2002 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
Time Management
The Care and Feeding of Monkeys
Program Guide
Objectives:
1. To help individuals see the relationship of time to other
resources they manage.
2. To identify the many things that occupy personal time and clarify why time is
often used as it is.
3. To suggest practical ways to improve time management so that priority items
are accomplished and some free time is available.
Procedures:
Leader reads entire guide. Make sure you have –
Materials
• Handouts for each participant
• Pens or pencils
• A stuffed monkey or picture of monkeys if available
Equipment
• Blackboard or flip chart
• 4 or 5 different colors of chalk or felt tip pens
Prepared
• Blackboard or flip chart – make a large chart like the one
on page 2 of the activity sheets so you don’t have to take meeting time to
do this.
• The room – arrange for congenial setting.
• Yourself – familiarize yourself with the terms for the care and feeding of
monkeys.
Program Outline
1. Introduce the lesson as follows:
“Probably the most misunderstood resource is TIME. We are
limited in the ways we can increase its availability. We have limited
control of it. Regardless of how much time we “save” today – tomorrow, today
will be yesterday. It will never be (today’s date) again. This is truly one
resource we never seem to have enough of to do all the things we would like
to do. Everything we do consumes some of this resource.”
“The purposes of today’s program are:
a) To help individuals see the relationship of time to other
resources they manage.
b) To identify the many things that occupy personal time and clarify why time
is often used as it is.
c) To suggest practical ways to improve time management so that priority items
are accomplished and some free time is available.”
2. Hand out activity sheets. Introduce Activity 1.
“For just a few minutes, let’s look at some of the things we
like to do with our time. As quickly as you can, list 10 things in life you
really love to do. These are things personal to you; there are no right or
wrong answers. Think of what you love to do – not what you think you should
do or should be doing.”
3. Encourage all participants to complete their lists. When
everyone is finished, have them code their lists. If participants can’t
think of 10, help them see why. You might say:
“It is often difficult to think of 10 things we would like to
do. It would be easier to list 10 things we dislike doing, wouldn’t it? When
you feel you need a change of pace or feel boredom or frustration from what
you’re presently doing, try to think in positive terms. Think of things you
would ‘rather be doing’ than the task you would ‘rather not be doing’.”
4. Coding. Tell participants to code as follows:
a) Under the $5+ sign, you will notice a column of boxes;
place a check in the box following each item that costs you $5 or more each
time you do it.
b) For each item on your list that involves some RISK, check
the RISK box.
c) Place a check in the box marked PEOPLE for each item you
prefer to do with other PEOPLE.
d) Check the ALONE box if this is a love of yours – you enjoy
ALONE.
e) The 5- YEARS refers to items that would not have been on
your list 5 years ago.
f) If the item will not be on your list 5 years from now, put
a check in the 5+ YEARS box.
g) Finally, go through your list and indicate (as nearly as
you can) the date you last did it.
5. Analysis of lists. (Encourage discussion of following.)
“As we look at the list of things we love to do, what might
keep us from doing them? Do you notice a grouping of checks? What does this
suggest? Do you avoid some of your ‘loves’ because they all cost too much?
Involve too much risk? You would rather do alone and you have few alone
moments.” (Discuss these.)
“Some things may be taking lots of time now that will not
occupy time in the future. For example, you may be very busy with pre-school
parents – and love the involvement – but this may not occupy lots of time 5
years from now. What kinds of things replace this involvement? What are you
doing now that you were not doing 5 years ago? As you get new interests or
involvements, what things do you give up?”
“If you feel frustrated that some of the things you would
really enjoy doing have not been done for quite some time, let’s look at how
you are spending your time now.”
6. Energy curve activity. (See Activity 2, page 2.)
Have three or four volunteers describe their “typical” day.
You could sketch this on the board or flip chart following their
instructions. Allow the curve to illustrate “up or down” times during the
day. Using different colored chalk or markers for each person’s curve allows
participants to see how time is spent during a day as it relates to human
energy.
7. Continue the lesson by leading the participants through
Activity 2, parts 1-3. When those parts are completed, share the following
thoughts about monkeys (use your stuffed monkey or picture or drawing for
attention).
Some Thoughts About Monkeys
• As we view management – that is, the effective care and
feeding of monkeys – we see some similarities.
• Monkeys are dependent, demanding, screeching, little animals.
Visualize a monkey and say: “A
monkey is any involvement or activity dependent upon and demanding of my time
and energies and ‘screeching’ for attention.”
• Not all activities need our full, undivided attention.
• Not all monkeys require the zookeeper’s full time and
attention. At some times, however, one monkey may need a little extra Tender
Loving Care, just as some activities may require more time for awhile and a
minimum amount of time later. (For example, a fair committee membership: The
committee may meet long and often before and during fair time, after which the
involvement lessens.)
• If you manage along the way, you seldom have work pile up.
Real frustration comes when a whole day approaches with too many things needing
to be done “yesterday.”
• If animals are well cared for, there is less possibility of
them becoming ill and needing extra attention or care – and just imagine a whole
cage of sick monkeys!!
• You are involved with lots of activities. Are all the
activities that require your time dependent upon
YOU?
• There are many varieties of monkeys. Does the one zookeeper
feed all the monkeys in the zoo? There are many kinds of tasks to be done. Does
one person have to do them all?
To Be a Better Manager (Zookeeper)
• You must have the freedom to manage – are you the manager
(zookeeper) or being manipulated
(caretaker)?
• You must seriously and sincerely want to be a good manager.
• You must have time to be a good manager. It takes 5 minutes a
day to feed a monkey in a zoo. How long does it take to clean the bathroom?
• You must learn how to improve your managerial skills.
• You must be willing to relinquish responsibility if you
delegate it to someone else.
If you are responsible for a monkey (an
activity), you may not:
• poison it (make excuses for lack of attention).
• starve it (procrastinate).
|
Remember:
Starving or poisoning are not humane ways to treat
monkeys, and procrastination is not a good
substitute for problem solving.
You may:
• Accept the responsibility of its care.
• Return it to its rightful owner and be willing to let that caretaker
handle it.
• Decide it is not really your monkey and leave it with its responsible
owner.
• Shoot a monkey if you can see it would end up being procrastinated to
death anyway. |
8. Now lead the group to complete the rest of Activity 2, parts 4, 5 and 6.
9. Summary:
“We’ve just spent some time learning how to care and feed the
monkeys in our lives. The goal of the program was to become an expert
zookeeper. If you’ll each try out tomorrow the ‘feeding schedule’ you
developed today, you’ll be on your way to monkey care. Revise your schedule
as needed. With practice, patience and perseverance, you’ll be an expert
zookeeper in no time at all.”
Original manuscript prepared by Bonnie Braun, Ph.D., Family Resource
Management Specialist, Home Economics Cooperative Extension, Oklahoma State
University.
Recommended to Arkansas by Dr. Judith R. Urich, Ph.D., CFP, Family Resource
Management Specialist, 2002.
Back to 2002 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
|
