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Developing Time Management Skills
If you feel like you need at least 25 hours in a day to get everything done, you’re not alone. There are plenty of
stressed and disorganized people who run around day to day, scrambling to finish their mental list of tasks before
their weary bodies and eyes give in to the surrender of sleep.
If this sounds like you, don’t panic. You are not a lost cause. However, what you need is not more hours in a day,
but better time management. You’ve probably heard of time management before, and you’ve either tried it
unsuccessfully, or brushed it off as something that only works for “some” people, or figured it was something you
could never attain.
However, time management need not be that elusive. What you need to do is focus on developing time management
skills. Developing time management skills will help you not only to get everything on your “list” done on time, but
you’ll have time to spare, you’ll be less stressed and scattered, and you’ll be more productive overall. Doesn’t
that sound like the life you want?
But how can you start working on developing time management skills? First, take the focus off the time and onto
yourself. You want to focus on managing yourself rather than managing your time—although managing your time is
certainly an important part of the whole process. Once you feel that you are more “managed,” and more in control of
your life, you’ll naturally become “better” at time management skills.
One simple—and perhaps obvious—way to work on developing your time management skills is by becoming more organized.
This is a very general goal, but you can apply it to very specific areas of your life. Whether you are a student, a
stay-at-home/work-at-home mom, a full-time employee, a freelancer, or you run your own business, think of where and
how you feel disorganized. Is it your cluttered desk? Your mental to-do lists? Your messy home? Identify the
sources of your disorganization and start working at organizing them to reduce stress and clutter, and to
ultimately help you with developing time management skills.
Another way to work on developing time management skills is to identify your individual “time stealers” and then
work to eradicate them. Time stealers are our personal obstacles to time management—the things that seem to hinder
us from developing time management skills. For many people, interruptions are major time stealers. Telephone calls,
online chat, and personal visitors during your pre-set “productive” time can really damage your attempts at time
management.
Further, you can start developing time management skills by setting personal goals for what you need to get done in
a day, and when you’re going to get them done. It’s not enough to simply write down a “Today’s To-Do List.” As
humans we have a natural tendency to procrastinate, and it’s tempting for us to wait until the end of the day to
get everything done, at which point we feel hurried, stressed, and unable to complete the list in time. Then we
either burn the midnight oil and sacrifice our sleep (and ultimately our health), or we just throw in the towel and
head give up. Instead, write down deadlines or times for when you’re going to get individual tasks done—this will
do wonders for developing time management skills.
Write these goals and times down, and treat them like a game or competition, in which you’re trying to “beat” your
time. Don’t keep the list in your head even if have a great memory. Writing down goals will help keep you focused,
on track, and motivated—which are all necessary for developing time management skills.
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