Time management
 | Did you ever wonder how you could somehow stretch time to achieve more goals in your typical day? I am sure that a lot of people experience this and they just wish they could expand time so that they would have more opportunities to achieve Life success. However, rather than focusing on gaining more time to do more things, what we should do is focus on how WE manage our time effectively and what activities are REALLY important. time management tips Time management is a question of self-management rather than of managing time itself. The following are examples of some of the biggest time wasters that can drain your effort to succeed: . Not having a clear Life Purpose, Core Values and Principles. The fact is that when you have clarified which Values you will choose to honor you will find it easier to take faster decisions- and this will save you on time. . Not having a clear Vision of what needs to be done. Without a clear vision you cannot take action and you may keep waffling on decisions you need to take. . Not having a clear prioritization of the actions that need to be taken. Unless you plan well you will be planning to fail and you may end up having to do things twice. . Not having effective To Do lists. To do lists can help you to keep focused and if they are prioritized well then can keep you focused on the Big Rocks. . Making unrealistic time estimates of the tasks that need to be done. This will mess up with your schedule and you might find yourself having to postpone important tasks. . Using time to do urgent but unimportant activities. When you are caught up in fire fighting activities you may not be able to focus on what really needs to be done. . Focusing your effort on problems as they arise rather than planning for the future i.e. Crisis management. . Procrastination- leaving things that can be done now to another time will build up pressure until you loose control. . Putting off decisions and worrying over things you do not have control over. . Accepting interruptions that can otherwise be managed. These could include certain telephone calls and visits by people. . Coming back to a task twice, e.g. opening an email without answering it immediately. . Failing to delegate effectively. If you try to hold on to everything you will end up loosing control. Learn to relax your grip and trust people more. . Controlling subordinates without leaving any space for growth and personal initiative. . Implementing an action without proper planning or organization leading to errors and loss of time. . Not evaluating mistakes to learn from them. . Lack of contingency planning . Ineffective meetings that do not result in specific outcomes or decisions . Other time wasters such as watching too much television. Clearly these time wasters have got nothing to do with time itself and all to do with the way you self-manage your activities. Just consider your typical day and ask yourself how many of these time wasters consume your time. Once you do that start zapping away at these time wasters and take control of life. Time management |
