Time management skills for your nursing assistants

Do your CNAs know what their time at work is worth? Here’s an example: Mary earns $ 12.00 an hour as a nursing assistant. He works eight hours every day. So how much is Mary’s work time worth? Each day is worth $ 96. Each hour is worth $ 12. Every minute is worth 20 cents. When you do the math for your CNAs, how much money do you think is wasted in your workplace? Here’s some information on time management that you can share with your nursing assistants.

How much is your time worth?

Studies have shown that the average American actually works only 6 hours out of each 8-hour day. The rest of the time is wasted! Why? Those same studies say that people waste time because:

  • They are too tired to finish their work.
  • They get involved in personal matters at work.
  • They are not organized.
  • However, they spend too much time socializing.

Mary earns $ 12.00 an hour as a CNA. If Mary really worked only 6 of the 8 hours a day, that would mean that in one year she would waste $ 6,240.00. Let’s say Mary has 25 coworkers who also earn $ 12.00 / hour. If those coworkers also lose two hours a day, Mary’s workplace will lose nearly $ 156,000.00 each year in lost time!

Some people might say “So what? My workplace makes a lot of money. They won’t lose $ 156,000.” But that would be wrong. The more money a workplace loses, the less it has for employee raises or to improve working conditions! So people who waste time at work are hurting themselves in the long run.

Time: spend it wisely

Have you ever heard the expression “You have to spend money to make money”? Well, the same goes for time. You have to take time to make time. In other words, if you spend a little time every day getting organized by making a “to do” list of priorities and goals, you will actually save yourself time throughout the day. And by taking the time to focus on each task as you do it, you will avoid mistakes … and the time it takes to correct those mistakes! By planning ahead, you give yourself a BIG PICTURE of what your day will be like. You can make decisions about what really needs to be done and what to expect.

We live such complicated and hectic lives. Our “to do” lists seem to get longer every day. And, with all these commitments and obligations, comes a higher level of STRESS! Understanding the principles of time management will help you simplify your busy life. You can control all the tasks that you want to do and all the tasks that you have to do throughout the day. You will feel calm and less stressed at the end of the day! By doing a little planning, eliminating wasted time, and giving your full attention to the task at hand, you will find more time in your day to do the things that are important to you!

The problem of procrastination

Procrastination is when people procrastinate, especially things they don’t like to do. Many people procrastinate until the last minute and then end up with a great job on their hands. For example, have you ever put off the required paperwork and ended up having a ton of things to finish? Or have you ever waited to wash the dishes until there were no more clean dishes? There is a saying: Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today. This is good advice, as procrastination is a real waste of time and a bad habit. Here are some ways that people procrastinate:

1. Too much planning, not enough action!

Example: Susan spends so much time cutting out recipes and planning what she wants to cook that she never has time to cook. Instead, he ends up going out to eat, although he can’t really afford it.

Solution: Susan could set a time limit for planning her menu. You could schedule an hour each weekend to review recipes and plan meals for the week. Then you need to buy the ingredients so that you have no excuse not to cook.

2. Avoid boring tasks.

Example: Tom finds it very boring to fold his client’s clothes. He tends to put off work, leaving clothes stacked until wrinkled. Family members have started complaining, so now his supervisor isn’t happy with him, all because of a little dirty laundry!

Solution: Tom could alternate boring tasks with more interesting ones. Interesting tasks can be like a “reward” for completing boring ones.

3. Postpone the unpleasant.

Example: Lydia has a hard time getting along with one of her clients, an elderly woman named Mrs. Jones. She postpones taking care of Mrs. Jones until the end of the day. But by then, both Lydia and her client are tired. This means it takes longer than it should be to finish Mrs. Jones’s personal care and the customer is even more grumpy than usual.

Solution: Lydia could ask Mrs. Jones what time of day she would like her grooming, and then do it at that time. This could make Ms. Jones easier to get along with. Now, Lydia can plan to do Mrs. Jones’s Attention first thing in the morning. This way, Lydia’s least favorite task is finished early and she doesn’t have to worry about it all day.

4. Unrealistic deadlines.

Example: Bill tends to work slowly every morning, takes several breaks, and takes time to talk to his coworkers. After lunch, when Bill feels like time is running out, he speeds up, rushing through his work to finish it all at the end of the day.

Solution: Bill can set “mini” deadlines for himself. You can divide your work into quarters and tell yourself to finish a quarter at 10:00, another quarter at 12:00, and so on. Until this new way of working becomes a habit, Bill could ask his supervisor or coworker to check if he is meeting his mini-deadlines.

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