Discussion Forum > DIT for administrative/support positions?
Hi, Chloe
In DIT I deal with the three degrees of urgency (Immediate, Same Day and Everything Else) in Chapter 6.
Some people's jobs consist entirely or mainly of tasks which need to be dealt with Immediately. Examples would be a shop assistant, a bank cashier, or the emergency services. The point I make about all these jobs is that they are *organised* to make an immediate response. If the employees fail to keep up with the job, that is an *organisational* problem (training, staffing, systems, etc.) not a time management one.
So if your ambulance fails to turn up in a reasonable amount of time this is not because the ambulance crew are poor time managers. It is because there are not sufficient ambulances for the demand, or not sufficient staff to crew them, or because the crew haven't been trained or equipped sufficiently, or because the despatching system doesn't work properly.
None of these are time management problems. DIT is about time management, not about solving organisational problems, so it isn't really applicable in these situations.
If you have a problem with the Immediate degree of urgency, then you need to look at the way your workplace is organised to deal with them. You might find the chapter on sorting out systems in "Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play" useful here. I'm afraid I've given my last copy away so I can't give you a page reference!
In DIT I deal with the three degrees of urgency (Immediate, Same Day and Everything Else) in Chapter 6.
Some people's jobs consist entirely or mainly of tasks which need to be dealt with Immediately. Examples would be a shop assistant, a bank cashier, or the emergency services. The point I make about all these jobs is that they are *organised* to make an immediate response. If the employees fail to keep up with the job, that is an *organisational* problem (training, staffing, systems, etc.) not a time management one.
So if your ambulance fails to turn up in a reasonable amount of time this is not because the ambulance crew are poor time managers. It is because there are not sufficient ambulances for the demand, or not sufficient staff to crew them, or because the crew haven't been trained or equipped sufficiently, or because the despatching system doesn't work properly.
None of these are time management problems. DIT is about time management, not about solving organisational problems, so it isn't really applicable in these situations.
If you have a problem with the Immediate degree of urgency, then you need to look at the way your workplace is organised to deal with them. You might find the chapter on sorting out systems in "Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play" useful here. I'm afraid I've given my last copy away so I can't give you a page reference!
March 7, 2007 at 10:18 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
So, would you say that DIT is not really suitable for those of us in lowly admin positions like me and Chloe? We are also looking for ways to organise our working day. Any advice?
October 4, 2007 at 20:56 |
Sandy
Sandy
I also work in admin and agree that often you cannot choose to leave something until the next day. However, I do try and train myself to finish what I am doing before I start something else and will often tell someone that I will write their letter/ respond to their request, 'tomorrow'
I have been in positions eg front line reception type roles where you do get used to dealing with constant interruptions and disjointed work patterns and instant responses and it is indeed part of the organisational structure if this is a problem as Mark suggests. However, I have found that if you then go into a job without these interruptions, you might, like me, find that life is far too boring. I find myself constantly checking email just for something more exciting to do.
I have been in positions eg front line reception type roles where you do get used to dealing with constant interruptions and disjointed work patterns and instant responses and it is indeed part of the organisational structure if this is a problem as Mark suggests. However, I have found that if you then go into a job without these interruptions, you might, like me, find that life is far too boring. I find myself constantly checking email just for something more exciting to do.
October 4, 2007 at 21:48 |
Debbie
Debbie
You're right - when there's only routine things going on I wait for the phone to ring or a colleague to speak to me, or the dreaded emails. So I do enjoy unscheduled interruptions. Good to realise that. Thanks. But they still cut into the day. I guess I need a way to enjoy the routine work just as much. I wonder whether getting it all done as quickly as possible so I can do other things and learn more is the way to go.
October 11, 2007 at 21:13 |
Sandy
Sandy
What practices in DIT you think are most useful for jobs which, by their very nature are set-up to take care of tasks "when they show up" and/or work without the expectation of overtime and in which people actually *already* leave when at quitting time? Are there any practices from DIT that you think, despite being good advice for workers in general, might not be so well-suited for jobs that are, like the ones mentioned above, quite by necessity "reactive" ?