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1-Page Summary of Time Management

What is Time Management?

Time doesn’t care who you are. If you don’t use it, you can’t get it back. Therefore, the best way to manage your time is to be organized and focused on what needs to happen. Time management has nothing to do with time itself; rather, it’s about the things that need to happen. To manage your time properly, focus on what matters most and eliminate activities that waste your resources or hurt other people (by dumping them).

Establish Good Habits

Your personality type (which you can determine by taking a test) indicates what kind of time manager you are. If you’re more people-oriented, your strength is encouraging teamwork and being skilled at communication. If you’re more task-oriented, your weakness may be delegating tasks to others; however, if that’s the case, then your strong point is completing those tasks on time. Once you know which category best fits you, work on improving yourself in areas where improvement is necessary and capitalize on the things that come naturally to you.

If you have trouble managing your time, it’s probably because of some bad habits. Do a few things to get back on track:

• Schedule large jobs first – If you schedule the big tasks for later, it will be more difficult to do them. * Don’t wait to start a task – You are fooling yourself if you think that a task will be easier later on in the day or week. It won’t get easier; it’ll just build up and become harder to complete. * The best way to keep your thoughts organized is by using one notebook for ideas, notes, and lists of things you need to do. * Do difficult tasks when you’re most productive – Save those hard tasks for your peak time of day so they don’t pile up and overwhelm you at other times. * Get others involved with work whenever possible—if someone else can do something better than you, let them! This allows both people (or groups) to accomplish their goals faster because there’s less work overall. ” ‘

Create a Productive Environment

Find a quiet place where you can work and focus on the task at hand. If it’s something that requires concentration, then go someplace new to get away from distractions. Turn off your voicemail and don’t check email until you’re done with the task at hand. Get up earlier than usual so that you have more time for those tasks which don’t fit into the busy day schedule.

Lists: The Key to Success

Making lists is a great way to keep track of what you need to do. Start your day by making a list of everything that needs to get done and then prioritize those items as “A” for tasks that are extremely important, “B” for things that are less important but still need attention, and “C” for tasks that don’t really have to be done at all.

Regardless of the task, write it down. You’ll feel accomplished when you cross a completed item off your list. If you’ve carried an item from one daily list to the next more than five times, cross it off because you’re never going to accomplish that task anyway. Be flexible and build in time for unforeseen circumstances so you don’t miss out on great opportunities.

Getting Through the Bears

When you have a task that’s too big to handle, break it up into smaller components and set incremental goals. Set a timer for 10 minutes and work on the project until the timer goes off. It’ll be much easier to complete if you only have to focus on one thing at a time. Even when you’re tempted to jump from one task to another, don’t do it because multi-tasking is usually self-defeating. Always concentrate on completing one component of your goal before moving onto the next step in your plan.