Keys to Effective Time Management

There is an old saying, time is money. And it is a wise saying, because pending time just like spending money, is a very personal matter. But unlike money, you can't get a "time raise" or "save some hours" for a busy day. We all have to live on fixed budget of 168 hours each week. Successful people must budget time according to their priorities to ensure that they spend it intelligently.

Step One: Identify Your Goals and Priorities

The first step in learning to manage your time-controlling your life-is to identify what your goals and priorities are. You must decide what you want out of your work and life in general and what you must do to get it.

Is your work high on your priority list? How about your taking your vacation, your family? What is most important to you? Create as exactlyu as you can a hierarchy of your life's priorities.

Step Two: Analyze How You're Spending Your Time Now

Next, calculate as closely as you can exactly how you spend your time. For the next week, keep a detailed log of everything you do. Account for all activities: study, work, eating, commuting, recreation, exercise, sleep, etc. Also note when (during what hours) you do these activities.


Step Three: Comapare How You're Using Time With Your Particular Priorities Hierarchy

This is the stage where you objectivly evaluate your use of time. No one can judge your use of time as efficient or inefficient unless you it is done in cvin relation to your priorities.

In addition to looking at how much time you spend on each activity, consider if you are spending quality time on your priorities. For example, if learning is high on your priority list, do you study during your prime energy hours or only after everything else is done for the day?

Step Four: Develop A Plan To Better Spend Quality Time On Your Priorities

If you found that some or even many blocks of times in your log were not in line with what you want to be doing to reach your goals, you can begin to systematically change your life by taking control of your time.

Start by building a realistic time schedule or time budget that gives time to the activities that fit with your priorities and will help you reach your goals.

Whatever your goals and the priorites that support them, you need to sync them with your REAL use of time

Finally, you must stick to your time schedule. Some flexibility is necessary, of course, to take care of unexpected demands, but if you spend too much time on nonpriority tasks you will not meet your goals.

In today's world of exponentially increased communication and responsibility, yesterday's methods for staying on top just don't work. Veteran management consultant and trainer David Allen recognizes that "time management" is useless the minute your schedule is interrupted; "setting priorities" isn't relevant when your e-mail is down; "procrastination solutions" won't help if your goals aren't clear.

Allen's premise is simple: our ability to be productive is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve stress-free productivity and unleash our creative potential. He teaches us how to:

• Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box empty.
• Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations.
• Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed.
• Feel fine about what you're not doing.

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done has the potential to transform the way you work - and the way you experience work. At any level of implementation, David Allen's entertaining and thought-provoking advice shows you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

Keep a "Things To Do" list and keep the items in priority order most people tend to do low-ranking, little things first and never get around to the important tasks.

1. Break major tasks down into small chunks. Often we avoid strarting big projects because we have limited time or we don't know where to begin. Break major projects into small pieces and tackle them one at a time.


2. Eliminate tasks as soon as you can. Carefully evaluate each task and, when possible, avoid doin time consuming routine tasks like rewashing the car weekly or dusting


3. Delegate or negotiate tasks whenever possible. Ask yourself "Who else can do this task?" (maybe not as well as you would do it, but acceptably). Examine your tasks and ask "What tasks can I trade or share with someone?" Learn to ask for help.


4. Consolidate tasks-Whenever possible do more than one thing at a time, except thinking! If you're going to the library to prepare your biology report, also work on your research paper and look up that reference you need for literature.


5. Evaluate your habits. Ask yourself why do you do routine tasks in a certain way? Are your routines the most efficient? Could you save time by changing your routine actions? Could getting up 15 minutes earlier be helpful?
   
6. Know and wisely use your prime working times-There really are "morning people" and "night owls"-find out when you're at your best and use those hours wisely


7. Be prepared to lower your standards-Given the heavy demands on your time, it is doubtful that everything you do can be perfect. Based on your priorities, decide what you want to be "A" quality and what things can be "B" quality


8. Learn to say "No!" There is never time to do everything we want to do, so we must learn to do those things that move us toward our goals and say "no" to those that do not


9. Be flexible but remain in control You need to expect interruptions, as they are bound to occur and learn to "flow" with them. If you are doing things in priority order and not leaving big things to the last and you and your schedule will easily survive these encounters with discordance.

Start using these tips and you will soon discover more hours in the day than you ever thought possible!

Stay focused on your highest priorities and on track for greater personal and professional success with FranklinCovey planning tools. Designed to encourage daily use of the principles of time management taught in our workshops, they are available in electronic and paper formats and integrate together easily.

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