Does Time Management Work? Top Tips for Greater Effectiveness and Performance
Do you feel like you didn’t get enough done at the end of the day? Does your to do list seem to keep growing along with your stress?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, I have good news for you. There are proven methods to be more effective, efficient and successful in both business and life, but the surprise is that they may not be the ones you have learned.
The unpleasant sounding truth is that there is no such thing as time management (except in the movie “Back to the Future”). For all of us, there are 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week and so on … Time is constant. It’s what we do with our time that dictates our success in life.
The secret is self management. I know, that doesn’t sound like good news and definitely easier said than done. If it were easy, everyone would do it. The question is, do you want to be more productive efficiently, be more relaxed, happier and have a higher quality of life?
I think we can all answer “yes” to those questions, but how?
Here are some tips that some of the most successful people on the planet have shared with me:
1) Make a list of your top 5 values and top 5 personal and business goals (make them specific, measurable, achievable, thrilling and include a deadline. Doing this will help you prioritize your yearly, monthly and daily action list.
2) Create a daily to do list from your annual goals and monthly action item list. Start your day with the items you’re most uncomfortable with or the ones that will create the best results for you.
3) Journal your daily activities for two weeks. A simple list of what you did and how long it took is fine – keep it simple. By doing this list, you will automatically stop some time thieving activities simply because you won’t want to write them down. You can also use this journal to decide what to stop doing, what to delegate, and what to do more of.
4) Hire someone to help you for 10 hours a week. At $15 an hour, that’s only $150 a week. Most of us can make at least double that by focusing on the highest and best use of our time.
5) Schedule self care activities. What nurtures you, what feeds your energy? The better we take care of ourselves, the better we treat our clients, the better we treat our clients, the more referrals they send us …
I hope these tips help you reduce your stress and increase the quality of your life and business. Feel free to contact me with any questions or other helpful tips.
Coach Jim Kaspari is an author, speaker and business coach. He has helped over 300 business owners in 8 countries. www.SummitBusinessMarketing.com
