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Steps to Time Management

Do you struggle to find time for all the things you want to do? Are you struggling to cope with the demands of your job? Do you feel like you are missing out on the best things in life because you don't have enough time?

Most likely you answered yes to one or more of these questions and feel like you are not really where you want to be in life. It could be that the pressures of your professional life are getting you down. Or you could be feeling guilty because you are not spending enough time at home with your family.

Don't worry, it may not be as bad as you think. There is a solution to your problems. It only takes a few small adjustments in the way you use your time to change your life forever. This is not only about managing your time effectively, it can change your life fundamentally and for the better.

One of the steps to time management is knowing how to manage yourself

We have only so much time in each day. That is not going to change so we are going to have to accept it. Time can not be changed, but the way you approach it can. This is the secret of effective time management. You have to identify the things in life that truly matter to you - this is where you should spend your time. Everything else should be eliminated from your life.

It is important to point out at this stage that making the changes necessary to manage your time effectively can mean making some fundamental changes in your lifestyle. Because of this, you need to take one step at a time. Trying to make big changes at the beginning might be too much for you, so start with small steps.

Another of the steps to time management is understanding what makes you tick

To take the first step in effective time management you need to know yourself. With the pressures of modern life it is easy to lose sight of what we really want in our lives. For most people, this is an unfortunate fact of life.

Therefore, the first thing you need to do before you even begin to manage your time is to get in touch with what you really want from life. When you discover this you have discovered your vision. Remember a time earlier in your life when you felt anything was possible. What were your dreams and aims when you were that age? Your dreams and goals at this time may help you get in touch with your vision. No doubt, some priorities will have changed, but many will have remained the same.

Also ask yourself how you would like your personal and professional life to be. Also consider your potential and what you think you can really achieve in life. When this becomes clear to you, you have found your vision.

Where are you now?

At this stage you probably have a fairly clear picture of what your ideal life would be like. The next step is tricky. You need to look at your life now and compare it to your vision, to how you would really like your life to be like. For most people, the difference between the two can be quite daunting.

Don't worry if this is the case as bridging the gap between your ideal reality and your life now is much easier than you would expect. Many people think effective time management is all about calendars and diaries. Not so. Effective time management goes much deeper than that and can make major changes to the way you live your life.

Achieving your ideal reality will involve little changes and big changes in your life. For example, watching less television, that is a little change. A major change could be quitting your job to travel the world. However, both are achievable with the right approach. You need to examine how you spend your time each day and make the necessary changes to achieve your goals.

The 4 Ds of time management

Now you can move onto looking more closely at the things you need to do each day and deciding how to handle them. So let me introduce you to the four Ds of self-management. Which are:

* Do it - This can not wait and needs to be taken care of now. * Delegate it - This task doesn't suit you, get someone else to do it. * Dump it - This is not important, thrash it. * Defer it - This needs doing but not now, so it can wait.

When you plan your day, and even during the day, you should be able to file all the things that need doing under one of the four Ds.

Time wasters

And let's not forget time wasters. Time wasters can destroy any attempt at effective time management if they are not identified and eliminated. This is mainly because they can be very hard to spot and are often the most trivial things.

These are some time wasters to watch out for:

* Lack of or poor planning - File things properly, write down appointments, that kind of thing. Basically, you need to be organized to use your time effectively.

* Procrastination - Some things need to be done now. Don't get into the habit of putting things off unnecessarily.

* Not delegating - No one person can be good at everything. You need to delegate tasks that eat into your time unnecessarily to other people.

* Interruptions - Set up your workspace so that there are no distractions that will disrupt your workflow.

Try to identify the time wasters that are holding you back and eliminate them from your life.

Hopefully, this will help you get started in managing your time more effectively. Breaking old habits isn't easy so take the changes you need to make one step at a time. If you maintain this you will find yourself becoming more content in life and with much more time for the things that matter to you.

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