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Introduction to Time Management 3 while you are in the workplace as you focus on meeting the needs of the community your library serves. Changes in time management strategies are not always about „doing more‰ or doing things faster. In Chapter 2, you will track your time usage to record what you are actually doing. Sometimes the activi- ties and reflection about how you are accomplishing them will lead you to realize that what you are trying to achieve is just not possible no mat- ter how sophisticated your time management system is. As you take a close, realistic look at your time usage, you may realize that there is just not enough time in any day to do everything that you want or think that you need to do. This creates some questions you need to ask yourself: Are you being asked to do too much? Or are you expecting too much from yourself? Is your supervisor underestimating the time it takes to accomplish a task? Does a colleague seem to be able complete one task faster because she or he has regular experience in carrying out that task? On the other hand, do you sometimes underestimate, thinking you can accomplish a task in a shorter number of minutes? If you constantly try to complete in a time frame that doesnÊt account for the interruptions that might occur, then you are setting yourself up for stress and a sense of failure. The tools described in this book can help you uncover these sorts of challenges, giving you the data and encouragement you need to push back by asking for more assistance or by finding ways to shift responsi- bilities. You may be inspired to talk to others about their time manage- ment strategies, sometimes discovering ways to get a job done more quickly or efficiently. Tracking your time will give you a more accurate view of how much time any task takes. As he tracked his time usage, an experienced branch manager was surprised to realize how little focused time he really had available for projects and paperwork such as reports. Most of his time was spent in meetings, covering for staff, and addressing day-to-day issues that would arise. A childrenÊs librarian who was asked to prepare a brief presentation for the board summarizing highlights from the summer reading program was shocked to realize that it took over five total hours to prepare. People choose to learn about time management for many reasons. For some, it is driven by fatigue, stress or overwork, but that is not always the reason. Some people are drawn to the topic because they want to do more. They long to be more creative or innovative but feel unable to find the time or energy in their days to do things that are beyond their normal routine. While time management and innovation may at first glance seem disconnected, they are in fact related. Time management supports inno- vation. By identifying and eliminating distractions, for example, you can free up time to focus on creative endeavors. By being more focused and organized, you can not only find the time for coming up with new ideas, but you will have the discipline to put those ideas into action.