مدیریت زمان

Time Management

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 272: Time Management.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 272. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com and download a Learning Guide for this episode. It contains all of the vocabulary, sample sentences, additional vocabulary we don’t talk about on the podcast, cultural notes, and a complete transcript of this episode.

This episode is called “Time Management.” It’s going to talk about something we all need to do, which is figure out how we’re going to spend our time every day. Let’s get started.

[start of story]

Ruby: I’m snowed under with work! I can’t seem to keep up with everything I have to do. You’re always so organized and efficient. How do you do it?

Ian: I’m not always organized and efficient, but I’ve gotten better since I read a book about time management. I use a few tools that the book recommends, which help me to plan and to keep track of deadlines.

Ruby: Do you think it would help me?

Ian: Definitely. This is what I do. I keep a to-do list of all of the things I need to do. Then, I decide which tasks are high-priority and which have low-priority. I write down the deadline I’m given for the task or I assign a deadline of my own, and I make a note of the most urgent tasks.

Ruby: That seems pretty simple, but how do I keep track of the progress I make on a task? Sometimes things just slip through the cracks for me.

Ian: I do a couple of things. First, I keep my list updated. I check off or cross off those that I’ve done. I also put reminders for myself on my computer to help me with scheduling. It helps me to remember my appointments and to allocate my time better.

Ruby: That sounds like a great system. All I need now is some extra time so I can start doing some time management!

[end of story]

Our dialogue between Ruby and Ian begins by Ruby complaining that she is snowed under with work. “To be snowed under” means to have too much work to do; to be very busy. “Snow,” of course, is the white stuff that falls from the sky when it’s cold in the wintertime in the northern or mountainous climates.

Ruby says she’s snowed under with work. She says, “I can’t seem to keep up with everything.” “To keep up with” means to get everything done. Ruby says to Ian, “You’re always so organized and efficient. How do you do it?” “To be efficient” (efficient) means to be able to do things very well and very quickly without wasting time. The opposite of efficient is inefficient. I, for example, am very inefficient!

Ian says that “I’m not always organized and efficient, but I’ve gotten better since I read a book about time management.” “Time management” is the name of this episode; it’s a practice of planning your events – your activities – so that you make good use of your time. Ian says he uses a few tools that the book recommends. Here “tool” (tool) is a thing or an idea that helps people do something better, more quickly, or more easily. There are other meanings of this word “tool,” take a look at our Learning Guide for additional definitions.

The tools that Ian uses help him keep track of deadlines. The expression “to keep track (track) of something” means to monitor something; to know what is happening with something at all times. “I need to keep track of my money,” that means I need to know where I am spending my money every day. Ian uses these tools to keep track of deadlines. A “deadline” (deadline – one word) is when you have to complete something; it’s the time or day that you have to have something done.

Ruby asks if these tools would help her, too, and Ian says, “Definitely.” Here, “definitely” means certainly, without a doubt. We use it to show that something is true. We really agree with a person; we’re saying, “Definitely, that is true.” Ian then explains what he does. He has a to-do list. A “to-do list” is a list of things that you have to do. It could be on a piece of paper; it could be on yourself phone or on your computer. It’s a list of the things that you have to do.

Ian says after he puts everything on his to-do list, he decides which tasks are high-priority and which are low-priority. A “task” (task) is something that needs to be done; anything that you have to do is a task. Tasks can be “high-priority,” meaning they’re very important, or “low-priority,” meaning they’re less important, not things you have to do right away.

Ian writes down the deadline for the task – when he has to have it completed – or he assigns a deadline of his own. “To assign” (assign) means to say something should be done at a certain time. Here, it could also mean to give yourself a deadline; to assign a deadline. We also use this word in school. The teacher assigns homework to the students, she says to the students, “You must read this book,” or, “You must write this paper.” She gives them a task – she gives them homework – she assigns them homework.

Ian says that he makes a note, or he indicates on his list, the most urgent tasks. “Urgent” (urgent) means something that is very important that has to get done right away. It’s something that you must do immediately; it’s urgent. If someone says, “I have an urgent message for you,” they mean you must look at this right away.

Ruby says to Ian, “That seems pretty simple, but how do I keep track of the progress I make on a task?” How does she know how well she is doing? She says, “Sometimes things just slip through the cracks.” The expression “to slip (slip) through the cracks (cracks)” means to be forgotten; to forget something; to not do something because you were paying attention to something else; to forget about something. That’s to slip through the cracks.

Ian says he does a couple of things so that his important tasks don’t slip through the cracks. First, he keeps his list “updated,” meaning he makes sure that it is current; it is up to date. He checks off or crosses off the tasks that he’s completed. “To check off,” (check) off, means to put a check mark, which is a line. It looks like a “V” that has one side of it much longer than the other; that’s a check mark. So, “to check off” means to put a check mark next to something to indicate that you have completed it. The other possibility is to cross off. “To cross (cross) off something” means to draw a line through it, usually one line to show that you have completed it. So, it is used the same as a check mark. I should mention the verb “to check off” has a couple of different meanings. Again, take a look at the learning guide for more explanations.

Ian says he also puts reminders for himself on his computer to help him with scheduling. A “reminder” is something that is written down or said that makes you remember something. It could be a piece of paper you put on your computer screen: “Call the dentist.” That would be a reminder; it’s helping you remember to do something. I need lots of reminders because as I get old, I forget things. Not too old, but I’m getting there!

“Scheduling” is from the verb “to schedule,” and that means to decide when you are going to do things in the future: what time or what day are you going to do something. We all try to schedule time to relax, for example, at the end of the day or on the weekend.

Finally, Ian says these reminders help him remember his appointments and to allocate his time better. “To allocate” (allocate) means to give time or money or something to someone for a specific purpose. So here, he is allocating his time. He’s saying, “I’m going to spend one hour doing this; I’m going to spend two hours doing that.” You could also allocate your money, decide how much money you are going to spend on each specific thing. If you go on vacation, you may decide to allocate $50 every day for your lunch and dinner; that would be to allocate.

Now let’s take a listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.

[start of story]

Ruby: I’m snowed under with work! I can’t seem to keep up with everything I have to do. You’re always so organized and efficient. How do you do it?

Ian: I’m not always organized and efficient, but I’ve gotten better since I read a book about time management. I use a few tools that the book recommends, which help me to plan and to keep track of deadlines.

Ruby: Do you think it would help me?

Ian: Definitely. This is what I do. I keep a to-do list of all of the things I need to do. Then, I decide which tasks are high-priority and which have low-priority. I write down the deadlines I’m given for the task or I assign a deadline of my own, and I make a note of the most urgent tasks.

Ruby: That seems pretty simple, but how do I keep track of the progress I make on a task? Sometimes things just slip through the cracks for me.

Ian: I do a couple of things. First, I keep my list updated. I check off or cross off those that I’ve done. I also put reminders for myself on my computer to help me with scheduling. It helps me to remember my appointments and to allocate my time better.

Ruby: That sounds like a great system. All I need now is some extra time so I can start doing some time management!

[end of story]

The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2007.