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/

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