Personal Development - Time Management
"Name the Top 3 Things You Want in Life"
...then use your computer for 10 minutes a day to make them come true
Managing your time is the single most important step to success. Without time management, your plans will be nothing more than a scattered puzzle on a table. That is, the pieces will exist, but these pieces are nothing without some sort of organization and plan to put them all together.
Time management can be highly organized and structured, or it can be loosely outlined in your head. No matter which way you find best to manage your time, there is no doubt that you must have SOME sort of time management program if you want to reach your goals.
The first step in time management is of course defining your goal. You should have one or two major goals, with smaller steps (goals) to get there. When you have a desire, everything you do will be a step towards attaining it. If your desire is strong enough, then time management will be a simple and natural process for you as you will want to do anything in your power to achieve your desire.
A major goal can often seem like a never ending uphill battle. If you have your sights set on that one and only big goal, it will seem all the more harder to reach it. This is why it is vital to break your tasks down into smaller tasks.
Break up your day (or week or month, depending on your goal) into smaller sub-tasks. Each task will contribute to the ultimate outcome, but they won't seem so hard to achieve. It is easy to put things off when they seem too difficult or complicated, but smaller things are always easier to do without thinking so much about it.
Get your least favorite things out of the way first! I have found this to be the singe most productive way for me to get everything done. There are things we all hate doing, there can be no denying that. So do them first. They have to be done anyway, so why not get them out of the way? Your more favorable tasks will then seem so much easier as you have put behind you the difficult ones.
Don't procrastinate! Procrastination kills all your energy. You can spend as much time and energy procrastinating as you can actually getting the job done! When you think about it that way, procrastination seems like a dastardly waste of time doesn't it?
Write your goals down! I don't care if it's the smallest task in the world, I write it on my to-do list anyway. AS I finish each task and cross it off the list, I feel a sense of achievement and progress. Little things all put together equal big things in the end. Remember that when noting down all the small goals you need to achieve today.
Find your most productive time of the day and try to get as much work as is humanly possible done during those hours. You might be a morning person, so fit in 3 or 4 hours of solid work during the morning and you will be surprised at just how much you get done during that time. This gives you more relaxing time during other, less productive times of the day. It is better to work solid and hard for 3 hours than it is to work for 8 hours whilst getting distracted and lethargic.
These time management tips will go a long way in helping you achieve whatever goals you need to achieve each and every day of your life.