A man who dares waste one hour of time
has not discovered the value of life.
Time management is one of the least well-mastered and most desired skills in out fast-paced modern society. Time management is critical to doing everything you want to do, and achieving your individual version of what your ultimate success is. Here is a list of a few “fairly simple” things can you do to significantly improve your time management ability.
DO THESE THINGS NOW!
1. Eliminate time wasters in your life.
Time wasters are those things that interrupt you while you are working on something, but things that you would not have consciously chosen to do with your time. Try eliminating these time wasters and make some important strides toward managing your time better.
– Email. If you are spending more than 30 minutes of your day on email, unless that is your business, you are spending too much!
– Telephone. If you answer the phone live more than 5 times per day during your most productive time periods, whether at work or at home, then you are sacrificing your time management and efficiency. When you answer the phone, you interrupt your current productive flow and thought processes, and this can instantly kill your productivity.
– Television. You must limit this to be able to achieve some kind of control over your time. My recommendation is 30 minutes per day, especially if you are not getting all the things done you need or want to. On a personal note, there have been weeks that I have not turned the TV on. Yes, I know that’s not possible for everyone, but my reasoning is that I have precious few hours at the end of the work day to get all my “stuff” done. Yes, I take breaks, but I always try to remind myself to use and spend my time wisely. Sometimes its the only coin I have.
2. List
You knew this was coming. Make a list of what is truly important in your life and get started doing the things on your list. One of the keys to managing your time is the ability to prioritize. You absolutely must know what you want to accomplish and then go and do it! Today’s world an almost overwhelming number of distractions, and when you allow those distractions to become your priority, you sacrifice your time management.
In case you are new to this blog, here are some simple steps to get this rolling:
– Make of list of what you really want to accomplish
– Set time frames for accomplishing each item- long and short range
– Organize each item in order of importance
– Create a game plan for achieving each of your goals in their respective time frames
3. Focus
Begin to focus on your time management throughout the course of your day. You must consistently focus on what’s happening with your time. Look for the leaks in your plan. Where is time slipping away from you unnoticed?
Once you have determined your goals and set your priorities, start focusing on simply getting those things done. If something is not on your goals list for this week, then do not stop to do it until all your goals are done! When you begin to prioritize every single interruption, you will lose your focus, and begin to move your own goals much lower down your list. Okay, to say it more bluntly, if you stop for everything, you will not accomplish your goals! Instead, you will become a servant of every and any interruption that crosses your path, and you lose track of where you want to go.
Three simple steps. Take back the reins of your life, stop wasting time. List out what you want to accomplish. Get focused and get ‘er done!!!
Thoughts?
Photo Credit: AlicePopkorn via Compfight cc
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