The Case of the Missing Time

The Case of the Missing Time Good time management is essential to handle a heavy workload without excessive stress. For a manager, time management helps reduce long-term stress by giving the manager direction when he or she has too much work to do. The manager will then, have the control of how tasks will be completed at work. In addition, having control allows managers to increase their productivity. In the Case of the Missing Time, Chet Craig, manager of the Norris Company’s Central Plant, deals with work overload and finds it difficult to complete many of the important tasks at work. He begins his morning by stating, “this is going to be the day to really get things done.” Yet, in spite of his intentions to accomplish the projects he has planned, he finds himself being interrupted by other fellow coworkers and other activities throughout the day. As a result, Craig’s projects remain incomplete. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the causes of Craig’s time management conflict and to provide Craig with any possible solutions to acquire effective time management skills to avoid personal stress. According to the principles of time management, effective time management and delegating tasks are some strategies to eliminate time stressors, which “generally result from having too much to do in too little time” (117). In the case of Craig, time stressors are the result of his work overload and lack of control. Managing time with an effective approach means that “individuals spent time on important matters, non-urgent matters; being able to distinguish between what they view as important versus what they view as urgent; results are the focus of time management strategies; and people should not feel guilty when they must say ”no” (121). In addition, delegating allows an individual to become more efficient by allowing work to be transferred to people whose skills are a better match for the work while saving time and effort. Delegating not only can save time