Friday, October 22, 2010

The Best Time Management Tools

Time Management is about what you decide and then do. Time itself cannot be changed, but the way you manage it can be. How you do it depends on the quality of your skills and the relevance of your tools.

Anything you do is much easier if you use tools - the right tools at that. So which time management tools will actually help you to manage your time efficiently and effectively?

Different people like different tools, but whatever you use, make sure they're simple to use, easy to get to and bound to work.

Of the two time management tools that I want to focus on here, one is well known, but often poorly used. The other is far less common, but hugely effective for those who know how to use it. Both have the potential to transform how you live and work:

1. Pen and paper. Keep these with you and you've got a 'capture tool' handy whenever you want to capture thoughts, ideas, numbers, addresses, reminders, or any other information.

Use the best quality pen and paper that you can. This will encourage you to use them more. To that end, make sure they are small enough to be truly portable, and sturdy enough to cope with the demands of everyday use. By the way, 'paper' could be mean a small notebook or memo pad.

In terms of the three criteria mentioned earlier - simplicity, accessibility and reliability - a decent pen and paper pad win hands down.

2. Do-diary. This combines a to-do list with a diary. Instead of scheduling appointments you schedule tasks to do on a particular date. The only 'rule' as such is that you schedule tasks for tomorrow or beyond rather than adding to today's list (which you wrote yesterday!) as you go along.

The great thing about this type of diary is that you can remind yourself to do things on certain days. For example, you may know the date of someone's birthday. Use your Do-diary to 'do' what needs to be done to ensure the card gets there on time; in this case, buy, write and send the card, perhaps a week before. Is the birthday on the 18th? In your Do-diary put it in on the 11th.

Go out and buy yourself a decent pen, sturdy notepad and simple diary, or create your own, as I do. Use these two time management tools and, simply put, you'll get more good stuff done. That's what it boils down to!


Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Planning Your Free Time Management Tools

You're about to learn to take control of your time and really get things done. Some people would fuss around things undone because they don't have enough time to do so. But, do they really have not enough time? Or they just don't know how to utilize their own schedule. This is where time management butt in in order to get things done by making most out of your time.

Time management is the issue here. It is the art of planning, organizing, prioritizing, and controlling one's time for the purpose of utilizing more effective work and productivity. Time management is not just for any particular person or for any particular position. Time management is crucial for everyone- for students, professionals and non-professionals, and for homemakers.

The very key to a successful time management is planning. You must have the commitment to change, as well as, the commitment to take that into action. Figure out exactly what you are doing, what needs to be done, and what should not be done in an orderly manner.

Before anything else, time management involves setting your goals and implement those goals into organized actions. You have to concentrate on the results rather than the feeling of being busy. Condition yourself and your environment.

As a rule of thumb, to effectively utilize what you are planning to do you should take note that your outcomes are far greater than your causes. This applies on the 80:20 Principle. the 20 percent input would result into a 4-folded output!

Just be creative in finding and introducing different ways to do things. Find efforts, to see and assess what activities are most important, which activities are urgent,and which are not. One of the best example is managing emails and phone calls. Instead of letting them manage you, check at planned times and avoid continuous notifications.

Manage your environment as a whole. Especially that there are new systems, tools and technology available for a much more convenient way to generate efficiency and effective management of your time.

There are lots of free time management tools in the Internet available to help you with your time effectively. The simplest method is the To Do Lists. Be it on a computer-based, online or not, or paper-based system, writing all the things you need to do in a daily basis and then prioritizing them, will make you much better organized and reliable.

Google has also their own calendar offered for free. It is generally a free-time management web application that can synchronize with your mobile devices and integrate with other Google services. One feature is the SMS updating that allows users to create and check new information via SMS.

Google calendar is one time management tool that Google has stored for everyone for free! Events are stored online where you can keep track anywhere you go. An offline access feature lets you view a read-only version of your calendar so that you will know where and what to do even when you don't have an Internet access.

Another helpful web application is Joe's Goal Tracker. It is a simple, sleek way to trace your progress on achieving positive targets, while avoiding negative ones, online. It is much like a web-based version of a personal guideline. With Joe's Goals you get a point for every goal you achieve and lose a point for each bad habit.

Joe's Goal Tracker is one tool that tracks your activities by adding daily notes explaining your experiences. It is use to record your thoughts, track your spending, watch your health, and track your dreams and inspirations. Kind of an online reminder and diary in one!

Remember the yellow stick-on notes in computers, desks, and boards? There is a computer-based stick-on notes called Stickies that does more likely with the Post-it notes sticking in your screens. It is your computer-base to-do-list with alarms that reminds you of the things you opt to do.

If you are the visual-type of person that works well with Post-it reminders, then Stickies is for you. It sticks on your PC which allows you to be constantly reminded of your daily tasks.

Actually, there are lots of free online time management tools available. Opting for a manual tool is up to the you whichever is convenient. It is important to find a system that is base on your liking toward a more effective use of your time.

With options available for free time management tools online, you just got to do the basics- plan, organize, prioritize, implement, and self-discipline. With just this simple routine, no paper- or software-based tool can top it all. Because it is all up to you!


Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Time Management - Tools for Success

We are all so busy these days that it seems we are doing so many things and I for one realize that I'm not performing as well as I would like. Do you feel the same?

There are so many responsibilities on a day to day basis that I often wonder if I'm going to be able to accomplish all the tasks I have in front of me. Those feelings of overwhelm have become a familiar friend. With all the stress in my life I had to find a new way of working. A new plan that would help me not only stay on task but also be able to accomplish them in a timely manner.

