Work Smarter with a Time Management ScheduleA good time management schedule increases your productivity and reduces your stress.Are you overwhelmed with work? Do you have many deadlines approaching? 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 long term 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. A time management schedule can increase your effectiveness and overall life impact. Our free time management course can put your scheduling to good use and increase your overall effectiveness.
Scheduling can occur on many levels. When I draw up a life schedule, I look at the different areas of my life and develop a goal setting plan. Once I have a direction and goal setting plan, I develop plan of action for how I am going to achieve my goals. This tends to funnel into a time management schedule at the monthly level. I ask myself: "What do I want to spend my time on in that month!" Sure, you have things that you have to do, but what are the things that move you towards your long-term goals? Personally, I prefer a weekly plan that funnels down into my daily To-Do List of prioritized tasks. This then allows me to schedule my time on a daily basis, and measure up against the goals that I have set for that day.
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!" came the resounding reply of the students. "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).
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 time management matrix can give you the tools to make significant productivity steps at work and reduce the stress in your daily life. We have many requests to link to our website - and it always delights us to know that what we are doing is valued. If you think that this time management page would benefit your visitors, please copy the text below onto any page of your website to link to us.
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