Time Management - 24 Time Management Tips

24 Time Management Tips

Where does your time go? We all know we are busy, yet we feel behind and don't get to do the things we really want to do.

Planning is the best time saver there is. At the beginning of the week jot down your goals that you want to accomplish, fun things you want to do, work that needs to be done, and appointments to keep. Then write out a loose schedule for the week ahead, balancing it out between work, family, home, self and your other roles.

You can choose to put your action items on daily to do lists or schedule them on a calendar like appointments. How you keep track of your things to do for the week, depends on how much structure you personally like or need.

When you plan, it is helpful to schedule things for twice as long as you expect them to take. That gives you extra time for those traffic jams, interruptions, and fun, spontaneous moments. I try to plan on leaving 10 minutes earlier than I have to, for all my appointments, in case of unexpected delays.

My weekly planning session usually takes less than thirty minutes. My planning session includes gathering my papers and going through the in-box to find action items as David Allen suggests in his book "Getting Things Done". I also plan goals, next action items for my projects, plan a two hour time alone, plan family night, and plan a date with my husband. I schedule work, exercise, fun time, time with friends and family, volunteer work, and self-care time. Planning allows the important to take precedent over the urgent for once.

But, be flexible with your plan. Remember you are not a slave to your planner. It is there to serve you. If your time management system isn't working, tweak it.

Here are some more time management tips:

Know what's important to you. Figure out your values and your vision.

Start delegating to family members, co-workers, professionals, and teenagers needing extra money.

Learn to say no to what is not in your mission or your values.

Let go of perfectionism. Not everything has to be done perfectly and some things are out of your control.

Listen to audio tapes or mp3's during your commute or household tasks.

Use a planner or PDA that includes a daily to do list, a weekly calendar, a monthly calendar, a listing of projects, telephone numbers and important information.

Empty out your planner of the clutter and junk. Put the little pieces of paper in an in-box to go through in your weekly planning session.

Keep your planner with you at all times.

Do not keep a bunch of calendars around. Use only one so everything is in one place.

Keep a master list of all the things you need to do, call, see, write, etc. Don't use post-it notes all over. They seem to get lost.

Answer routine letters by answering them on the original. Photocopy your message for your own files then send off the original.

Cut down on TV time. Plan your TV time so you only watch the shows you really wanted to see. If you are watching, clean during commercials or sew while viewing.

Look at your schedule and lay out all the things you need for the next day, the night before.

Tidy your desk before you leave work so it will be clean for the next session.

Try to spend time on planning and important things so you are not always "putting out fires."

Use a timer to keep you from spending too much time on one thing or to challenge you when you are cleaning.

Relax when you are relaxing and work when you are working.

Make goals and rewrite goals every few months, so you have a focus.

Clear the clutter from your desk.

Go through your files once a year to get rid of paper you no longer need. Saves space and time. Or go through a file each time you put something in it, to keep your files current.

Get rid of things that don't work, especially pens. Save yourself some frustration.

Start with the worst item on your to do list. Everything else will be a piece of cake. You also won't be thinking and dreading it while doing other tasks. Procrastination sucks out your energy.

Be sure to bring things to do like reading, writing a letter, paying bills etc., when you know you will have to wait someplace.

A couple of times a year, keep a time log. Jot down everything you do for a day or two. Then examine where your time does not match what is important to you.

It's your life. If you don't manage your time, other people will manage it for you.

About The Author

Beth Dargis works with overwhelmed women to create saner, simpler lives. Are you in need of a break? Take the self-care quiz: http://www.encouragingcoach.com/projects-selfcare-quiz.htm

bethd@encouragingcoach.com

Car Insurance Rates | Dental Insurance | Health Insurance | Home Owner Insurance | Life Insurance Quote

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

What Are You Thinking?
What would be your reaction if someone said to you "In the next 24 hours you will be given $10,000 for every chair you sell like the one you are sitting on right now?"How many time management issues will you have? How hard will it be to set priorities for your day? How long would you wait before contacting your first prospect? How much time would you waist chatting on the phon...(related: Time Management)

The Kaizen Of Goal Setting
There is an old way of goal setting and a new way of goal setting!The old way of goal-setting involved setting yor goals, preparing a list of sub-goals, and then carefully checking them off one after another (as and when they were being accomplished). Am I trying o pour cold water on the goal setting method many of us grw up on?Not necessarilyWhile I am not saying the step-by-step approach does not work, I am advocating a flexible-goal setting approach.The flexible goal-setting approach acknowledges the presence of chaos and unpredictability of our modern times, where change is rapid and conditions shift in an instant.What's more, a tiny weeny change nowad...(related: Time Management)

