Time Management For The Hurried And The Harried Professional

PAPER + TIME = MONEY:

Are you doing more and enjoying it less? Are you missing a performance bonus opportunity? Are you risking a professional development or advancement opportunity? Do you work an extra 150-240 hours per year risking your health and quality of life? What is the REAL cost to YOU of wasted time?

Studies indicate that the average executive wastes thousands of dollars in productivity each year searching for lost information: Forbes Magazine: 150 hours/year = $3,750*, Wall Street Journal: 225 hours/year = $5,625*, National Association of Professional Organizers: 240 hours/year = $6,000*. (*based on 37.5 hour work week @ $50,000 annual salary)

Let's face it - in the workplace and in life in general, we often seem to be on a treadmill called hurry, worry and bury. Sound familiar? The one constant in our life is change: changing roles, new demands, multiple projects, more responsibility and constantly juggling priorities in the workplace. We are time-starved and work-hurried.

It all boils down to making the most effective use of our abilities and maximizing our time management skills. Key factors to consider in making the best use of our time are: 

·  understanding the concepts around time and its management, including time as a conservable (and costly) resource

·  identifying the habits and practices that result in wasted time

·  learning practical techniques that can be used to improve productivity and satisfaction

·  identifying specific skill areas and methods to make better use of time

·  making informed decisions about how you can manage your time and juggle priorities to your best advantage.

Just think, if you can show management how time is consumed, the value of your time and the cost of wasted time, do you think they would pay closer attention to providing you with tools that will make you even more effective? You will grab and hold their attention if you can find ways to show them how their time management practices (or lack thereof) impact the bottom line.

Learning how to get organized and prioritize the priorities, how to handle interruptions and distractions, and how to say "no" will make sure there's time left in the day for you. Proven techniques to help you control time and make it work for you will make you more efficient....and a lot less stressed!

"It Is Not The Number Of Hours We Have That Counts, 
But Rather, The Use We Make Of Them." (unknown)

Article Source: EzineArticles

Time Management May Well Create Or Crack Your Career

Time is an odd thing -- intangible, but inflexible. Time just isn't something you can make more of. You cannot save minutes or hours either for later use. This is precisely why many wonder why bother managing time to start with? Nevertheless, it is your most important resource, for that very reason. You cannot make 24 hours go to 27 hours so you can finish off those things you need done, but you can increase your productivity so that you get more tasks completed on those hours that you do have. You can not recoup time you've lost if you fail to be productive. The number of tasks you accomplish isn't the only way of measuring your productivity. Your productivity is measured by how much time you spent finishing a task.

There are many vital components which can make or break the success of your career. Oddly, one of the easiest can be one of the toughest to grasp -- time management. It's natural to pay attention to what you do, and how well you do it; you may not give as much thought to when you do it. With good time management, you can have a schedule that's more manageable and a life that's way less stressful.

For many individuals, working more quickly is the answer to getting more done quicker. Definitely that will raise output, but it will also decrease quality of work, not to mention wear you out. If you become good in managing your time, you'll not need to work double time just so you can make up for the time you've lost. Time management isn't really about dashing to get things done faster. Instead, it's doing things better so there wouldn't be any need for you to hurry in the first place.

It's not possible to separate time management and efficiency. There are numerous time wasters in the workplace, but inefficient time scheduling and disorganized work spaces are two top time wasters. Your professional reputation and credibility are considerably affected by these two. Don't expect your colleagues to be impressed if you keep fumbling for your pen or ruffling through your notes while you're doing a business presentation. On the other hand, if you always appear to be unruffled, that you have things together, you'll impress people.

You may have a crazy schedule, and it may seem like a huge task to try to make sense of it. Nonetheless, your career will benefit from getting it organized. If you plan your schedule effectively, it will not be long until you see the benefits, including saving time. In addition, you can expect to hone your planning skills. Many of us are very good at making a plan, but not always so good at following through on it. To efficiently manage your time involves setting realistic goals, giving yourself work deadlines, and meeting them. When you have to learn and accept your own boundaries, as well as learn how to stretch them, you'll find these skills quite easily applied in other places. You are going to form the habit of correctly assessing a situation, and making reasonable decisions based on achievable solutions.

All successful businesses practice good resource management. And in business, you should be able to manage your time effectively since it is one of your most precious resources. Learning to manage your time effectively might seem difficult initially to implement, but think of the long term gains you're certain to have. Wasting time is something the successful individuals don't do. You will need to perfect your time management abilities if you wish to succeed.

Article sources: GoArticles

Five Important to Power-Plan How You Use Your Time

Time management skills are tools for self-fulfillment. So it's important that your plans align with what you value the most. Use these 5 tips to create powerful time choices.

