We all wish that there was more time in the day when the day is over we look back at what we accomplished. Oftentimes we wonder where all of those hours went. If you find yourself in this position, then time management might be an issue. We’re all just a little bit crunched for time. We say things like ‘There’s not enough time in the day,’ or, ‘I don’t know where I’ll find the time,’’ and I never have time for myself.’’
Time management begins with Organisation.
Time management isn’t something that a select few understand. In fact, you can effectively manage your time as long as you get organised first. Without organisation, it is difficult to see just what needs to be accomplished during the day. When you get organised with your time, you not only increase your ability to manage your daily tasks effectively, but you also increase the likelihood of putting time where it really counts. A prerequisite to effective time management, is to set goals you need to achieve.
Why is Goal setting so important?
Well, goal setting is just one part in the four part process of effective time management. However, it helps to set the playing field because if you do not know what you are aiming at you could go about your days being frustrated.
Step 1 – Set Clear Goals
An absolute must, prior to being able to manage your time effectively is to set clear goals on what you need to do. Setting clear goals down on paper is remarkably different than merely setting them in your mind. Actively set your goals by deciding exactly what you need to do, and when you need to do it by.
Step 2 – Get Organised
The second step in effective time management is getting organised. You have to properly manage your time if you want to be organised. But how do you get organised? First, set goals. Once you’ve set your goals, you have to organise them. Break your goals into milestones, so that you have a target you’re aiming at each month, week or day.
When you organise goals into reachable targets, and you place that list in front of you, your mind cannot ignore what needs to be done.
Step 3 – Prioritising Time
In 1994 Stephen D. Covey released a book entitled ‘7 Habits of Effective People,’ where he discussed a system for managing time that was originally introduced by Dwight D. Eisenhower. This system splits up activities into 4 quadrants based upon 2 factors: urgency and importance.
So, in your day, a task can be categorised by these 2 factors. They are as follows:
Quadrant 1 – Urgent and Important
Quadrant 2 – Not urgent but important
Quadrant 3 – Urgent but not important
Quadrant 4 – Not urgent and Not important
Step 4 – Destroy Procrastination
One of the hardest parts of time management is procrastination. How can we avoid procrastination? Well, we can set all the goals that we would like, get organised and prioritise our time, but if we can’t follow through with our list of things to do each day then we’re wasting time.
So how do we avoid this?
Procrastination has been termed the silent killer and it’s one of the biggest deterrents to our goals. We all say that we want to accomplish something, but when it comes down to managing our time effectively, we cannot seem to get things accomplished. Procrastination seems to be around every corner.
The only way around procrastination is to be completely aware of what needs to be done. If you set clear goals, get organised, and prioritise your time, you will be well on the way to destroying any form of procrastination.
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