Effective Time Management

Effective time management is about learning different time management strategies, increasing your productivity, getting organized and using your time management skills to achieve goals and get more done!

If you feel overwhelmed and want to improve your time management then you're in the right place!

These time management strategies allow you to get things done and put you back in control.

Do you want to improve your time management but don't know where to start?

If so, then you're not alone!

Here we show you show you a number of tried-and-tested time management strategies that you can use to achieve more in less time.

How good is your time management?

• missing deadlines,
• regularly working long hours,
• regularly taking work home,
• feeling pressured by a lack of time,
• not spending enough time with family or friends, and
• often unable to get everything done.

Effective time management is about getting out of the process of continually putting out fires and trying to keep up.

We hope that these time management skills give you the strategies to effectively manage your time so that you can achieve more with less.

Don't just track time - categorize it!

Many people think that tracking time is time management.

They track time for weeks and even months but see no change...unfortunately they often give up after all their hard work!

But if half of their hard work was dedicated to actual time management then they could see big results.

Tracking time for just a few days is just that....it gives you objective data for making time management decisions.

The proverb that “You can’t fix an issue until you can identify it” is true of time management as well.

A good first step is to complete a time management log.

But only do this for a typical few days or week. After that there are diminishing returns to this time management technique.

Keeping a time log shows you areas that you can tweak and improve your time management.

A time management log can also be a brutally honest way to look at your time wasters!

Time Management Activity Once you have completed your time management log, ask yourself the following questions? In which quadrant do you do most of your activities? Are you a planner? Or do you spend most of your time putting out fires? Examine your time usage using the time management matrix. Can you get the right things done with less stress?

Prioritize and plan for effective time management

Prioritizing and planning gives you a greater sense of control, efficiency, and confidence in your life.

Clarity of purpose is important for effective time management

Do you want to achieve financial independence, work smarter, start a new business, lose weight, or spend more time with family or friends?

Effective time management will help you to achieve these things.

But first....you need to have a long-term vision.

A vision of the type of person you want to be!

This vision creates a foundation for setting goals and this creates the bridge between today's dreams and tomorrow's reality.

A goal setting plan focuses your time and effort on those things that are important for you.

A goal setting plan allows you to construct long-term and short-term goals.

These goals can be put into a plan such as a weekly plan in your personal organizer.

By having a weekly plan you are able to develop a time management schedule that allows you to get a bird's eye view of your commitments for the week and tasks that you may delegate to others.

By scheduling your time to do important things with your family or friends, you take a deliberate step in the direction of your goals and to living a life of meaning and purpose.

Plan your day then work your plan

Planning your day and then working your plan is a daily habit of success for many people. It allows you to focus your energy on the tasks that you have to do.

If you find that:

• you have trouble getting through your tasks each day.
• every now and then you forget to complete an important task.
• at the end of the day you question where the day has gone and what you did with it.

If so, then keeping a prioritized To Do List will be beneficial for you.

A 'to do' list is one of the time management strategies that has stood the test of time.

This is because it's simple and effective!

If you are finding that tasks are slipping through the cracks, these time management worksheets and time management forms can help you to take control and achieve more.

By having a time management system that suits your personal habits and demands you take an important step in the development of your effective time management skills.

Here we road test 3 time management systems - Getting Things Done (GTD), the Pomodoro Technique and the Franklin Covey time management technique.

Changing your personal time management habits can be hard! We provide a number of inspirational time management quotes that reinforce positive time management habits and beliefs.