1. Take 15 minutes a day for one week to explore what you truly want and why. Document your results.

o     Review your planning patterns up to now. Do you make time choices to please yourself or others? What patterns or themes do you notice?

o     Create a clear picture of what you want and what it will give you. Otherwise, your plans will be written in sand.

o     Jot down notes. At the end of the week, you will be ready to set clear intentions that truly represent how you picture your ideal life.

2. Examine the outcome you have defined.

o     Is it realistic? If not, how can you revise it?

o     Ask yourself why this is important to you. This reason is your motivator. Hold onto it throughout the stresses of daily living.

o     If it feels vague, make it more specific. Envision the outcome clearly and the steps you'll take to bring it about.

o     Make any modifications necessary to bring your desired outcome to life. If it's so big you feel overwhelmed, select a smaller piece that motivates you right now.

o     Write it down and post it in several prominent locations. If you have a picture that symbolizes your successful result, display that, too.

3. Cultivate awareness.

o     Awareness helps you create powerful choices, keep on track, and then enjoy the benefits more fully.

o     Make a habit of visualizing your most significant results at least 3 times a day. Create a daily ritual for yourself.

o     A great way to start is to set a timer for 5-10 minutes before breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then focus on this awareness.

4. Move forward by working backwards.

o     Once you fully assimilate your intention, you're ready to work backwards. Envision the outcome you desire clearly and mark a realistic deadline on your calendar. Give yourself up to twice as much time as you think you'll need.

o     Now list your action steps. By working backwards, you're less likely to fall into the common trap of making action steps too big. Mark the dates for each step on your calendar, as well.

5. Fully participate in creating your success.

o     Document each action step you take.

o     Accept any setbacks as educational experiences. The more permission you give yourself to learn as you proceeds, the stronger your morale will be.

o     Revise your plan if you need to. Flexibility is a hallmark of successful individuals.

Validate each and every success. You have created a series of time choices to align with your personal values, and you deserve to reinforce this commitment by rewarding yourself.

Article Source: EzineArticles

Time Management is the Answer to Success

Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle also known as the '80:20 Rule' states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio '80:20' is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big and no matter how small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Having a balanced life-style should be the key result in having personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp.

Time management is about getting results, not about being busy.

The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone's life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.

The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue.

The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.

The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society.

The career aspect involves school and work.

The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.

The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and having a set of things to do list for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.

Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small.

A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term goals often.

A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.

Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style.

Each and every one of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to tell when to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.

Learning to say "No". You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.

Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.

Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.

Don't procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.

Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.

Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

These are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual.

As the say personal time management is the art and science of building a better life.

From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

Article Source: GoArticles

Time Management For Entrepreneurs

Time management is an essential element in establishing a strong business and will help you to develop a solid foundation upon which to grow into a successful and competitive business. The first thing to keep in mind is that as an entrepreneur, you must develop skills and habits that will ensure that you are able to maximize the time available to you.

Why is time management so critical? You may think that you are already adept at managing your day, but remember that if you have a job you are required to be at work at a certain time, take your lunch at a certain time and be accountable for specific responsibilities that are easily undertaken within a work day. But what happens when you are the boss? Who's in charge now? You are! And therefore it is up to you to establish an efficient method to operate your business. One of those methods is establishing good time management skills.

The first step in time management is to realize that both you and your competitors have the same amount of hours in a day. The growth and success of your business may not necessarily be based on who works the hardest, but rather who has developed a way to work more efficiently; in other words, the smartest.

The following are 5 smart ways to manage your time.

1. Being able to say "No": This is a critical aspect of managing your time. It's easy to become caught up in the sense of responsibility, importance or achievement of running a business and the number of tasks that need to be accomplished on a daily basis. Being unable to say 'no' at the right time may leave you in a position where you are unable to accomplish those tasks that you have set for the day; and without knowing it, you are actually developing a negative habit based on compromise. If you take on too much you run the risk of not getting any of your tasks done correctly.

2. Begin the day with a strategy: This is critical. In fact you should have a strategy not only for the day, but for the week, the month, the year and thereafter. Having a strategy is very much the same as having a road map to a vacation destination; without one you may well find yourself lost in the wilderness. Understand that if you do not arrange your day, someone or something else will.

3. Take a break! The best way to make efficient progress is to be sure that you are refreshed, recharged and ready to go. To do this you need to be sure that you are taking breaks and getting away from your work environment. As much as you may be in the 'swing of things', you will find that your efficiency and quality of work will be far more prolonged by taking breaks throughout the day.

4. Know what is important: Each business has a number of tasks that require attention, but be sure to recognize that you will not be able to accomplish all of them at once. Therefore get into the habit of prioritizing the tasks that need to be completed, otherwise each task will seem as important as all the others and you may well become overwhelmed by what needs to be done.

