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Time Management Skills

Do you ever find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day? Do you wish you could spend less time working and more time with your family? Do you find that you don't have time for the things that matter to you?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions you are probably not feeling too good right now. There is a big chance that your work is consuming much more of your time than you want it to. Or you do not have time to spend with your children that you feel they deserve.

Do not fret, your worries could soon be over. 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.

Time Management Skills - Manage yourself

There are 24 hours in the day. That is not going to change so we are going to have to accept it. You can not manage time, but you can manage yourself. This is where the answer to effective time management lies. You have to identify the things in life that truly matter to you - this is where you should spend your time. Forget about everything else.

Managing your time effectively will bring about some dramatic improvements in your life, but you must be prepared to make some fundamental changes. For this reason it is important to take it at your own pace and make one change at a time. If you bite off more than you can chew at the beginning there is a chance you may fail.

Time Management Skills - Know yourself

To really manage your time effectively you must first learn 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.

So before you can really begin to look at your time management you need to figure out what you want out of life. This is where you find 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. And think about what is possible for you and what you can really achieve. When this becomes clear to you, you have found your vision.

Where are you now?

By now, you should have a reasonable idea of what you would like your life to be like. Now comes the scary part. I want you to compare this vision of your ideal life to your life as it really is now. 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 true. Effective time management goes much deeper than that and can make major changes to the way you live your life.

If you really want to manage your time effectively you will have to make some major changes and minor changes in your life. A small change would be something like taking a walk every evening. A big change might be starting up your own business. However, both are achievable with the right approach. You will have to take a close look at how your hours are spent and make the necessary adjustments so you can achieve what you want to achieve.

Planning your day.

So have a think about your goals and as an experiment pick two that you want to achieve, one small and one big. Now you need to think of one thing you can do towards achieving these goals that you can fit into tomorrow's schedule. If you can complete the one step towards achieving each goal then you have made an excellent start.

In truth, this is just a first step on a long journey but the point is to show that effective time management and achieving your ideal life can be achieved and the process can be rewarding. Now you need to make sure that everything you do each day is taking you towards your goals, and that you plan in such a way that you complete all of the tasks you need to do each day.

This is where a time plan comes in. You need to know what you are going to do and when you are going to do it. If it is your first time using a time plan you may want to keep a time log for a week or two first. With a time log you write down in detail how you spend your time. Keeping a time log for a week should give you a clear picture of how long the various tasks you need to do take. Then you can really plan your days accurately.

The 4 Ds of time management

Now, as you make your time plan for each day you need to decide how to handle the various tasks that need doing, and how to deal with any new tasks that may arise. 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 - Not the best use of your time. Pass it on to someone else. * Dump it - This is not important, thrash it. * Defer it - This needs to be done, but it can wait until later.

You should be able to file any task that arises in your average day under one of the four Ds.

Time wasters

Now let's look at 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:

* Bad planning - Make sure you keep yourself organized. Keep everything filed appropriately and be sure to write down all meetings and appointments.

* Procrastination - Many people keep deferring things when they are best done immediately. Don't fall into this trap.

* Failure to delegate - Are there tasks in your day that are not effective use of your time? If so, delegate them.

* 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.

These are just some of the basics of effective time management. Keep any changes you make gradual and maintain them until they become second nature to you. Each of these small steps will bring you closer to your vision and leave you with time to do all of the things you want each day.

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