If you're ever going to take control of your life and make it grand, you'll need to start by taking control of your time. Without question, effective time management is fundamental to succeeding in any area of life. In fact, it is often the main difference between life's achievers and those who, although always busy, never get anywhere.

Not surprisingly, an entire industry has been created out of the need to better manage our time. But if you look a little deeper, you'll see that its not so much about time management as it is self management. Because in reality, you can't control time, but you can control yourself and what you do with each moment of time.

Most experts agree that success is the result of habit. Therefore, the first step in improving how you use your time starts with your habits (self control). And your habits start as consciously made decisions (i.e. what time you get up, what kind of books you read, etc.).

Once established, good habits become second nature. In many cases, success is not so much the result of doing the unusual, but rather the result of one's ability to "master the mundane." By consistently performing all of the little rudimentary tasks that are important, over time these activities transform into huge achievements.

Here's some simple rules to follow for better time management:

Don't procrastinate. Do it now. When people put things off, it kills momentum, slows achievement of current goals and restricts future opportunity as time is clogged up. The way to tackle procrastination is to set deadlines by which goals should be achieved. The way to avoid last-minute deadlines brought on by procrastination is to set intermediary goals which must be achieved and then steadily track progress.

Track your activities. Memory is a poor guide when it comes to assessing how you spend your time. A better way is to record your activities throughout the day, listing everything you do. Most people will find that they have about three hours each day that can be used in a more constructive or efficient manner. Take stock of the time you spend chatting on the phone, flipping though magazines or aimlessly surfing the Web, and eliminate all that isn't necessary.

Concentrate on results. Many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity, but achieve very little because they are not concentrating on the right things. Don't confuse working efficiently with working effectively. Activities can be tension-relieving, but not goal-achieving. By concentrating on fewer "major" priorities regularly, you can achieve a lot more in less time.

Remember the 80/20 principle: 20% of your key activities will give you 80% of your results. Your aim is to change this to ensure that you concentrate as much of your effort as possible on the high payoff tasks.

Use travel time wisely. It's easy to overlook time spent traveling in your assessment of time management. Consider carefully whether this is time that you could use more productively. For example, if you opted to take the bus or train to work, would this provide an opportunity to make better use of your commute time? Or if you do drive, are you listening to educational or motivational tapes (rather than the Top 40) which could help improve your skills and make you a more productive and well-rounded person?

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next