How often have you tried to manage your time in more productive ways, and found the process to be difficult and confusing? Perhaps you simply gave up on the idea. As one friend said, "Time management takes too much time!"
These tips will simplify time management with five important steps that can bring remarkable changes. They will allow you to easily customize a plan that will fit your specific objectives. Each action in your plan should support one of these five steps.
1. Prioritize Objectives and Actions.
Place a level of importance on each project or goal. Decide which actions are the most important for reaching your top-level objectives. Then spend the necessary time on those objectives first. That might seem obvious, but it requires thoughtful planning to prioritize time expenditures. It requires discipline to stick with the schedule.
Setting priorities also allows the mind to focus on desired outcomes. Time spent prioritizing projects, actions, and time expenditures is a wise investment of time.
2. Balance Time Expenditures.
Balancing time expenditures reduces stress. It brings success and fulfillment to careers and personal lives. Consider all the important areas in your life, and your values for each of them.
Consider areas such as family, health, career, relationships, spirituality, and relaxation. Take into account your responsibilities and activities within each of these areas. Balanced living brings contentment that is often absent in today's fast moving world.
3. Visualize Your Outcome and Feel Gratitude.
You've prioritized and balanced your time expenditures. What results did you want to achieve from each time expenditure in step one? Why are each of those results important to you?
See those results in your mind's eye each day. Then create the unmistakable feeling that those results have already been achieved. Most importantly, create a strong, silent feeling of gratitude that you have already received each result that you visualized.
4. Measure Results.
The only way to know if your efforts at time management are working is to measure the results. If you continue to feel stressed or do not see tangible changes taking place, it's time to re-evaluate what you are doing and make changes.
5. Adjust and Repeat.
Time and its winds of constant change are sure to bring surprises that intervene in your initial plans. One of the most frequent mistakes in managing time is neglecting to fine tune. First attempts at prioritizing and balancing often need a second look. If your results are less than you wanted, return to step one. Fine tune your schedule to make it more functional.
Time expenditures will always need to be reallocated periodically. Goals, needs, values, commitments, and responsibilities change. New projects and objectives will enter the picture. Unexpected events and new relationships will require flexibility.
Increase Productivity and Satisfaction
Daily actions that support each of these five steps can bring more work productivity and personal life satisfaction. With a schedule that must be flexible, I check and adjust my time expenditures weekly. This insures that my actions are supporting my career and personal objectives. These actions for effective time-management can support your objectives also.
Stop and think of a top-level objective that you want to reach. Ask yourself this question:
"If I could choose only one activity today that would take me closer to this objective, what would it be?" You've just started the process with step number one.
Keep practicing each of these five time-management steps by applying them to your situation. You will be pleased with the results.
? Copyright 2005 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://achieveezine.com
family-safe home cleaners Lincolnshire ..Balancing Your Work, Family and Social Life... Read More
As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More
In most organizations, meetings are often the biggest time-wasters. With... Read More
Do you wish you could work less and play more?... Read More
As a professional organizer, consultant and trainer, I have come... Read More
How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More
A common remedy for improving your time management is to... Read More
It's always a challenge finding time to clean my house.... Read More
Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number... Read More
My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I... Read More
Despite the best of intentions, most of us don't use... Read More
Yesterday, I'd just gotten comfortable at my favorite table in... Read More
I have a habit of sending a thank you letter... Read More
How do you know what's the best use of your... Read More
Get a grip. Is it possible to manage time? Can... Read More
Recently I've experienced a barrage of time wasters. Everything you... Read More
1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather... Read More
Does it seem like there is never enough time in... Read More
41 practical and quick ways to get on top of... Read More
Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More
How many of us are guilty of "Putting the cart... Read More
Your productivity depends on good tools and effective environments, and... Read More
Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More
If you can regularly ask yourself "Am I regularly and... Read More
Time is inelastic. Despite what some of us persist in... Read More
maide service in Buffalo Grove ..Choose to be HappyHappiness is a choice. You can choose... Read More
How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More
TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind... Read More
Friends, colleagues, and clients are all telling me that one... Read More
I used to think video game addictions were a joke... Read More
All too often we can feel overwhelmed by the amount... Read More
Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number... Read More
Many folks tell me that they just don't have time... Read More
As a small business owner, does the following paragraph sound... Read More
Does choosing which time we do an activity really make... Read More
Do you believe that the best way to deal with... Read More
From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More
To work smarter all you need is the consciousness of... Read More
"It's just been one of those days?I can't seem to... Read More
"Time is what we need the most and what we... Read More
Clarity brings accomplishmentOne of the most important things you can... Read More
?busy, busy, busy, busy, busy?busy, busy, bus? OK, slap me... Read More
Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed... Read More
It's 6:00 a.m. I'm awake. I'm pumped! I'm ready to... Read More
What would be your reaction if someone said to you... Read More
Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality... Read More
This is one more article on "Organizing and Enjoying Your... Read More
A new client recently admitted to me sheepishly that she... Read More
"TIME CANNOT BE 'MANAGED.' THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF TIME MANAGEMENT... Read More
People always seem to be in such a hurry, everywhere... Read More
Time Management |