Articles for Improving Time Emphasis:

Atkinson, Philip E. (April 1988). "What Is the Best Use of Your Time Right Now? (452KB)" Management Services, v32n4, pp. 12-17.

Although time management can help managers plan their futures and their lives, they must want to change their time management behavior to be successful. The Myers Briggs Personality Indicator can be used to identify time management strengths and weaknesses. To analyze time management behavior, 4 approaches can be used: 1. activity analysis, 2. added value, 3. Right First Time, and 4. key activities. In one case study, the staff spent 50% of work time redoing work, 45% inspecting the quality of their work, and 5% preventing errors. Tripling the time spent on preventing errors helped the staff become more productive. Analysis of key activities includes administrative, communication, and operational activities among others. To achieve better time management, short- and long-term priorities need to be assessed, a daily plan should be kept, and balance and flexibility should be maintained. Other issues that should be addressed include procrastination problems, lack of assertiveness, and mastering communication. Illustration. 

Symonds, B. (May 22, 1989). "No, They Can’t Stop Time, But They Can Help You Manage It." Business Week, n3106, pp. 178-179.

The time management industry is helping people make more of their time. Time management experts offer a commonsense approach toward organizing a person's life through strategic time planning. This begins with enumerating long-term personal and professional goals. Daily plans should be organized around activities that help obtain that goal. Stephanie Winston, author of The Organized Executive, advices clients to isolate themselves from other demands for an hour or more daily to concentrate on their number one priority. Time management training is far better known for the advice it provides on how to deal with time wasters. Winston claims that there are only 4 things a person can do with a piece of paper: throw it away, refer it on to someone else, act on it, or file it. She also advises scheduling blocks of time for returning telephone calls and making sure meetings are governed by a detailed agenda, with each item assigned a specific time period. 

What are the most important things in your life? Do they get as much care, emphasis, and time as you'd like to give them? Far from the traditional "be-more-efficient" time-management book with shortcut techniques, First Things First shows you how to look at your use of time totally differently. Using this book will help you create balance between your personal and professional responsibilities by putting first things first and acting on them. Covey teaches an organizing process that helps you categorize tasks so you focus on what is important, not merely what is urgent. First you divide tasks into these quadrants:

1. Important and Urgent (crises, deadline-driven projects)

2. Important, Not Urgent (preparation, prevention, planning, relationships)

3. Urgent, Not Important (interruptions, many pressing matters)

4. Not Urgent, Not Important (trivia, time wasters)

Most people spend most of their time in quadrants 1 and 3, while quadrant 2 is where quality happens. "Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things," says Covey. He points you toward the real human needs--"to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy"--and how to balance your time to achieve a meaningful life, not just get things done.