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annoucement2 Fact or Fiction
The Nintendo iconic character of MarioTM was named after Nintendo’s warehouse landlord.

Fact!!

Mario originally appeared in the 1981 arcade version of Donkey Kong under the name of “Jumpman” when the game was being localized for Nintendo’s American Audience. The employees of Nintendo decided to rename “Jumpman” after Mario Segale, the landlord of the Nintendo Warehouse. Apparently, Nintendo Founder and First President, Minoru Arakawa and Segale got into a heated debate over past due rent. When Arakawa finally convinced Segale that he would be paid, the employees decided to rename “Jumpman” to “Mario.”

annoucement2 The Astron Road Show
It may be summertime, but the finally warm weather doesn’t slow down the Astron team!

Tomorrow, August 12th, National Director Mike Maciekowich will present at the Capital Associated Industries Compensation and Benefits Forum in Raleigh, NC. Mike will present “When the Money Runs Out…Retaining and Motivating Long Term Employees Without Increasing Pay.” Please contact Mike for more information on his presentation.

On Wednesday, August 19th, National Director Jennifer Loftus will present the results of the Central New York SHRM (CNYSHRM) 2009 Compensation and Benefits Survey in Syracuse, NY. This presentation is an exclusive benefit for survey participants. Please let us know if you would like more information on participating in 2010’s survey!

We’ll see you on the road!


Time Management Skills & Work

Doesn’t it sometimes feel as though there aren’t enough hours in a day to complete all the things you would like to accomplish? No doubt, everyone at one time or another, whether at work, home, or school, has felt like this. However, does this problem exist due to procrastination or lack of time management skills?

Procrastination in the Office

Procrastination is an issue that all organizations must face. Whether it’s avoiding a more complicated project until the last minute, or prolonging an uninteresting task, the explanations as to why employees may procrastinate vary. Some interesting facts researched by Dr. Donald Wetmore, a Personal Productivity specialist illustrate the following:

• 20% of the average workday is spent on "crucial" and "important" things, while 80% of the average workday is spent on things that have "little value" or "no value."
• The average person gets 1 interruption every 8 minutes, or approximately 7 an hour. That’s 50-60 interruptions per day. The average interruption takes 5 minutes, totaling about 4 hours, or 50% of the average workday. 80% of those interruptions are typically rated as "little value" or "no value." That’s approximately 3 hours of wasted time per day.

Furthermore, a lack of time management skills can lead to reduced productivity and cause individuals stress-related issues. Needless to say, a minor case of procrastination or deficiency in time management skills can easily spread in an organization and cause some disastrous results. What can be done to help curb the urge to delay?

Tips to Eliminate Procrastination & Encourage Time Management

Each employee should conduct a serious self-evaluation as to how well he or she manages time. Starter questions include “Am I constantly rushing and often late?” and “Do I often cancel exciting or new assignments because I’m too busy?” Creating a questionnaire with questions such as these can help assess where in an organization there may be weak time management skills.

After the initial examination of an organization’s time management ability, improvement can begin in many ways. There are plenty of gifted motivational speakers and specialists that can help assist in increasing time management skills and, as a result, increase productivity. For organizations that prefer the more hands-on approach, creating a yearly workshop dedicated to time management could prove valuable. Simply offering such a workshop could cause generate interest in self-reflection regarding how each individual best uses his or her work time. Areas that can be discussed within this workshop include the following:

Creating and Using To Do Lists
Proper Prioritizing
Active Scheduling
The 5 Golden Rules of Goal Setting
Backward Goal Setting
Learning To Recognize That Your (Work) Plate is Full and How to Cope

Approaching these topics in a positive manner can help encourage organizational members to improve their own time management skills.

While it is rare to accomplish everything in one day, there are certainly things everyone can do to increase their productivity. Recognizing that there is a lack of productivity due to time management and/or procrastination is a start. Taking proactive steps to remove procrastination habits is another important step. Lastly, gaining adequate time management skills can greatly influence an individual’s ability to complete tasks, with quality, in a short amount of time. Why not break the procrastination habit by starting now?



Reader Poll Archive
Wonder what your fellow readers think about critical HR topics? Is your organization unique from or similar to others?
Click here to view the results of our past polls!



Coming Next Time to an Astronology near you!
bulletAstron Road Show 
bullet2Fact or Fiction?
bullet2Exit Interview Topic: How well does your Organization display appreciation for the employees?



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If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us! Simply reply to this e-mail. See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology.

Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting? Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues. For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.

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Copyright 2009, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467

 
     
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