You have three resources over which you have control that can enable you to attain whatever you desire out of life: Knowledge, Energy and Time. These are the big three: K.E.T. Unfortunately, the one of these success-factors which often gets the least attention is the mastery of your time. Too many of us tend to fi ure that there are 24 hours in a day and that’s it.
But that is simply not true. I accomplish more with my 24 hours than 98 percent of the population. This is achieved while regularly getting a good night’s sleep and rarely feeling stressed or over burdened. As a veteran time management advocate, I offer you the following secrets to effective and efficient time management.
#1 – The starting point is always being driven by the right attitude. That attitude can be summarized with the following words: You get the most out of life by endeavoring to get the most out of each day. As suggested above, this can be accomplished while getting plenty of rest and seldom being stressed or over burdened.
#2 – Treat your time the same way you treat your money: Spend it wisely. The start of this wisdom is knowing exactly how you are currently spending your time. You do this by doing just five things
a. Sit down and actually prepare a list of everything you do during a typical week. Write next to each activity when it is normally done.
b. Go down each item on the list and ask the following question: Does this activity actually need to be done? Eliminate everything which does not need to be done.
c. For each activity which actually needs to be done, ask this question: Am I the person who should be doing it? If you are not the person who should be performing a particular task, stop doing it and assign or delegate it to the person who is better positioned to perform the task.
d. For each item left on the list, ask this question: Is there a way I can adequately do this either less frequently or faster. In 80 percent of all cases, you will be able to perform all necessary tasks either less often or faster.
e. Finally, determine if there is possibly a better arrangement of when things are done that can lead to better efficiency. If so, re-arrange when things are done.
#3 – Operate from a daily Things-to-Do list. This list is to be prepared a day in advance and it is to allow for travel and preparation time for each task as well as down time when no specific task is listed.
# 4 – Achieve maximum physical organization by having a place for everything and (when not in use) keep everything in its place. Follow this rule whether you work at a desk, in a workshop or out of a car.
#5 – Carry a small notebook or hand-held tape recorder so you can keep a record of important thoughts as they occur.
#6 – Learn to say no. In other words, avoid over committing your energy and your time.
#7 – Rest and enjoy yourself. A tired, cheerless person will have neither the energy nor the motivation to make efficient use of time.
#8 – You must constantly seek ways to improve yourself. This involves gaining additional knowledge and experience to enable you to do things in a better and faster manner. This essentially involves reading and learning from your achievements. Always seek to repeat success – be it yours or that of someone else.
By Robert N. Taylor
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert Taylor is a veteran time-management researcher with a Masters Degree in Mass Communications. More about time-management, his How to Think e-book and other self-improvement topics are available at his website: http://www.freewebs.com/wealthgazette/
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