Work Smarter with a Time Management Schedule

An effective time management schedule increases your productivity and reduces your stress.

Are you overwhelmed with work? Do you have many deadlines approaching? Or are you just tired of working hard but never really making an inroad into what you have to do?

If you haven't got enough time to do everything then a time management schedule can ensure that you prioritize the things that move you in the direction of your goals.

A schedule of your time ensures that you do those things which are important and add value to you, your family or your business, rather than tasks that are of little importance. Thus a time management schedule can increase your effectiveness and overall life impact.

Scheduling can occur on many levels. I prefer the weekly plan that funnels down into my daily To-Do List of prioritized tasks.

The importance of scheduling can be summed up by this anecdotal story.

A time management expert was giving a lecture to a group of business students and placed a large, open jar on the table. He pulled out a dozen or so large rocks and filled the glass jar. He asked the students “Is the jar full yet?” All the students shouted back “Yes!”.

”Really!”, he said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out smaller pebbles which he put into the jar. He shook the jar causing the pebbles to fall to the bottom and fill the gaps between the larger rocks.

He then asked the students again “Is the jar full now?”…..“Probably not” replied the students. “Good” he exclaimed as he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a handful of sand and poured it into the jar, filling the places between the rocks and pebbles.

“Is the jar full now” he asked the students. “No!” the class shouted back.“Good” he exclaimed. This time he reached for the glass of water on the bench and poured it into the jar, until the jar was full to the brim.

What’s the point of this exercise he asked the class? One student raised her hand and said “that no matter how crowded your schedule, you can always fit more into it”. No replied the instructor, the point of this example is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first then you will not get everything in (adapted from Mancini, 2003).

What activities of our lives are the rocks and what activities are the pebbles and sand. A goal setting plan can help you to identify those areas of your life that are important to you.

Do you know how you are spending your time on the rocks, pebbles and sand of your life? A time management log will identify if you are using your time effectively and doing your important activities when you are at your highest energy levels in the day.

When you are clear about what are the rocks or sand of your life, and considering your work and lifestyle, are you happy with the mix of activities that you do? The proactive time management can make significant productivity steps at work and reduce the stress in your daily life.