Time Management is a vehicle to take you from wherever you are to wherever you want to go.
Like most working people, I have been trying to find a silver bullet on how to use my time in the best possible way. I realized early on that when I put my time to good use, I get good results, and when I just let it drift, I am not effective. I do not have the complete answer yet, but I have gathered a lot of useful pointers along the way. This post is a collections of all the ideas I have found and tried out to manage my time better. Try them, some of these may click for you.
Live in Present
Do not dwell too much on the past or future. Use your present moments well and you will create a fond memory for yourself with every passing moment. Also, the best way to counter worry about future is to do something about it today. Do learn from past mistakes and plan for future, but live life in present.
Keep a To Do List
Keep a checklist of tasks that you need to do today and tick off a task when it is done. This is a simple but very useful technique to get started with Time Management. Be careful not to load your list with a lots of task that you can not finish in the short run. A huge pending To Do list can de-motivate you at times.
Prioritize your tasks
There are tasks that needs to be done berfore others, so it is helpful to assign priority A, B, or C to each task. Work to complete all A tasks today. Then take up B tasks, and then C tasks if the time permits. Never take up a C task if an A task is pending. This is good to ensure that the time is devoted to urgent tasks first. Be very careful while assigning the priorities to the tasks, and keep your list to yourself. Do not put your marriage in danger by letting your spouse find out that you have marked a C priority against taking her to shopping.
Do it Now
What is the best time to complete any work? Next month? Next week? Tomorrow? None of the above. The only time you have to do anything is NOW. Doing anything now is better than thinking about doing something later. Great technique to build an action orientation. However, remember that there are always projects that can not all be done immediately without careful planning. In such cases, do the planning now! Also, avoid the pitfall of acting without thought when you overdo this.
Eat That Frog
We all avoid tasks that are difficult or unpleasant. (The big frog). Make a habit of taking up the most difficult task first thing in the morning. When you have handled the big frog already, other smaller frogs will no longer pose a challenge. Good suggestion, and works well most of the time. There are times when starting with an easy task helps you build momentum. So, need to apply judgement according to the situation.
Keep a Schedule
So far, by keeping lists, you were just telling yourself what you need to do in which order. Its time now to specify when to do it. Make a schedule for your day with the tasks you need to do in a diary or a tool like Outlook. You can also keep your meetings and appointments in your schedule. What's the advantage of all this work? You know right at the start of the day what you can accomplish during the day. You also know what to do at a given time, so you can say no to unnecessary interruptions that are time wasters. This is most discussed and practiced technique. You must give it a try to see what it can do it for you. Pitfalls to watch - do not become slave of your schedule. When required, make changes if they make sense. Remember that the schedule is for you, not the other way round. However, take your appointments and meetings very seriously. When you show respect for others' time, you gain their respect in return.
Do the Important
Most of our time goes into doing the urgent tasks, and we often neglect the important tasks as low priority. Tasks like repairing a broken car is done urgently, while getting the preventive maintenance done on the car may not be that high in priority. It is an important task, but not urgent. We often complain about fire-fighting all the time. We should react to the urgencies no doubt, but if we keep doing the important tasks in time, we can prevent them from becoming urgent. A careful plan today may save us from problems tomorrow. A good exercise may help us avoid health emergencies. An investment today may help avoid a financial crisis tomorrow. Develop a keen eye to recognize a task that has strategic importance and resolve to do them now. This one habit can change your entire life - from constant out-of-control fire fighting to a smooth, balanced routine with systematic plan in place. Sounds like I am smoking something? Try it out yourself and see the impact. To find out more on how to do it, read Stephen Covey.
Find out your Mission
What has my mission got to do with time management? Before you get down to spending time on the most important tasks in your life, you will need to ask the question, "What is most important for me?" And the most important tasks in your life are those that are connected with the mission of your life. It is not easy, but spending time on thinking about and discovering your mission statement gives you such an anchoring effect that the impact can just be experienced, can not be described. Contrary to popular belief, each and every one of us can have a mission statement that articulates what he or she is about.
Armed with all this knowledge, it may seem that managing time must be really simple stuff for me. Far from it, even with the understanding of the principles involved, it is tough to get the best out of my time on a day-to-day basis. Even after years of trying out, it is still an unsolved mystery for me. I hope I can find the answer before the time runs out for me :)
