Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Staying On Task - How to Be Better at Time Management


Everyone has "Mondays". We all have days when we feel like we ran around for hours but got nothing done. Time management is typically the cause for these days. You do not have to be stuck in this loop. It is not impossible to fix your time management habits and skills. You only need a willing attitude to work hard to fix this behavior. Different time management methods do exist. What works for one person might not work for you, so you'll have to try a few things before you find the habits that work best. Here's a few things you can try to get you off to a good start.
When it comes to planning your day and sticking to a schedule, a certain amount of flexibility is healthy. The more structure you try to force upon yourself, the more stressed out you will get.
As you've probably noticed, stress makes it harder for you to concentrate on your goals, so you get less done. Learn to let some things slide for the sake of your sanity. This doesn't mean to ignore larger goals. It just means that you don't have to get bent out of shape if a meeting you had scheduled for today can't take place until tomorrow for some reason. In such cases, just go with the flow. Too much structure is not good for your productivity, or even your health!
Begin each day by making a list of the things you need to accomplish before you go to bed that night. You have them down on paper now, take some time to sort them into a functional order by priority. The highest priority items go at the top, the lowest priority items go at the bottom. You can now use this organized list as a "to do" list. Nothing feels quite as satisfying as crossing items off of a to-do list or tossing out a completely finished "to do" list at the end of the day. Instead of wasting valuable time trying to figure out what you are supposed to be doing you can simply look at your list now to see what's next.
Draw up a schedule for yourself. You do not need to schedule yourself down to the second or even the minute. You definately have to eat so be sure to schedule in breaks and lunch or dinner. You are more able to keep a schedule that allows you time for a break. Try not to make you list too detailed to avoid over stressing yourself. Time scheduled down to the minute is great. It is actually mostly impossible to keep a schedule like that. Don't over extend yourself. You can't become a time management expert overnight. Almost everyone has a tendency to waste time on occasion. Diversions are everywhere. We all have days that "get away from" us. If you stay focused on improving, you will gradually make progress. At first change is always hard, but it becomes easier if you persist. You will reach the point where you are able to get more things done in less time. It won't even take any special effort. That is when you know that you have learned good time management skills.

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