Time Management Techniques

Simply by changing the way you approach the use of your time you can find the hours to do all the things you want to, and even have some time left over. As well as finding more time for the things you want to do, you will also be more fulfilled in your life.

1. Time Management Techniques – 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. You cannot manage time, but you can manage yourself. 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 is just a waste of time. 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. However, there is no need to rush; you can make the necessary changes at your own pace. It is best to go slowly, at least to begin with, as you may not succeed if you try to do too much, too soon.

2. Time Management Techniques – Know yourself
Knowing yourself is the essential first step on the road to effective time management. In modern society there are so many distractions that can easily make us lose our focus on what we really want in our lives. For most people, this is an unfortunate fact of life. So this is the first step in effective time management – finding out what you really want from life. This is where you find your vision. Remember a time earlier in your life when you felt anything was possible. How did you envisage your life at that time? This could help you to get in touch with your vision. It is likely that some of your priorities will have changed since then, but many will have remained the same. Think about how you would like your life to be at home and at your work. You should also think about your capabilities and what is possible for you in life. This is your vision. Where are you now? At this stage you probably have a fairly clear picture of what your ideal life would be like. So here comes the tough part. I want you to compare this vision of your ideal life to your life as it really is now. Be prepared for a shock here as there will most likely be a vast difference between the two.
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 can transform your life on a much more fundamental level. Achieving your ideal reality will involve little changes and big changes in your life. An example of a minor change would be eating healthier. Quitting your job and going into full-time study to further yourself, that is a big change. 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.

3. Planning your day
To get started you should choose two goals that are important to you, one big and one small. Now, you want to think of one small step you can take towards achieving these that you can incorporate into one day. If you can complete the one step towards achieving each goal then you have made an excellent start. In truth, there is much more to it than this but this will show you that it is far from impossible and can be very rewarding. However, you must be much more meticulous in planning your days so that you complete everything you need to do while only spending time on the things that really matter to you.
This is where a time plan comes in. You need to have a very clear idea of what needs to be done, how long it will take, and when it is going to be done. If it is your first time using a time plan you may want to keep a time log for a week or two first. In your time log you need to write down what you do every day and how long it takes. Keeping a time log for a week should give you a clear picture of how long the various tasks you need to do take.

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. For this you will need the four Ds of self-management. These are:

• Does it – This cannot wait and needs to be taken care of now.
• Delegate it – It needs to be done, but someone else can take care of it.
• Dump it – This is not important, trash 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.