Timing Tasks

Posted by
Joni Rose
May 7, 2006

One of many techniques I use to help people who need to improve their time management skills is timing tasks. The goal of the exercise is to improve their ability to estimate the time to complete a common repetitive task. To start, I choose a common household task or tasks that require some planning. Some examples include grocery shopping, laundry, cooking or gardening. I tend to use grocery shopping as the task to estimate and time most often.

I ask them to estimate how long it will take to create a shopping list (including looking through the fridge or cupboards or asking family members for suggestions). Then, I ask them to estimate the time it will take to drive to the store, shop, drive home and put the groceries away. We record time estimates for each phase of the process. I then ask the client to time each phase and see how their actual times compare with their estimates. Sometimes, I then repeat the process with other common tasks specific to their lifestyle if their original estimates were really off and if I feel they need more practice.

I then move to work-related repetitive tasks like regular reports, month-end processes - tasks that can be timed and happen regularly. We chart and look at the progress over time as they become better at estimating their time.

Typically it is a real wake-up call for those with poor time management skills! Many don't realize that they have been grossly underestimating their time. They tell me that honing their ability to time tasks helps to reduce stress and improve their job performance.

This technique can be used in one-on-one training sessions or as part of a multi-session time management course.

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