There
Is No Such Thing As Time Management!
Copyright © Ann Rusnak
Many years ago hanging on the office wall was a caricature of a young
man. His hair was disheveled and his face portrayed the look of
frustration and aggravation. The words next to him summed up that
look... "God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things.
Right now I am so far behind, I'll never die!!"
Have you felt that way yourself? You have so much to do, no time to do
it and the list keeps getting longer. Have you said to yourself "if I
can just manage time better, I can get a lot more down."
The word manage means to have under effective control. Can you have
time under effective control? You begin every day with 24 hours. You
can't add to it, you can't borrow more time, you can't rearrange time,
you can't bank extra hours. In reality, there is no such thing as time
management because the can't control time.
What can you manage? The activities within a 24 hour period can be
managed. I was very ill several years ago and there were days I
couldn't get out of bed. With the help of 5 mentors, all successful
business owners and super-achievers, I learned how to accomplish things
15 minutes increments.
There are three areas in your life that most activities occur,
personal, family, and business. You can effectively maximize activities
by understanding yourself. Know your peak performance time and your
personality temperament. What are the activities you do in the three
areas of the life? How long does it take you to do each of them? Create
a time budget for those activities.
Here is a sample time budget of what a typical business day will look
for me. Your day will probably be different.
6:00 - 6:30 Get daughter off to school
6:30 - 8:30 Back to bed and sleep
8:30 - 9:30 Breakfast, clean up and dressed
9:30 - 1:00 Business activities
1:00 - 2:00 Lunch
2:00 - 3:30 Business activities
3:30 - 4:00 Pick daughter up from school
4:00 - 4:30 Talk to Husband who just came home from work
4:30 - 5:30 Business activities
5:30 - 6:00 Straighten office and review next day activities
6:00 - 7:00 Microwave dinner and eat
7:00 - 10:00 Personal and family time
10:00 - 1:00 Business activities
1:00 - 6:00 Sleep
I'm a night person and there are times I will take a nap in the
afternoon. Also I found the need to keep personal activities out of the
business time. There is another day dedicated to laundry, shopping ect.
Develop a time budget based on your activities and what works for you.
Be flexible.
Fifteen Steps to Time Maximizing Activities
Keep a time journal of all your activities for the next week or two.
This includes play time. The goal is not look like "A Super Person".
You want this to be a reflection of your life. If you play Nintendo for
two hours, put it down. Do you require 8 hours of sleep? Does working
in the garden relax you?
Analysis your journal. How many things do you do? How long does it take
you to get them done? What activities can you delegate?
Create a time budget like above for those activities.
Get organized.
Schedule quiet time to do you planning and time budget weekly.
Schedule maintenance time to stay organized.
Allow flexibility. The time budget is guideline not a strict regiment.
Learned to say NO.
Spot negative trends.1
Handle paperwork immediately and only once it is possible.
Keep clutter under control.
Respect the time of others.
Overcome procrastination.
Be accountable to someone.
Take time for yourself. VERY IMPORTANT!
Activity management won't happen overnight. It will take time to form
this new habit. But once you grasp it, you be surprised at what you can
accomplish in less time with less stress.
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Ann Rusnak is the 15 Minute Time Coach helping entrepreneurs use The
"15 Minute a Day" Technique to put them in control of their time to
grow their business faster and more profitable in less time with less
stress!
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