The solution: a good time management system. Let's face it there are tons of different time management systems out there. Some work for a while and some don't ever work. If I'm going to use a time management system then I have to use one that I know will work for me.

The first step was to sit down and come up with a plan that would work for me on a day to day basis, but could be flexible with my busy life.

Here are the steps that I followed to put my plan in place:

1. Target: I first had to come up with a target regarding the tasks that needed to be completed and how much time I had in order to get them done. Some jobs are ongoing but other jobs have a completion date.
2. Planning: This part is very important because I had to decide how much time each job was going to take, when it needed to be completed, or if it was an ongoing job so I would schedule time to work on the task.
3. Prioritize: Another important part in figuring out my time management plan. Some of the tasks I perform are urgent or have a completion that has to be met. I know this is going to be an ongoing challenge as new tasks come up but if I keep my time management plan handy I can make changes as I go along.
4. Schedule: One of the benefits of having an effective time management plan is being able to schedule my time. One thing I started doing was to put in not only tasks for my job but also events that occur in my personal life. For instance, I now have a time slotted for when I go to the gym and when I have lunch or dinner with certain friends.

It turned out that putting together a time management plan wasn't all that difficult once I sat down and took a look at all the task and events I have in my life. Everything is now in one place on a calendar that I put together on my computer. It can be changed as I go along and I can print it out to take with me so I have it in case I need to add something to the plan.


Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Saturday, October 16, 2010

tools of time management

• Time Management Training from MindTools.com - How to manage time ...
Download the Time Management Skills Section - download the public articles in the Mind Tools time management section in PDF format. Print or store on your ...

• time management skills training articles, techniques, tips and ...
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• Personal time management and goal setting guide
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• 15 Awesome Time Management Tools and Apps - by Dumb Little Man
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• Effective Time Management Tools to Help End Procrastination
Work Life Balance wants you to throw away your to do list and take advantage of more effective time management tools.

Friday, October 15, 2010

time management tools for managers

• Time Management Training from MindTools.com - How to manage time ...
This section of Mind Tools teaches you personal time management skills. These are the simple, practical techniques that have helped the leading people in ...

• Productivity, Personal Time Management for Busy Managers
Personal Time Management has many facets. Most managers recognize a few, ... Personal Time Management is a set of tools which allow you to: ...

• Time Management: The Managers Role in Employee Development
There are a number of articles on time management and a managers role in employee .... There are many tools managers can use in developing employees. ...

• Time Management for Managers - Charles Warner
Time Management for Managers. Characteristics Of Time ... Planning Tools. To-Do List; Action Folder; Management Folders; Project Folders; Calendar ...

• Project management - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Typical constraints are scope, time, and budget. The secondary—and more ... His work is the forerunner to modern project management tools including work ..... Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, ...

Thursday, October 14, 2010

time management tips tools

• Time Management Training from MindTools.com - How to manage time ...
This section of Mind Tools teaches you personal time management skills. These are the simple, practical techniques that have helped the leading people in ...

• Mind Tools - Management Training, Leadership Training and Career ...
How Good is Your Time Management?* - Discover time management tools that can help you. How to Ask for a Pay Raise* – Objectively evaluating your value to ...

• Personal time management and goal setting guide
A personal digital assistant ( PDA ) versus other time management tools ... Time management tips give bite size chunks of practical advice on how to make ...

• Practical time management tips
Ideas, tips, tools and more to help you organize your home, your office and your life! Our Time Management Fortress Newsletter ...

• Time Management - Time Management Tips
Information about time management, including time management skills, time management software, time management tools and time management tips. ...

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

electronic time management tools

• A personal digital assistant ( PDA ) versus other time management ...
Yet, a handheld PDA is much smarter than most pocket electronic devices and time management tools. It is a computer with a powerful processor and quite a ...

• Personal Electronic Time Management Tools | eHow.com
5 May 2010 ... Personal electronic time management tools can be an effective way to organize your work day and personal time. You can use electronic time ...

• Electronic Time Management Tools | eHow.com
12 Jul 2010 ... Electronic Time Management Tools. Effective time management ensures you stay organized at work. From scheduling your day to prioritizing ...

• The electronic time management revolution will not be televised ...
14 Apr 2006 ... The move to electronic time-management tools has happened much more slowly. People still used paper-based planners, Post-It Notes, ...

• Mind Tools - Management Training, Leadership Training and Career ...
How Good is Your Time Management?* - Discover time management tools that can help you. How to Ask for a Pay Raise* – Objectively evaluating your value to ...

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

effective tools for time management tracking

• Online Enterprise Project Management Software, Web Based Project ...
Use simple and effective workflow tools that simplify your project planning, time and expense tracking, project cost and billing, and resource scheduling ...

• Find Online Project Management Software & Other 100% Web Applications
Online project management software system that provides simple and effective workflow tools for project planning, project tracking, cost accounting, ...

• Time Management - Time Management Tips
Effective time management begins with time tracking. Week 1 of the Small Business Success Program focuses ... Top 10 Time Management and Productivity Tools ...

• Time Management Tips
This is because people are told to track their time and then not told what to do ... These time management tools help you get more done, achieve more, .... Personal Time Management: Develop Effective Habits for Personal Time Management ...

• Tracking Your Time: 5 Awesome Tools For Freelancers for Time ...
11 Jun 2010 ... Looking at the importance of time management, today we have collected 5 tools which can make your life easier be managing your time for you.