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Time Management Secrets for Every Day Life
- By Rodger Constandse
- Published 02/17/2010
- Time Management
- Unrated
From the hard working college student to the working mother, to the businessman and entrepreneur, effective time management is a skill required by all. In fact, we could all use better time management skills at one time or another in our lives.
Whether you are ultra organized or can barely find matching socks in the morning, there is a time management solution for you. Some may have to work harder at this than others, but the bottom line is that there is hope to get your schedule and your life back on track with a few tips, a few tricks, and few time management secrets that will help tame the busiest of lives.
Time Management Secret #1: Buy a day planner.
This may sound archaic in a world full of smart phones and PDAs, but you will be surprised at how truly innovative paper can be if used correctly. A day planner that is large enough to hold all of your activities yet small enough to carry with you will help keep your schedule in order and your life in check.
Time Management Secret #2: Bring your day planner everywhere.
Buying a day planner will only serve you well if you actually use it. Take an aggressive approach with it and you will be amazed at how addicting it will become. In other words, your day planner should become your lifeline. You will need to reference it multiple times a day, and therefore, it will become as essential as a pair of shoes every time you leave the house.
Time Management Secret #3: Use sticky notes to organize your to dos.
A great way to organize your task list is to write each task on separate, small sticky notes. If you include the task name and due date on the sticky note, you can then keep track of what you accomplish by continuing to move the note forward with each day it remains on your list. Once it is complete, you can throw the note away! And by having the due date clearly written along with the task name, it will serve as a constant reminder, ensuring you meet each and every deadline.
Time Management Secret #4: Have a back-up plan.
Just as you would want to save your calendar, files and contact information from your smart phone, you will want to have a back-up plan for your day planner as well. The chance of misplacing or losing your day planner altogether can pose a great risk of you losing track of your entire life. That is why, to avoid taking that chance, you should consider having a second day planner (of the same kind) that you keep in your office or at home. Each night, it will be important for you to update the back-up planner to make sure it stays up to date.
While paper may seem to be a nuisance in many aspects of work and life, a day planner is the one "hard copy" that can and will prove to be the key to your time management success.
Whether you are ultra organized or can barely find matching socks in the morning, there is a time management solution for you. Some may have to work harder at this than others, but the bottom line is that there is hope to get your schedule and your life back on track with a few tips, a few tricks, and few time management secrets that will help tame the busiest of lives.
Time Management Secret #1: Buy a day planner.
This may sound archaic in a world full of smart phones and PDAs, but you will be surprised at how truly innovative paper can be if used correctly. A day planner that is large enough to hold all of your activities yet small enough to carry with you will help keep your schedule in order and your life in check.
Time Management Secret #2: Bring your day planner everywhere.
Buying a day planner will only serve you well if you actually use it. Take an aggressive approach with it and you will be amazed at how addicting it will become. In other words, your day planner should become your lifeline. You will need to reference it multiple times a day, and therefore, it will become as essential as a pair of shoes every time you leave the house.
Time Management Secret #3: Use sticky notes to organize your to dos.
A great way to organize your task list is to write each task on separate, small sticky notes. If you include the task name and due date on the sticky note, you can then keep track of what you accomplish by continuing to move the note forward with each day it remains on your list. Once it is complete, you can throw the note away! And by having the due date clearly written along with the task name, it will serve as a constant reminder, ensuring you meet each and every deadline.
Time Management Secret #4: Have a back-up plan.
Just as you would want to save your calendar, files and contact information from your smart phone, you will want to have a back-up plan for your day planner as well. The chance of misplacing or losing your day planner altogether can pose a great risk of you losing track of your entire life. That is why, to avoid taking that chance, you should consider having a second day planner (of the same kind) that you keep in your office or at home. Each night, it will be important for you to update the back-up planner to make sure it stays up to date.
While paper may seem to be a nuisance in many aspects of work and life, a day planner is the one "hard copy" that can and will prove to be the key to your time management success.
Rodger Constandse
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