Effective Time Management: Winning The Time Management Game
There are a few basic principles which are necessary for effective time management. Without each one, you are going to be inefficient. So take a look at them.
Motivation. Humans are motivated by the avoidance of pain and the desire for pleasure. So, to achieve effective time management, you have to set up a time management system that increases pleasure and avoids pain. Therefore, the key to winning the time management pain is to focus on the pain that is associated with continued inaction. Then contrast that with the perceived pleasure associated with the freedom of having gotten everything done.
Make A To Do List. Ninety percent of the problems associated with any time management system stem from a failure to keep an accurate written record of tasks. The human mind is only capable of keeping three to five things in its short term memory at any given time. So, if you are not writing it down, you are forgetting it. If you are forgetting it, you are failing to utilize effective time management.
You Must Maintain Accountability. An aviator periodically checks his charts to determine whether or not his progress matches his flight plan. If he is not where he is supposed to be when he checks the chart, his task is find out why, make corrections and resume navigation. Accountability to your to do list works on the same principle. When you check your progress against the to do list and determine you are off course, you must figure out why. This is not an opportunity to beat yourself up. It is time management technique used to find problems with your time management plan and take corrective action.
Multitasking. If you closely examine the down times throughout your day, you will find a couple of hours of usable time lost while commuting, waiting for appointments, or watching TV. How do you find time to read a book or return a phone call? Well, you learn to use these dead times to more effectively manage your time. Instead of purchasing a book, get it on CD and listen to it while commuting to and from work. A book that would take two weeks to read, can be read in less than a week if on audio. You can make six five minute phone calls while waiting for the doctor.
Delegate. Everyone has the ability to delegate tasks to others in some form or fashion. Learn to delegate simple tasks to others even if you feel that you can do a better job. After all, most tasks do not have to be perfect. They need only be good enough. Place a value on your time. If you can pay someone to perform the task for a rate that is less than the value of your time, the economically rational solution is to pay to have the task performed. This might mean that the boy down the street mows your yard or the service station changes your oil. Your time is too valuable to waste.
No Is Not A Four Letter Word. Those with effective time management systems learn how to say No. Your time is as important as that of your colleague. You cannot volunteer your time, you can (1) keep it; (2) sell it; or (3) give it away. Since you only get a fixed amount each day, each hour you give away decreases your time by one hour and increase their time by exactly one hour. At the end of the day, the recipient has more time to complete his tasks and you have less. I am not advocating the refusal to help others. If time were food and you were starving, how much of your daily rations would you give away? None. You would save it to be consumed by you and your family, right? If your time is already scarce, should you be giving it away?
Effective time management is a process with many components. You must find a reason to motivate you to make more effective use of your time. You must write down those things that you need to do and be accountable to yourself. You must also learn to multitask and delegate so that more can be done in a given amount of time. Lastly, you must guard your time as a valuable resource and learn to say No when appropriate. If you incorporate all of these time management tips into your time management, you will eat the elephant and still have room for desert.
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