One of the most effective skills you can have in life is powerful and effective time management. If you're not managing your time well, there's no way you're going to reach your goals at work and the life outside of it. Sure, you might make some progress. But your time management will be an uphill battle if you don't take your time seriously. For people who squander and waste the precious little time they do have, they know all too well how difficult achieving even mildly difficult goals can be.
The truth is that time is the greatest equalizer in life. No matter who you are, your age, income, gender, race or religion, you have the same amount of time as the next person. Whether you're filthy rich or dirt poor, your time is the same. It's not about how much time you have. It's about how effectively you manage your time.
So if you're serious about achieving your goals, not only do you need to set those goals the right way, but you also have to get serious about avoiding distractions and becoming too immersed in the bad habits that you know you need to quit. Time-wasters need to fall by the wayside, and serious grit-and-bear-it hard work needs to take its place.
Here are 3 tips for managing your time better:
1. Schedule weekly planning time
Have dedicated time at the end of each week to look forward and schedule the next week. You need to be out in front of your tasks and actions. This allows us to be proactive in determining what we are allocating our time to and not just responding to what shows up.
2. Be clear about what you are not going to do
As you get clear about your schedule and allocating time, you will see exactly what you are doing and when. This will also allow you to see which items or tasks you will not be getting done and be responsible by letting anyone know who needs to or to make an alternative plan.
5. Keep the big picture in mind
As we get inundated, it is very easy to spend all our time putting out the day to day fires. As part of your weekly plan, allocate time to take a step back and look at the big picture. Are the tasks and activities you are completing on a daily and weekly basis supporting the achievement of a larger goal or purpose?