13 Tips for More Effective Time Management PDF

13 Tip s fo r Mo re Effe ctive Tim e Man age m e n t 1. SPEN D TIME PLAN N IN G AN D ORGAN IZIN G. Using tim e to think and plan is tim e well-spent. In fact, if you fail to take tim e for planning, you are, in effect, planning to fail. Organize in a way that m akes sen se to you. If you need color...

13 Tip s fo r Mo re Effe ctive Tim e Man age m e n t 1. SPEN D TIME PLAN N IN G AN D ORGAN IZIN G. Using tim e to think and plan is tim e well-spent. In fact, if you fail to take tim e for planning, you are, in effect, planning to fail. Organize in a way that m akes sen se to you. If you need color and pictures, use a lot on your calendar or planning book. Som e people need to have papers filed away; others get their creative energy from their piles. So forget the "shoulds" and organize your way. 2. SET GOALS. Goals give your life, and the way you spend your tim e, direction. When asked the secret to am assing such a fortune, one of the fam ous Hunt brothers from Texas replied: "First you've got to decide what you want." Set goals which are specific, m easurable, realistic and achievable. Your optim um goals are those which cause you to "stretch" but not "break" as you strive for achievem ent. Goals can give creative people a m uch-needed sense of direction. 3. PRIORITIZE. Use the 80 -20 Rule originally stated by the Italian econom ist Vilfredo Pareto who noted that 8 0 percent of the reward com es from 20 percent of the effort. The trick to prioritizing is to isolate and identify that valuable 20 percen t. Once identified, prioritize tim e to concentrate your work on those item s with the greatest reward. Prioritize by color, num ber or letter — whichever m ethod m akes the m ost sense to you. Flagging item s with a deadline is another idea for helping you stick to your priorities. 4. U SE A TO D O LIST. Som e people thrive using a daily To Do list which they construct either the last thing the previous day or first thing in the m orning. Such people m ay com bin e a To Do list with a calendar or schedule. Others prefer a "running" To Do list which is continuously being updated. Or, you m ay prefer a com bination of the two previously described To Do lists. Whatever m ethod works is best for you. Don't be afraid to try a new system — you just m ight find one that works even better than your present one! 5. BE FLEXIBLE. Allow tim e for interruptions and distractions. Tim e m anagem ent experts often suggest planning for just 50 percent or less of one's tim e. With only 50 percent of your tim e planned, you will have the flexibility to handle interruptions and the unplanned "em ergen cy." When you expect to be interrupted, schedule routine tasks. Save (or m ake) larger blocks of tim e for your priorities. When interrupted, ask Alan Lakein's crucial question, "What is the m ost im portant thing I can be doing with m y tim e right now?" to help you get back on track fast. 6. CON SID ER YOU R BIOLOGICAL PRIME TIME. That's the tim e of day when you are at your best. Are you a "m orn in g person," a "night owl," or a late afternoon "whiz?" Knowing when your best tim e is and planning to use that tim e of day for your priorities (if possible) is effective tim e m anagem ent. 7. D O TH E RIGH T TH IN G RIGH T. Noted m anagem ent expert, Peter Drucker, says "doing the right thin g is m ore im portant than doing things right." Doing the right thing is effectiveness; doing things right is efficiency. Focus first on effectiveness (identifying what is the right thing to do), then concentrate on efficiency (doing it right). 8. ELIMIN ATE TH E U RGEN T. Urgent tasks have short-term consequences while im portant tasks are those with long-term , goal-related im plications. Work towards reducing the urgent things you m ust do so you'll have tim e for your im portant priorities. Flagging or highlighting item s on your To Do list or attaching a deadline to each item m ay help keep im portant item s from becom ing urgent em ergen cies. 9. PRACTICE TH E ART OF IN TELLIGEN T N EGLECT. Elim inate from your life trivial tasks or those tasks which do not have long-term consequences for you. Can you delegate or elim inate any of your To Do list? Work on those tasks which you alone can do. 10. AVOID BEIN G A PERFECTION IST. In the Malaysian culture, only the gods are considered capable of producing anything perfect. Whenever som ething is m ade, a flaw is left on purpose so the gods will not be offended. Yes, som e things n eed to be closer to perfect than others, but perfectionism , paying unnecessary attention to detail, can be a form of procrastination. 11. CON QU ER PROCRASTIN ATION. One technique to try is the "Swiss cheese" m ethod described by Alan Lakein. When you are avoiding som ething, break it in to sm aller tasks and do just one of the sm aller tasks or set a tim er and work on the big task for just 15 m inutes. By doing a little at a tim e, eventually you'll reach a point where you'll want to finish. 12. LEARN TO SAY "N O." Such a sm all word — and so hard to say. Focusing on your goals m ay help. Blocking tim e for im portant, but often not scheduled, priorities such as fam ily and friends can also help. But first you must be convinced that you and your priorities are im portant — that seem s to be the hardest part in learning to say "no." Once convinced of their im portance, saying "no" to the unim portant in life gets easier. 13. REW ARD YOU RSELF. Even for sm all successes, celebrate achievem ent of goals. Prom ise yourself a reward for com pleting each task, or finishing the total job. Then keep your prom ise to yourself and indulge in your reward. Doing so will help you m aintain the necessary balance in life between work and play.