Effective Time Management

How You Start is Critical. Do You Know the First Steps to Take?

effective_time_managment Effective time management tips are golden. Let's face it - who doesn't want to accomplish more in less time or make the most of the time available? Time will teach, however, that you will experience time managment successes and failures. As you perfect how to best manage your time, know one simple truth - how you manage your time depends on the value/impact of the results you want to achieve. In other words, your motivation will depend on the value you place on the results of your efforts. The truth is that while time management information is valuable, you must be motivated in order to experience success. The more motivated you are, the better you will become at managing your time.

"Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." M. Scott Peck

So before you consider spending your time you must make a commitment to improving your time management skills. There is no book, seminar, or audio tape that will do this for you.

So, ask yourself:

Is my time truly valuable enough for me to follow effective time management tips?
If my time is valuable to me, then am I willing to stand behind my claim by improving my time management skills?

If you are ready to stand behind your claim and start achieving your goals, then you can start by assessing how you currently spend your time. Take the following actions:

Obtain a small notebook that can fit inside your purse or pocket. Another option is to use a small calendar that includes time slots for each hour of your active day. Option Three is a small electronic device with calendar options.
Start recording your tasks at the beginning of each day from the time you wake in the morning until bedtime.
If recording a full day is too difficult then start with your work day.
Commit two weeks to this process.
If you forget to record an activity/task, leave that time slot blank and move on.
Be consistent.
At the end of each day, review your tracking efforts. At the end of two-weeks, you should have gathered enough data to reveal how you are spending your time.
Use your data as a starting point to improve your time management.
For immediate improvement, eliminate tasks that you consider time wasters.
Keep searching for time improvement opportunities to reduce the time involved for time-absorbing tasks.
Don't give up.