5. Be flexible: Of course you will have days where you will not be able to accomplish everything you set out to do. Without allowing this to become a habit, learn to work with the unexpected interruptions, mistakes and missed opportunities that may occur during the day. This will avoid the build-up of frustration and allow you to clearly restructure your schedule to fit in any missed errands or tasks in the following days.

The entrepreneur who has developed their time management skills will find themselves in a mindset where they able to take full advantage of opportunities and interruptions, as they present themselves on a daily basis. Strong time management skills will also allow you to be the entrepreneur who works smarter, rather than harder.

Article Sources: GoArticles

Time Management - To Live a Superiority Life

Time management is a very useful skill necessary to live a superiority life. Now in our society, people are continually under pressure to attend to their duties and odd jobs and find time for free time, family and yourself. In order to handle the demands of life without going crazy, one should learn the ability of management.

There are some elements that comprise the time management definition; this is surly significance to know how these elements can influence individuals overall quality of life. These days, most of the company wants to make their employee efficient and effective the scheduled work. That’s why the companies are providing free corporate workshop to worker. Basically time is one of the skills that and individual has to learn to be productive.

Basically, personal productivity itself a factor of a skill set that one has to perfect to achieve these desired results. And these skills are things that are inherent in us but which need to be fine turned. Our main perception is to learn new things and the prosperity to handle stress and control our mind. Good organizational skills, sound decision making and the secret elements to stellar personal productivity and personal favorite time management.

Personals productivity is measured on how much he can do and achieve a goal at a given period of time. And this is true that personal productivity is one of the vital elements of life management. If one can master life management, one can live life to its fullest. Now the relationship of time management, personal productivity and life management is made clear. Now its time to move on some elements of the management definition.

Managing goals and objectives:

Goals are surly important in a personal life. Without goals, one will wander aimlessly through life, hunted by the feeling of not accomplishing anything. So personal goals and objectives will steer an individual in the proper direction and will help this reason focus his strengths in archiving the goal. Thus at the end of the day, that person will have a feeling of self-accomplishment.

Managing different task:

Every person tackles important tasks every day. And managing these tasks is really imperative to make sure that an individual do not forget any important errands or miss any deadlines.

Works prioritize:

Learning to prioritize is also a good skill to complement managing different tasks. Since time is very limited and this is very important that a person completes his priorities first before anything else. So in that way a person gets consider to accomplishing his goals and objectives every single day. So prioritizing is simply knowing what is necessary to finish a goal and knowing what to do next.

There are two more skill sets that are crucial to nailing time management. These are managing procrastination which we all know all too well and having a follow up system to ensure that every activity we undertook came to conclusion regardless of the eventual outcome of the said subject.

Article Source: GoArticles

How Importance Time Management Plan

A Management Plan identifies the goals and objectives of the individual or group that owns the land.

The Plan directs management activities throughout a 20 to 30 year period moving the property to the owner's desired stand of the future. A Plan outlines the silvicultural treatments necessary to improve and manage the health of the timber. A timber valuation, included in the Plan, provides a landowner with an estimation of value before any management activities occur, and gives the owner an estimate of the total value of the asset.

The cruise information together with the silvicultural prescriptions identify the species, size, and volume of timber to be removed. The quality of the timber is evaluated with the log prices to determine if now is an appropriate time to sell, both from a price and a biological standpoint, rather than selling at some future date. The Management Plan document is used by all parties to implement activities on the property.

A Management Plan is a tool that provides a landowner with direction for the management of the property. The plan consists of several sections which include the landowner's objectives, an evaluation and description of the resource, and a silvicultural prescription. There are several items which must be evaluated and considered as the forest Management Plan develops.

The process of developing your Management Plan starts with you. As a landowner you must consider why you own the land. Developing your management goals and objectives, which will become the centerpiece of your plan, is the first phase of the management plan. Issues you might consider include forest health, wildlife, aesthetic, recreational, and monetary concerns. Regardless of how different concerns may conflict with each other, write them down for further consideration. Your Management Plan will help you sort out your concerns and prioritize the issues. Each concern will influence the way your Management Plan develops. This may be the most difficult part of developing the Plan; however, it is also probably the single most important part of your plan. The goals and objectives provide the direction for the rest of the Plan.

Your management style and tools shape up the kind of individual you are. Take a look at your priorities and problems. This will make you are better-sorted person and you will be able to stick to your time management plan well. If you try to imitate others or work like someone you look up to, you will be simply messing up your life. Do the things that make you happy and you will start leading a less stressful life.

Article Source: GoArticles