A Time Management Log Eliminates Time Wasters

This free time management log will eliminate your current timewasters. Download your time management worksheet and identify what time management strategies will improve your time management skills.

You know you are busy and that you can't keep going at this pace - something has to change. BUT what?

If you ask a number of people about the pressures of time, a common reply may be that "they are constantly busy and stressed", "they can’t get enough done in the day", or "they would like to spend more time with family and friends".

A time management log will show you how you really spend your time and identify your time management problems that can be fixed.

If you have ever got to the end of your day and wondered where your day has gone then a time management log can be helpful for you?

In my private practice I have used these time management forms with professors, students and business professionals, who have been amazed at the amount of time they may spend reading junk mail, talking to colleagues, answering routine requests or getting a coffee.

A time management log gives you objective information on how you spend your time - and then you can set time management goals to reduce those timewasters.

You can't fix a time management problem until you can identify it

A time management log is quite similar to keeping a household budget.

When you keep a household budget you know where you are spending your money.

When you want to save for something big, a budget helps you to identify those areas that you can trim your expenditure and save more.

Well the same goes for your use of time!

A time management log is a an objective way to examine how you spend your time and where you can save more time.

If you want to use your time more effectively and you don’t know how you currently spend your time, then this is like trying to “pin the tail on the donkey” – a very hit and miss affair.

If you don’t have the time for this ‘trial and error’ approach then download and photocopy this time management log.

Instructions for filling out your time management log

After you have downloaded your time management log follow these instructions.

1. Record all activities as they occur. Record all interruptions, trying to give as much detail as possible. Do not rely on your memory to fill in the log at the end of the day.
2. Enter a priority for the action, either an A, B or C. A is important, B is somewhat important, and C is not important. If the action is ‘Urgent’ then put an * next to the priority.
3. Comment on each action. Note any suggestions for how the action could be improved upon. The more detailed the better for analyzing your time log. Treat the time log as a challenge and record every significant event.
4. Keep a log for a minimum of 3 days.
5. You can keep you log for work only however I have found that better gains can be made by including work and home time.

Examine your time management log for effectiveness gains

Now it is time to put your use of time under the microscope and see where you can make more use of your time.

Where can you improve your time management strategies?

The best way to do this is to add up the time that you spend on priority A, A*, B, B*, C and C* tasks.

To live the most effective life that you can you want to spend most of your time in the priority A area, and most of this time should be on A priority tasks rather than A* tasks.

Why?

Well check out our explanation of proactive time management witht the time management matrix.

How does your time log look? You need to be happy with the amount of time that you are spending on the different priorities.

1. Are you spending too much time on unimportant things or too little time on important things. This is a common source of stress for many people.
2. Are there common interruptions to your day? Can you think of ways to minimize your interruptions?
3. Do you procrastinate between tasks or get a coffee when you should be working on important things
4. For each task, ask yourself Why am I doing this? or Why do I need to do this? If the reasons are not clear to you then you have a number of options such as delegation, prioritizing the task to a low priority, or dropping the task altogether.
5. What activities are you doing in high energy areas? Are you doing activities that are value-adding and important to you when you have high energy? If not, then why not?

Moving from analysis to change

What a time log does is that it gets you to log your time and analyze it. Just by doing these two things you are more likely to become aware of your timewasters and self-correct yourself. However, this is not guaranteed for change, a third step is to plan for change.

As for any plan of change, it is necessary to not only write down your plans for change but to act on them.

How can you do this!

First it is important to understand the "Whys" before the "Do's" of the action.

Some of the more common issues that a time management log throws up are:

• Putting things off. If procrastination is something that you want to get the better of then these clear steps to overcome procrastination may be helpful for you.
• Problems with delegating. Delegation is probably one of the most talked about yet underutilized time management skills. If you want to delegate more...but find that you keep saying "Yes, but...", then these effective steps to delegation of work may be helpful for you.
• Unclear priorities. If your time management worksheet shows that unclear priorities are a concern for you then setting goal setting plan that links into your time management priorities can improve your time management skills.

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