Mission Critical: UWT Time Review

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Identify where personal work hours went across three defined categories and choose one realistic adjustment.

Use it when: Use during retrospective planning or workload reviews when individuals want to assess and adjust their day-to-day schedule.

Skip it when: Skip during acute crisis management when daily schedules are fully dictated by immediate external events.

Group arrangement: Individual analysis, followed by pairs or triads, ending with optional whole-group observations

Timing: 15 minutes matches the upper bound of the 5 to 15 minute range in the Relationship Makers Handbook.

Materials and tools

• One printed UWT Time Review Worksheet per participant
• One pen or pencil per participant
• One flip chart and marker for whole-room notes

Before participants arrive

1. Print copies of the UWT Time Review Worksheet for all participants.
2. Place pens and worksheets at each seat.
3. Set up a flip chart at the front of the room.

Say this to open

Pick one recent workday you remember clearly. Write down your main activities and approximate minutes on the worksheet. Categorize each activity, then choose one small schedule adjustment within your control.

How to run it

1. Individual time log and categorization 6 minutes

   Distribute the worksheet. Individuals choose one recent workday they remember well. List activities, estimated minutes, and results or beneficiaries. Count each minute only once. Sum the minutes. Mark each entry as advancing a chosen priority, maintaining essential work, or optional work. Calculate totals for each category. Complete the reflection questions at the bottom to pick one change within direct control. Keep details private if preferred.

2. Pair or triad discussion 5 minutes

   Form pairs or groups of three. Partners take turns sharing insights from their worksheet. Participants may share general category ratios, an interesting finding, or their planned adjustment. Sharing raw schedule entries or calendar details is completely optional. Listeners help test whether the proposed change is realistic and within personal control.

3. Whole-room debrief and wrap-up 4 minutes

   Convene the room. Ask for two or three volunteers to name one category pattern they noticed or the small schedule change they committed to try. The facilitator writes recurring themes on the flip chart. Remind participants to test their chosen adjustment on the date written on their worksheet.

Debrief questions

• What pattern surprised you when grouping your day into priority, essential maintenance, and optional work?
• What made your planned adjustment feel realistic rather than wishful thinking?
• How did reviewing a single day compare to your general impressions of a whole month or year?

Finished output: A completed UWT Time Review Worksheet per person with one planned schedule adjustment and trial date.

Remote

Distribute the digital text of the worksheet. Participants spend six minutes completing their sheet individually. Move participants into breakout rooms of two or three for five minutes. Return to the main room and invite two or three volunteers to type their planned schedule adjustment into the chat.

Hybrid

Provide the identical worksheet to in-person and online participants. Pair in-person participants together and remote participants in virtual breakout rooms. In the debrief, take one comment from the room and one from the chat or video feed.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may review a partial day or an estimated block of hours if recalling a full day is difficult.
• Sharing specific calendar entries or personal time logs is optional; participants may share only high-level category reflections or pass entirely.

If the session gets stuck

Participants get stuck trying to recall exact minute-by-minute logs.

Remind them that approximate 15-minute or 30-minute blocks are sufficient to spot general patterns.

A participant states that their schedule is entirely controlled by others, leaving no room for change.

Prompt them to find an adjustment as small as five or ten minutes, such as how they start the morning or end the day.

Terms used here

• Essential work: Core recurring operational tasks required to maintain baseline responsibilities.
• Optional work: Discretionary tasks, reading, or meetings that could be rescheduled, shortened, or dropped without immediate operational failure.