Great Expectations : How to Make the Most of your Time Management Skills

Time management is one of the most important life skills you can have. The ability to effectively control your time wards off depression, gives you more free time, and can lead to an overall better lifestyle.

Perhaps the most effective method of using time to its fullest extent is to plan as much as possible. Many people use the old “I will engage in a task when I feel like it” method. This is not only a poor way to manage time; it is also a poor way to manage your life. It can be a great cause of stress, and it leads to procrastination. That can lead to an extensive amount of guilt. Creating a time plan, even a flexible one, helps you make good decisions about the best times and places for you to work. Time management essentially means working with intelligence, not necessarily working your self to death.

The way to start a good program of time management is to figure out what time you truly have at your disposal. It is easy to think you have more or less time than you do given the toppling amount of activities each of us tries to fit into every day. Creating a schedule of your events each week can provide you with an overall portrait of how many hours you spend working, how many hours you spend planning, and how many hours you have free. When you make your schedule, be sure to include everything that you do. Do not forget to include things like the time you spend sleeping, the time you spend in the car waiting to pick up Suzy from soccer practice, and the time you spend grocery shopping for your family. It is essential to be truthful about these things so that you can make a workable schedule for yourself.

Once you’ve analyzed how much time you currently spend engaging in activities, make a schedule of how much time you should spend with each activities. For example, if you sleep for eight hours each night, but you know you would function just as well on five or six hours of sleep, schedule that in. That would buy you at least two hours of time that you did not have before you started this process. Moreover, if you schedule yourself to work each night at ten, after the kids have gone to bed, but you know you will just spend that time watching the news, do not put it in the schedule. It will only get you off task. Once your new schedule is complete, make copies of it for the month. It should serve as a visual reminder of what you should be doing and when you should be doing it.

Another way of taking control of your time is to make a list of tasks you need to complete each day or week. It can also help to make long term lists. This can be far more effective than simply writing deadlines on your calendar. Be sure that you order the tasks to meet your priorities, and be sure to record a deadline that you can live with for each task.

Finally, combine your new schedule with your list each week. Decide what you will do, and where that task will fit into your schedule. Be sure to include your individual strengths and weaknesses, your habits, and your likes and dislikes in your thinking process. For example, if you intend to spend thirty minutes each day working out, but you hate exercising first thing in the morning, do not schedule it or put it on your list for that time slot. You should also tailor both your list and your schedule to your needs. If you like to be scheduled down to the minute, be sure to include that level of detail in your planning process. If you simply need to know what to get accomplished that day, do not schedule yourself more than you can handle. You should also be sure to plan a bit of flexible time into your days. Flexible time can offer you extra time if a task is left unfinished, or it can provide you leisure time if you have met all of your goals for the day.

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