Use the most efficient method of
communication. Don’t plan a meeting if a
memo or phone call can serve your purpose.
Do it right the first time. Band-aid fixes
usually wind up costing more time later.
Develop effective listening skills and use the
feedback loop to ensure understanding of
tasks assigned to and by you.
Set clear-cut goals and make sure activities
planned contribute to their attainment.
Simplify your work, whenever possible.
Combine tasks, reduce the frequency, change
the order of steps, and eliminate unnecessary
steps or the task itself if feasible.
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