Time Management? No!
Many people want to be coached to manage their time better. I say NO! to that. You cannot manage time anyway; it just keeps ticking away no matter what you do.What you can do is manage yourself based on the two concepts I keep mentioning: self-knowl...(related: Time Management)

Managing Worry: Productivity Tips For High Achievers Who Worry
Are you a worrier? Do you frequently spend time and energy worrying about your finances, your children, your career, world politics? Worry can be a highly useful, brilliantly engineered cue to action or a useless and destructive energy drain. The challenge is to decide which it is, on a case-by-case basis, and manage yourself accordingly.Here is a quick and dirty, but highly effective way to manage your worrying habit. 1. Learn to recognize when you are worrying. This takes practice. You may not recognize yourself worrying until you've been at a particular worry for days or weeks. But whether you catch you...(related: Time Management)

Self Improvement And Prioritising
The ability to be able to set priorities and deal with our most important tasks first is an essential skill for self improvement and achieving results. We are all busy and there are m...(related: Time Management)

The Ultimate Virtual Reality
I used to think video game addictions were a joke and I'd laugh anytime anyone compared it to crack but is it really that funny? Let's make some comparisons.? Crack consumes time that could have been invested more wisely ? video games consume time that could have been invested more wisely.? Crack costs money ? video games cost money.? Crack can ruin lives ? video games can ruin lives.? Crack can ruin your health ? video games can ruin your health.? Crack is addicting, meaning the more you do it the more you want it ? video games are addicting.? Crack is a hardcore substance that infiltrat...(related: Time Management)

Time Management - Keeping A Clean Desk
I have worked with so many people over the years that have made me wonder how on earth they can work at their desk when everything that was in their drawers and in their filing cabinets have ended up in piles on top of their keyboard. One co-worker of mine couldn't remember what colour the top of his desk was! I had to say something, but when I did, he told me that he knew where everything was and needed all that paperwork for different projects he was working on.Some study suggest that about 15% of our time is wasted on looking for misplaced files and paperwork at the office. People get really defensive when you tell them that their desk is a mess. They say that they don't have time to clean up, as they are too busy. And if they would file certain items they would forget to work on it and would th...(related: Time Management)

Managing Time To Accomplish More
Time is inelastic. Despite what some of us persist in believing, it will NOT magically expand to accommodate all we have to do. So, in order to maximize the time we have available, we have to spend it wisely.Here's how to do that.STRUCTURE YOUR TIMEThe very first thing to do is understand the structure of your time. If you think of the time you have available as some amorphous dimension, you will fritter it away on this and that without any real consideration of what is the best use of the time available. How many times have you got to the end of your day and felt like you'd accomplished nothing even t...(related: Time Management)

Work, Work, Work: Making Each Moment Count
Time, time, time. It seems there is never enough of this precious life support. In a previous story about time, I quoted the following aphorism:TIME IS MY FRIEND,TIME IS MY ALLYI HAVE ALL THE TIME I NEEDFOR EVERYTHING I WANT TO DO.I received a lot of grateful responses and some questions, indicating just how hard it is to balance our time requests these days. I want to respond to a subscriber who said she is "too busy to attend to personal needs vs. work, work, work" and is looking for a way to take care of herself while meeting the requirements of her workplace.Here are a couple of suggestions for anyone who is struggling to keep work and personal life in balance.First, don't judge yourself abo...(related: Time Management)

The Ultimate Time Management Tips: 5 Steps To Reaching Your Goals With Minimum Work
Would you like to know how to get 10 times more done in a day than most people do in a week, with less work?Then listen closely. You're about to discover the ONE time management and productivity secret that really works.This little technique is the ONLY thing you need to master if you want to reach all your goals with mini...(related: Time Management)

Effective Time Management Techniques
TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind a miraculous gift. A wonderful gift which cannot be seen or touched but without which there will be no meaning in life. In fact without which it would be difficult to imagine life. It is time!God being kind and just gave this to all of us in equal quantity...(related: Time Management)

5 Time Savers You (probably) Havent Tried Yet
1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather than every 7. Run a report every 6 weeks instead of every 4 weeks. Hold a meeting twice a month instead of every week.2. Race yourselfLook at the clock & commit to have the task done by a specific time. Youâ??ll stay focused, avoid distractions & pr...(related: Time Management)

Do You Over Promise And Under Deliver?
A new client recently admitted to me sheepishly that she often didn't get to complete a client's work until the client called to see if it was ready. I admired her honesty if not her time management skills.I've had times in my past sales career when my work load got so out of control I worked in a similar fashion - on the priority of the moment. This method of work gives real meaning to the saying "The squeaky wheel ge...(related: Time Management)