Time Management Tools
What tools should I use to help me master time management
skills?
We all know what time management is. We all want to
accomplish more, be more efficient and more goal oriented. But
for many of us, effective time management is very elusive.
Why is that? Part of the problem is motivation. What
motivates you? Without a clear understanding of exactly WHY you
are doing what you're doing everyday, you'll forever be lost in
the cycle of doing more and gaining less. Ask yourself these
questions:
- What is it you are trying to achieve?
- How will it make you feel when you achieve it?
- How will it make you feel if you don't achieve it?
Putting your thoughts on paper is one the most effective
ways of "planting" information in your brain.
Fifteen minutes of planning goes a long way in organizing
your day.
Here is a quick mental test that you can do to see how well
you have attempted to make positive results out of your time
management: Think about the last ten days, and ask yourself
this question: "How many minutes per day did I spend directly
planning any of those days?" Now before you start calculating
how well you "planned", keep in mind that time in the shower
doesn't count, nor does the thinking you did while jogging, or
while you were driving. Of course those are wonderful thinking
times, but I'm referring to highly concentrated periods of
thought where you sat down in a quiet room, closed your eyes,
and visualized the entire day's planned activities, and their
successful outcomes. So, how much time did you spend?
If you can follow the time-tested advice of spending fifteen
to thirty minutes at the beginning of each day planning your
time you'll be able to actually free up time throughout the
rest of the day. You must be consistent and loyal about it 7
days per week,but I guarantee you - you will see results.
What are some of the benefits of time management?
- Clearly defined tasks with deadlines
- Increased focus on more important tasks
- Less time spent between projects
- Greater sense of accomplishment
- Overall sense of success at the end of the day
One of the best free tools for time management is the
Simpleology course. It
takes the 15 minute planning session and makes it much more
efficient (and fun, too!). Besides the lessons, there is
also free desktop time management software to help you stay
on track all day long. If you need help staying focused, go
to the online forum and ask some questions. Someone there is
always willing to help.
Proper time management can dramatically improve the quality
of your life and increase the amount of work that you get done.
There are a lot of tools to help you and you can pay a lot of
money for organizers and planners, but the best one in my
opinion is Simpleology.
|