In our changing world, activity is fast-paced. A lot is happening, and much of it is not what was projected. It is difficult to get everything done, and everyone would like to have more time. Some people take time away from their personal lives, but there is only so much time in a day or a week. Time is a resource--a very limited one--and the solution is to use it more wisely.

People have to determine which activities will enable them to accomplish their professional and organizational goals. They need to use tools, methods, habits and self-discipline to help them spend more time working on the most important things. Team members who don't manage their time well may create crisis situations in the workplace, sacrifice quality, disrupt the schedules of others and run out of time for accomplishing the most important activities.

The people who gave you feedback may feel they are adversely impacted by the way you use your time.

• They may feel you are poorly organized.
• They may feel that you waste time or aren't fully in control of it.
• You may not know what the top priorities are.
• Maybe you sometimes put off important activities until the last minute.
• Your work may be interrupted by unexpected events, visits or calls.
• You may have to spend time "putting out fires" and solving problems.
• You may find it hard to say "no" to a request.

• If the comments in your report do not describe in enough detail why you received a relatively low rating, consider asking the people who rated you for more specific examples of your actions.

• Perhaps the people who work around you expect more of you than you realize. Tell them you do not want to waste time. Ask them what more they would like to see you do to manage your time well.

• Identify someone who is good at managing time. If possible, study this person's on-the-job behavior. Consider asking this person to observe you and give you feedback.

• Think about an actual situation in which your failure to use time wisely caused problems. Analyze what happened, why, and the consequences. How could you have handled the situation differently?

• Review the stated mission and goals of your work group.

• Find out what your top priorities are--the goals or projects that matter most and will make the biggest difference to your success and the success of your organization.

• Get better at breaking difficult, complex goals or projects into smaller objectives or tasks.

• Think of ways to involve others in a team effort to get difficult jobs done.

• Create more detailed action plans that list all steps with dates and responsible individuals.

• Set more realistic task deadlines and do everything in your power to meet them.

• Consider using a more effective system of planning calendars, software and other tools for time management.

• At the end of each day, account for how you actually spent your time. Determine how much time was spent working on high-priority goals. How much time was wasted and why? What can you do to reduce these time-wasters?

• Before beginning a new task, ask yourself, "Is this the best use of my time right now?"

• Discipline yourself to put off less important activities. Work on highly important projects first, even if not time-urgent. Spend more time on them now to prevent a future crisis.

• Establish norms and procedures to minimize interruptions of all kinds. If possible, establish regular periods of protected time, when you cannot be interrupted.

• Get better at saying "no" in a positive way to requests not aligned with your top priorities.

• Eliminate "time wasters" such as reading junk mail, extended or non-priority phone conversations, socializing, low-priority non-urgent tasks, etc.

• Consider believing in and doing things based on these positive attitudes:

"Time is money--it can be wasted or invested wisely."

"I will make the best use of my time."

Allen, David. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New York: Viking Press, 2001.

Cook, Marshall. Time Management: Get More Done with Less Stress by Efficiently Managing Your Time. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 1999.

Covey, Stephen R., et al. First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy. Ithaca, New York: Fireside, 1996.