Making the Most of Your Time

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." - Michael Altshuler

Time is life's most valuable asset and everyone is allotted the same 24-hour day. How is it that some people can accomplish two or three times more in a single day than others? The answer is simple; they've mastered time management skills.

Have you ever noticed how much you can get done in a few hours when you really have to? Let's use the day before your vacation as an example. You make a list of chores that must be done before you can leave for the airport:

- Take the dog to the kennel
- Go to the bank
- Pick up the dry cleaning
- Gas up the car
- Clean the litter box
- Water the plants
- Take out the trash
- Run and empty the dishwasher
- Mow the yard
- Cancel the newspaper
- Cancel milk delivery

You have only 3 hours to complete all these tasks, yet when finished, you had time left over. How did this happen? You were organized and motivated. This is the essence of time management.

Learning to use your time productively can reduce much of the stress and frustration in your life, leaving you feeling more content. Not only that; but you'll have more time to spend doing the things you enjoy most.

Think-Plan-Organize-Execute-Reevaluate. Time management simply put, is working smarter. The first step in developing an effective time management plan is to determine where you need to spend time and where you do not. Below are just a few basic principles to get started:

1. Determine what time of day you are most productive. Are you more productive in the morning or in the afternoon? Schedule your most important daily tasks during this period. Save your more mundane chores like attending meetings, answering emails and phone calls for later.

2. Use technology to your advantage. Don't return phone calls if sending emails can accomplish the same thing. Return phone calls during the noon hour and leave voice messages. This saves you many minutes of idle chitchat.

3. Get a clear picture. Don't begin a new project until you have all of the details and you completely understand the projects goals and requirements. Get all your questions answered before you begin as there's no sense in doing it twice.

4. Develop good decision making skills. Understand the consequences of each decision you make; will it produce the desired results?

5. Create an action plan. If you neglect to take time for planning, you are setting yourself up for failure. Spend time analyzing every project. Create a "To Do" list and outline each task required to reach your desired goal. Be sure to break down larger tasks into smaller ones. Specify due dates, and priorities. Cross off each task as it's completed, this will help you keep organized and prevent you from forgetting anything. Take a look at your plan, are there ways to simplify it further? Keep your list updated.

6. Get organized. Don't begin a project until you've assembled all the necessary resources and tools you'll need. Use your day planner to remind yourself of upcoming tasks. At the end of the day write down where you left off and make a list of priorities for tomorrow.

7. Set priorities. Know the difference between important tasks and urgent ones. Urgent tasks have short-term consequences while important tasks are those with long-term, goal-related outcomes. Work toward reducing the urgent tasks so you'll have plenty of time for more important priorities. This will help prevent urgent items from becoming emergencies.

8. Learn your software. Learning how to get the most from your computer and its software will also help make your work easier and less time consuming. Spending time learning how to improve your work is more productive than wasting time doing it the same old way. Take advantage of computer software tutorials to become more proficient in your work.

9. Be flexible. Plan time for interruptions and distractions. Make yourself available to respond to surprises and new opportunities.

10. Avoid procrastination. Procrastination is the tendency to avoid, for as long as possible, completing an action or task that needs to be done, usually by focusing on some other distraction. Getting it over with right away will keep time from being wasted.

11. Stay focused. Avoid jumping from one uncompleted task to another. Try to finish one job before moving on to the next.

12. Delegate. What tasks can be delegated to others?

13. Follow a routine. Make your new routine a habit. Every new habit you develop is an important step toward taking control of your time.

14. Reward yourself. Balance your work with pleasure and reward yourself for completing your goals, even the small ones.

15. Reevaluate: After completing a project, revisit your "To Do" list. Were there any unnecessary steps? Is there a way the task could be accomplished with less effort next time?

Wasted time is lost opportunity. Lost opportunity equals diminished productivity. Lost productivity means less time to spend doing the things you want to do. Your life is a progression of choices. You have control over the choices you make, not the flow of time.

Time management is one source for a happier more productive life, and studies have shown that happy people feel less rushed because they are in control of their time. Once you've mastered these skills, you'll find yourself able to maintain a healthier balance between your work, and your family.

Copyright 2005, Video Professor Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Mary Carroll is a customer advocate for Video Professor, the leader in self-paced software learning tutorials, helping our customers to better understand Video Professor and how our tutorials can provide tools to learn various software programs to your desired level.

---

The Kaizen of Goal Setting

There is an old way of goal setting and a... Read More

10 Tips on the Right Time of Day for Your Personal Best

Does choosing which time we do an activity really make... Read More

More Time Wanted? Deal with Your Time-wasters Now!

Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More

Have You Got a Minute?

Such an innocuous little phrase, yet when you are hard... Read More

How Much Is Poor Time Management Costing You?

* If you were paying you to prioritise emails over... Read More

Increasing Your ROI

All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are... Read More

Time Management is Life Management

Many of the clients I work with in success coaching... Read More

Procrastination - Understanding & Overcoming it

Whenever I've worked on 'de-cluttering' my living or working space,... Read More

Time Management -- Urgent vs. Important

"It's just been one of those days?I can't seem to... Read More

Time Management: Analysis is the Key to Mastery

If you're like most people, you want to get better... Read More

Self Care

What does it mean to practice self care? It's creating... Read More

Procrastination: Why We Do It and How to Change

PROCRASTINATION: You've known about it since high school or college,... Read More

Are You Really Swamped or Just Disorganized

"Time is what we need the most and what we... Read More

Setting Time Aside For Studying And Homework

When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that... Read More

How Can I Get Some Time to Myself?

"I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More

Work Smarter Not Harder

To work smarter all you need is the consciousness of... Read More

Time Management - The Ultimate Oxymoron

Get a grip. Is it possible to manage time? Can... Read More

Taking Time Off For Your Business

As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you... Read More

Shifting Priorities Are The Norm

Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed... Read More

21 Questions To Assess Your Readiness For Time Management

How many of us are guilty of "Putting the cart... Read More

The Ultimate Time Management Tips: 5 Steps To Reaching Your Goals With Minimum Work

Would you like to know how to get 10 times... Read More

Time and Life, Bit by Bit

Looking out through my picture window during a recent winter... Read More

What To Do When Youre Short On Time And Long On Need!

Everyday life can present us with opportunities to make us... Read More

TIME, The Undervalued Resource

We are all born equal! We all have the same... Read More

Keeping Time

What keeping time really means is...being on time!You know, there... Read More

Career Redesign Tools For Work-Life Balance

Partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the... Read More

Time Management Doesnt Exist! So What Can You Do?

There is no such thing as time management. You cannot... Read More

Decrease Your Sleep, Increase Your Energy! And Have More Time In Your Day!

Many of the world's most driven and successful people sleep... Read More

Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More

Will Your Epilogue Be ? I Got All My Emails Done?

Work life balance is the new Holy Grail; that search... Read More

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last... Read More

Time Management is Cause Control

Recently I've experienced a barrage of time wasters. Everything you... Read More

Priorities: Dont Dry Your Dishes

Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could... Read More