Where does your time go? We all know we are busy, yet we feel behind and don’t get to do the things wereally want to do.Planning is the best time saver there is. At the beginning of the week jot down your goals that you want toaccomplish, fun things you want to do, work that needs to be done, and appointments to keep. Then writeout a loose schedule for the week ahead, balancing it out between work, family, home, self and your otherroles. You can choose to put your action items on daily to do lists or schedule them on a calendar likeappointments. How you keep track of your things to do for the week, depends on how much structure youpersonally like or need. When you plan, it is helpful to schedule things for twice as long as you expect them to take. That gives youextra time for those traffic jams, interruptions, and fun, spontaneous moments. I try to plan on leaving 10minutes earlier than I have to, for all my appointments, in case of unexpected delays.My weekly planning session usually takes less than thirty minutes. My planning session includes gatheringmy papers and going through the in-box to find action items as David Allen suggests in his book “GettingThings Done”. I also plan goals, next action items for my projects, plan a two hour time alone, plan family night, and plan a date with my husband. I schedule work, exercise, fun time, time with friends and family, volunteer work, and self-care time. Planning allows the important to take precedent over the urgent for once.But, be flexible with your plan. Remember you are not a slave to your planner. It is there to serve you. If yourtime management system isn’t working, tweak it.Here are some more time management tips:1.Know what's important to you. Figure out your values and your vision.2.Start delegating to family members, co-workers, professionals, and teenagers needing extra money.3.Learn to say no to what is not in your mission or your values.4.Let go of perfectionism. Not everything has to be done perfectly and some things are out of yourcontrol.5.Listen to audio tapes or mp3's during your commute or household tasks.6.Use a planner or PDA that includes a daily to do list, a weekly calendar, a monthly calendar, alisting of projects, telephone numbers and important information.
Empty out your planner of the clutter and junk. Put the little pieces of paper in anin-box to go through in your weekly planning session.
24 Time Management Tips
8.Keep your planner with you at all times.9.Do not keep a bunch of calendars around. Use only one so everything is in one place.10.Keep a master list of all the things you need to do, call, see, write, etc. Don't use post-it notes allover. They seem to get lost.11.Answer routine letters by answering them on the original. Photocopy your message for your ownfiles then send off the original.12.Cut down on TV time. Plan your TV time so you only watch the shows you really wanted to see. If you are watching, clean during commercials or sew while viewing.13.Look at your schedule and lay out all the things you need for the next day, the night before.
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