Time management
I tend to be a little bit of an extremist. When I start something new in my life, I tend to focus on it very heavily. In many cases this means that I give up other activities. The advantage is that I can improve quickly in whatever that activity happens to be. The disadvantage is that I may exclude things that are more important in my life. So how do you start something new without giving up something more important? Proper goal assessment and time management.
Goal Assessment
The first step is to decide what you really want. Create a list of the things you want to achieve and order them from most important to least important. In order to effectively achieve these goals, nothing that will not move you towards your goals should override an activity that does. If your most important goal is to improve your health and lose weight, then the choice to spend time playing a new video game definitely should not take up the time you spend exercising.
When you decide what’s important, it makes it easier to choose what to focus on and what new activities to start. By limiting the number of activities you pursue, you will also become much better at them. Some things should never be compromised in your life. Time must be spent to maintain good health, a good diet, and your overall happiness. This is where the time management comes in.
Time Management
There are basically two steps to balancing your life by improving your time management. The first is to limit the amount of time doing things you don’t want to do. The second is to learn the things you are interested in quickly. The key in both is to optimize your time and cut out the wast.
Think of all the things you don’t want to be doing. This may include your job, cleaning, shopping, paying your bills, etc. Analyze each one and try to think of the most important parts of each and how you can do them better and quicker. Could you cut down your shopping time by planning better and buying less often? Or remove 10 minutes of standing in line by shopping at a different time? What about your job, are there activities you perform that don’t really provide any benefit. There probably are. In fact, it’s most likely the majority of your job.
Then do the same thing with your fun events. If you are relaxing, find the way that you relax the best to get the most out of the shortest time. Find the best way to maximize your exercise in the least amount of time. This would also include choosing the best foods to optimize your diet. When you start a new hobby, find the best way to become get good fast. Whether it is a sport, a language, or any other hobby, most of the benefits come when you become very good. The beginner skier goes home battered, bruised, and tired. The expert skier goes home discussing the great time he had and the incredible feeling of the snow.
The Results
The better you get at managing your time, the more you will find you can accomplish and the more balanced your life will become. It may seem impossible in the beginning. I know it did for me. I felt I was already doing everything as quickly as I could. There is no way for me to do any more, but the more I worked at it, the easier it all got.
Other great resources
Time Management has become a big topic lately. We are constantly trying to do more work, take on more activities, and spend more time with our friends and families. There are a number of techniques you can do to get things done quicker: eliminate unnecessary tasks, make the necessary tasks more efficient, only take on items you really care about, etc. Another one is to do learn your bodies schedule and put it to use.
Every one’s body works differently and functions better at different times. For instance, I find that I am productive in the morning, much less productive in the afternoon, and most creative just before bed. In fact, most of my great ideas and motivations come once I lay down to go to sleep.
Once I figured this out, I was able to get a lot more done and actually spend less time doing it. I try to complete as many of the difficult tasks in the morning when I find it easy to focus and concentrate. I take a rest in the afternoon or complete the tasks that don’t take much mind power. In the evening, I tend to read and study when my mind is most free. I also keep a pen and pad next to my bed so I can write down all the ideas that come. With out it I tend to forget it by morning.
Give it a try. If you feel totally unmotivated, try completing it at the different time and see if it goes better. Once you have your system done you will be able to accomplish more work quicker and easier.
Related articles
With the constant increase in technology, completing your work each day has gotten more difficult. There are so many methods of communication and they blend between work and personal life that is difficult to know what to focus on. And with our current financial crisis, being a productive and efficient worker is now more important than ever. Below are 3 very simple ways to improve your efficiency at work and increase your productivity.
1. Turn of your communication devices-This means closing email, chat programs, skype, and any other application of way that people can contact you. If you must use them for business then set allocated times to use them, and only use them during those time. Constant interruptions distracts you from your work and causes your brain to lose track on your task. it takes time for you to get back into the task and
2. Use the 80/20 rule- It is very likely that 20% of the tasks you do will make up for 80% of your results. If your job consists of 10 various tasks, find the 2 that you absolutely have to do to get results. Focus on doing those things very well. Then start finding what tasks from that 10 that don’t really matter and eliminate, reduce, or delegate.
3. Batch Your work- Do like processes together. If you have to make a bunch of phone calls throughout the day, it is much better to do them all at one time. You will be able to get into a rhythm and not only will you be more efficient you will also make better phone calls. Multitasking has been pushed for quite a while, but it isn’t efficient and it creates a lot of wasted time going back and forth between different projects.
Related articles on time management:
- 3 Steps to Stop Procrastination
- Time Management- Because there is More to Life Than Work
- Affordable Education and Learning new Skills
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Finding Happiness by Living Outside the Norm