We have heard of people, saying that they are hard-pressed, cannot do all that they want to do and have no time. Time is our working capital and if you can take control of your time, you can control your life. You can be more efficient and maximise the time by making a commitment to yourself, to dedicate your time to what matters most in life and work. Do you think why is Time Management needed for successful life?
You Should Make List of Things
You make a start, by preparing a “Master To Do list. You should make a list of all the things you have to do every day. Include in this your current as well as future projects Keep a notebook or a pad and a pen by your side, so that you do not even forget what you have to do. While making the Do List, you can further refine it, by categorising the things to be done, into professional or office work, family matters, socialisation, entertainment and personal time.
Keep the list handy, so that you can consult it from time to time. You should use it, as a reminder of how important your time is to you. Your list should be prioritised as to what must be done, what is postponed or rescheduled, delegated, or deleted, in favour of the more important things, which can help you reach your goal. It is best to eliminate, or delegate trivial tasks as this approach will save you the time. In fact, delegation can cost money, but this is the only you can add to your productivity or buy time.
Delegating routine work to others will help you, in focusing on, what is vital and what contributes most to your goals. No Master Do list, or list, or plan for the day, should be treated as sacrosanct. You should review what you are doing to check whether what you have aimed at is realistic or are you trying to do, too much in too short a period. It is more important for the students preparing for an examination, who need to work consistently and regularly, rather than sporadically.
You Should Set a Realistic Goal
Set goals, that are exact and unambiguous, as well as quantifiable. The goals should be realistic so that you can achieve them, in a given time frame, Be clear as to what you want to accomplish, and by when. Remember goals or a master list give your life purpose and direction.
We live in a social milieu and not in a vacuum. Whatever you may be doing and whatever be your level in your organisation, there are bound to be interruptions and distractions, like a ringing telephone or a drop in a visitor or a summon, from the boss or an unexpected meeting. As far as possible we need to be flexible. There is no way out except to allocate time to them. You can plan routine tasks in the interruption time like attending to mail, or opening your letters or answering phone calls, for which, otherwise you might have to allocate time separately.
A recent study has shown that an average person gets one interruption every eight minutes, or approximately seven an hour, or 50-60 per day. The average interruption takes five minutes totaling about four hours or 50 percent of the average workday. Eighty percent of those interruptions are typically rated as “little value” or “no value” generating approximately three hours of wasted time, per day.
Set aside larger blocks of time for your important priorities so that at the last minute, they do not become emergencies, needing the highest block of time. Occasionally it might happen that last minutes jobs might take all the time, but it is best to anticipate and plan in advance for such contingencies, so that all hassle and hurry, which leads to stress could be avoided. Learning to say “No” is great time saver, especially, if on what you have been asked to give your time, does not contribute, to your goals. Important thing in saving the time, is for focusing on your goals and not on somebody else’s goal or whim. However, in the rush of work, personal time for friends, family, and yourself should not be lost. Peter F. Drucker says that the “Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.” The way we expend our time ultimately decides how we live our life. Tomorrow is, as much connected, to today, just the same way as today was linked to yesterday.
You Should Control Your Time
Learning to control your time, may in effect, mean changing many of our activities and time habits which consume our time disproportionately. But we cannot change time wasting habits until we know, what those habits are. You have to first identify. the habits or activities that neither contribute to your goal nor they provide you a better quality of life, but are a sheer waste of time.
Medical Science has proved and all of us are aware to some extent as to what time of day we are, at our best energy and alertness level. Determine your prime time and use this time, (if possible) for your highest priority work. You will achieve better results and would be more effective, by following this policy. Your prime time should be used in doing the things which deliver the highest results and not wasted on gossip or watching movies. Identify every day and every minute, as to what needs your utmost attention and then focus on doing it right.