50 Training Activities for Administrative, Secretarial, and Support Staff

Activity 35 341

Activity 35

The White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts

Description

This activity comprises trainer input followed by a brainstorming session and analy-

sis of different planning tools that can be used for time management when working

alone or as part of a team. These are followed by a final discussion to determine

what could work in practice.

Target Group

Support staff who have never had either secretarial training or time management

training—especially those who find that they are always struggling to complete work

on time

Objectives

• To enable participants to schedule their own work (while retaining a flexible

approach) in order to meet deadlines

• To provide participants with tips and tools that will help them keep track of work

and meet deadlines

• To enable individuals to avoid the stress so often associated with working under

tight timelines

Number of Participants

4 to 20

Time

90 minutes

Materials

• Trainer’s Notes 35-1

• Handouts 35-1 and 35-2

• Worksheet 35-1

• Flipchart and markers for each group

• Pens and paper for each participant

• Copies of any form or details of any procedures that you are aware of within the

organization that may help participants manage time

342 50 Training Activities for Administrative, Secretarial, and Support Staff

Activity 35 (continued)

Preparation

1. Familiarize yourself with the contents of Trainer’s Notes 35-1, Handouts 35-1

and 35-2, and Worksheet 35-1.

2. Photocopy Handouts 35-1 and 35-2 and Worksheet 35-1 for each participant.

Method

1. Open the activity by asking participants if (when they are at work) they ever feel

like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Remind them that he was

always looking at his watch, saying “Oh dear, oh dear, I’m late, I’m late!” and

appeared nervous and frightened about what the Queen of Hearts would do or

say to him!

The purpose of this question is to start a brief discussion on the topic of stress

related to lack of organization, the inability to say “no,” and/or too much work.

During the discussion, emphasize the following points to the participants:

• We often feel stressed because we are disorganized and are afraid we

might forget what we have promised to do.

• If we can’t “see the forest for the trees,” we often end up doing the urgent

trivial tasks rather than the important, consequential work.

At this point, it may also be helpful to discuss the Pareto principle: Vilfredo

Pareto, an Italian economist, was the originator of what is now known as the

80/20 rule. In other words, 20 percent of our time is spent doing things that

account for 80 percent of the results, and 80 percent of the time is spent doing

things that account for 20 percent of the results.

Point out that it would obviously be more effective to spend more than 20 per-

cent of our time on tasks that contribute directly to results and organizational

achievement. This means restricting the time we spend on urgent trivial tasks

and increasing the amount of time we spend on important tasks. Stress the fol-

lowing:

• As jobs evolve and we take on more responsibility, we can feel swamped.

Sometimes this is because we have previously not needed to be very

structured, so we do not have the necessary planning tools in place.

• Many of us, because we are helpful by nature, find it hard to say “no” to

requests for help, and this can be detrimental to our own responsibilities.

(Activity 34 deals with this issue.)