Time Management

Posted on 23. Jan, 2009 by admin in Time Management, Tips / Tools / Habits

3 REAL LIFE HABITS FOR SUCCESS ® MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME

Tired of the costs of missed appointments, unfinished tasks and projects, procrastination and wasted days? Then you can employ these simple solutions to overcome your time management challenges.

1. VALUE YOUR TIME. You can’t address what you don’t recognize. Until you can see time as a valuable commodity, you will continue to waste it. Once you see the value inherent in time you will no more throw it away than you would a hundred-dollar bill. Invest some time in time and write out why you should value yours. Then develop a plan for how to spend your most valuable commodity today and for the rest of your life.

2. CONSOLIDATE ALL CALENDARS AND APPOINTMENT BOOKS. Place all floating pieces of paperwork, all information, in one calendar organizer. Avoid using several calendars for appointments and deadlines. Make your life easier by consolidating this important information into one easy to- reference organizer. You can buy an organizer at your local office supply company or visit Franklin Covey online to review what they have to offer. You can also consider an iPhone or Apple computer. Whether paper or electronic, if you use it right, you need only one organizer. Substituting one for the many also makes it much easier to carry your organization tool with you.

3. ACCOUNT FOR YOUR TIME USING A TIME LOG. How, where, and on what do you spend your time? The best way to get a grasp on your time is to log your time showing how it is used. What is it that you do during your day, week or month? Logging your time allows you to clearly understand where you are spending your time, how you can eliminate time wasters and how you can realign your time with your goals.

“Without discipline there’s no life at all.” Katharine Hepburn

3 REAL LIFE HABITS FOR SUCCESS ® CLEAR YOUR CLUTTER

In the era of abundance in which we live it is easy to create clutter. It almost happens on it own, like weeds growing in your garden. Clutter can cost us money but it can also cost us our sanity.

1. THINK SMALL TO GET YOU MOVING. Organizing even small projects or areas can save a tremendous amount of time. So start small. At home, pick one corner of the house to start in and tackle a small project per week, working clockwise, until every cabinet, drawer, and closet is organized. Use the same strategy in your office using one hour per week for clean up.

2. TOSS IT OR RECYCLE IT. Don’t let procrastination bury you under a mound of paper. Take action on every piece that enters your space. Deal with it, put it in an “in” basket, file it or throw it away! The majority of clutter is related to a reluctance to throw things away. Get in the habit of tossing non-essentials, or recycle it. Not only will it clean up your environment, it will make way for new and better things to enter your life.

3. SELL IT OR GIVE IT AWAY. Do you have stuff in your garage that you have not used in years? Are your closets stuffed full with clothes you’ll never wear again? We all do. Clear the clutter by giving it to the Salvation Army or selling at a garage sale.

Tags: Clear Clutter, Procrastination, Time Management