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Do you ever find
yourself wishing there were more hours in the day? Is overtime becoming the
norm for you? Do you wish you had more time to spend doing the things that you
really want to do?
Most likely you answered yes to one or more of these
questions and feel like you are not really where you want to be in life.
Maybe work is not going how you would like. Or you could be feeling guilty
because you are not spending enough time at home with your family. Did you know about the importance of managing yourself that can helping
you to know yourself?
Time is something
that you can lose and never get back. People are always wishing they had more
hours available in the day. The solution to this common problem is easier than
one might realize. With a few minor adjustments in how you utilize your time
you can change how you manage your time. Proper time management is something
that can change your life on a fundamental basis for the better.
When I was a student, since returning to college, it has made me realize that the
ability to manage my time effectively has had a direct impact on my learning
experience and my family life. Most
of my time was spent on sleeping, social networking and working, which doesn't
surprise me. Therefore, it has made me aware of where I need to make
changes. In order for me to eliminate my time management problem, I
will have to set schedules, which will be based from my goals. This will make
me more organized and I will be able to monitor my time effectively. Otherwise,
if I don't make the necessary changes, it will only negatively impact my
studies and make it difficult to manage my time.
Returning to
college has been an added responsibility and has made it more difficult to make
time for family, work and personal time. Being a
full-time employee, mother, spouse, and now college student has only left me
with limited time for myself and family. If I improve my time management
effectively and make it a part of my life, I will be able to find a way to
juggle family, career, personal time, and education.
Undoubtedly, I
have realized that time management has been a huge hurdle in my life.
But I know it will improve gradually. I have always been a procrastinator,
which only led me to have poor time management skills.
In fact, Every daily cycle consists of a
twenty-four hour period. This is one of those things that is what it is and
cannot be changed. Even though you can’t control time, you can control how the
time you have is used. This realization is the first step to being effective in
your own time management. It is important to take stock in what is important in
your daily life and focus on allotting time for these things. Anything that is
non-important should be eliminated. While you may not be able to control this, you can
manage yourself. Developing time management skills will also help you get to
know yourself a little better. This is the first step in proper time
management. As people age, it becomes much easier to lose track of important
things in your life. It seems crazy that humans allow this to happen, but it is
something that happens really easily. The first thing you must do is get in
touch with what it is you want to accomplish from your life. Once you realize
this you
have taken the first step towards effective time management. You need
to know yourself, you must look at the things that are important to you in life and devote
your time to these. Everything else should be eliminated from your life.
Therefore, the
first thing you need to do before you even begin to manage your time is to get
in touch with what you really want from life. This is where you find your
vision. When people are young, they believe that anything is possible. Think
back to your younger days and remember how you envisioned your life at that
time. It is likely that many of your priorities have changed since then,
but some of the core ones will have remained the same. Remember a time earlier
in your life when you felt anything was possible. Did you
envisage your life at that time? This could help you
to get in touch with your vision. Think about how you would like your life to
be at home and at your work. Also consider your potential and what you think
you can really achieve in life. This is your vision.
Living your life and spending your time the
way you want to will involve a few changes - some big, some small. An example
of a minor change would be eating healthier. Quitting your job and starting a
business, that is a big change. There is a big difference between the two, but
both goals are attainable. You need to examine how you spend your time each day
and make the necessary changes to achieve your goals. Begin by focusing on the
things you want to achieve. Pick something big and something small. After you
have decided on what those things are, take steps to formulate a plan
that can set you on a path to achieving these things. Once you have chosen, you
should decide on one small step you can take towards achieving each of these
tomorrow. If you can complete the one step towards achieving each goal then you
have made an excellent start. Completing one step toward each goal is an
excellent start. By going at your own pace, you begin to plan and manage your
time much more effectively. Planning is key to mapping out the direction in
which you should head
If you followed the steps above you should be
able to picture your ideal life accurately. The next step is tricky. I want
you to compare this vision of your ideal life to your life as it really is now.
For most people, the difference between the two can be quite daunting. You may think of
effective time management as a tool that will help you to get you to meetings
on time. Not so. Effective time management is much more about you and how you
choose to spend your time.
To illustrate,
let’s look at the experiences of Todd, the head of sales in a large
financial-services firm and a direct report to the CEO. Todd had been
struggling to change the way people approached the sales process. He wanted
more measurement. He wanted people to target prospects that were more likely to
bring in higher margins. He wanted people to be more strategic about which
prospects to visit versus which simply to call. Finally, he wanted them to be
more courageous about pursuing “stretch” prospects where the odds of success
were low but the rewards would be high—and more willing to ignore prospects
whose accounts weren’t likely to be particularly profitable.
“I’ve
told them all this multiple times,” Todd said. “I’ve even sat them
through a long training. But their behavior isn’t changing. They’re still
selling the same old way to the same old prospects.”
Complete most important tasks first. This is the golden rule of time
management. Each day, identify the two or three tasks that are the most crucial
to complete, and do those first. Once you’re done, the day has already been a
success. You can move on to other things, or you can let them wait
until tomorrow. You’ve finished the essential
