HOW TO GET MORE FROM LIFE EACH DAY
* Focus on one day at a time.
* Live the moment.
* Forget yesterday and look forward to tomorrow. If you are guilty about what happened yesterday, or are anxious about what might happen tomorrow, your energy will be dissipated.
* Plan your work, then work your plan.
* What good and bad habits have you developed? Reinforce the good daily patterns and break the bad.
* Be an "early bird".
Habits start as consciously made decisions, eg.. what time to get up. Once established, good habits become second nature.
Success is the result of habit. It depends not so much on doing the unusual, but on doing the commonplace unusually well.
DON'T PROCRASTINATE - DO IT NOW
Don't confuse being busy with working efficiently - activities can be tension-relieving, not goal achieving. By concentrating on fewer, priorities regularly on a fixed schedule, you can achieve a lot more in less time.
IS TIME THE PROBLEM OR ARE YOU?
Draw up a daily "to do" list. Rank priority tasks (the important few), as well as the trivial many. This allows you to focus on fewer things and achieve more. Sort into A, B & C's
A's are important and urgent. Must do today.
B's are important and not urgent. Want to do today.
C's are not important. Today, if possible or delegate.
TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS:
1. LIST YOUR GOALS AND SET PRIORITIES:
* Life Goals
* Work Goals
* Identify Short Term A's.
2. MAKE A DAILY "TO DO" LIST
* Set A B C's
* Don't schedule every minute of the day.
3. Start with A's - NOT WITH C's
A's are 80% of everything. Make inroads into A's every chance you get. Use the 'Swiss Cheese' approach, ie. Identify small tasks that will poke a hole in a big one. Do these in your odd moments. Do anything that moves A along.
4. ASK YOURSELF: WHAT IS THE BEST USE OF MY TIME RIGHT NOW?
Why waste time on C's if you've an A to do? Fight habits and just filling in time.
5. HANDLE EACH PIECE OF PAPER ONLY ONCE
Have a C drawer
6. DO IT NOW!
Decide you can do it right away.
Itemise (write it down)
Categorise
Prioritise
Crystallise
SOME COMMON TIME WASTERS
1. Telephone Interruptions
2. Drop-in Visitors
3. Meetings
4. Crisis Management
5. Lack of Objectives, Priorities a Daily plan
6. Cluttered Desk, Personal Disorganisation.
7. Ineffective Delegation
8. Attempting too Much at Once
9. Lack of Clear Communication
10. Inadequate, Inaccurate Delayed Information
11. Indecision and Procrastination
12. Confused Responsibility and Authority.
13. Inability to Say "No".
14. Leaving Tasks Unfinished
15. Lack of Self-Discipline
MORE COMMON TIME WASTERS (IN RANK)
1. Planning (lack of).
2. Priorities (lack of)
3. Telephone interruptions
4. Disorganisation/cluttered desk
5. Procrastination
6. Visitors
7. Lack of Self Discipline
8. Ineffective delegation
9. Attempting too much
10. Inability to say 'No'
TIME TIPS FOR THE BUSY
Get the news only once a day - in only one form - read the paper or watch television or listen to the radio, but vary the form so you don't get the news through one bias. Don't worry about or spend time on things irrelevant to you, eg.. reading every bit of the newspaper.
Unless it is crucial for your business, the news is not only depressing (don't worry about it, unless you can do something about it), but it gives a distorted picture of life.
If you can't sleep, don't waste time lying in bed. Get up and do something.
Use an answer phone.
Walk out of a poor movie or show. You've already wasted the money - so don't waste the time as well.
Plan your leisure. Don't expect your free time to fall into place by itself. Plan your weekends as carefully as you plan your weeks...and it's OK to do nothing.
PLANNING is the key. Make a conscious decision to plan more. Most people's lives are too busy to think clearly about what they really want out of life, yet I believe we can do our "best" thinking whilst relaxing (like when walking or jogging)
Trust your instincts and BELIEVE in YOURSELF
If you have the will, you Do have the Power to change any aspect of your life...so,
WHEN YOU TAKE CONTROL OF TIME, YOU TAKE CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE.
Good Luck
Craig Lock
Authors Note:
Craig Lock has written extensively on the subject of time management, as well as in the field of self help. This extract is from his first published book HANDBOOK TO SURVIVE- A collection of writings on various subjects to help every man or woman survive in a rapidly changing, uncertain world.
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