Time Management Elements

Maggie is a wife and mother. She works full time, but constantly speaks of attending college to attain one she likes better. Her home environment, inside and out, is a bit on the untidy side due to a combination of unfinished projects and what she considers a “sad lack of adequate storage space”. When asked to do anything by anyone, she typically declines due to lack of time.

Suzi is an active wife and mother. She works, attends college, and cares for her home, her children. Her house is always ready for visitors, and projects always get finished in a timely fashion. In addition, she is a regular at her church, and enjoys volunteering for both church and community organizations. She is a model superwoman: able to do and have it all.

We have all known a Maggie and a Suzi: two people with the same amount of time in the day. Except one accomplishes so much more with her 24 hours of the day than the other. What do the Suzi’s of the world have that the Maggie’s do not? In a word, what the Maggie’s of the world lack is knowledge. To become Suzi’s, Maggies need to learn, and apply, efficient time management tips.

Time is one of life’s most important resources, and we all get the same amount: 24 hours in each day. The major difference between Suzi and Maggie is the way they manage their time, because both types have exactly the same amount of time every day: 24 hours. Many people fail to reach their goals because they don’t know how to manage time wisely. High achievers typically have excellent time management skills. In contrast, Maggies allow seconds, days, months, and years--like dollars thrown to the winds--to drift away from them.

Time management is a conceptual term that means a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time. Their purpose is to help to accomplish specific tasks, projects and goals. In action, time management means planning, prioritizing and setting goals. This is balanced by analyzing and monitoring how time is spent. The final tier of time management is how you organize and schedule your time. Analyze how you spend your time then prioritize tasks. Organize your activities so that they line up with your values and goals.

Being able to effectively manage time is important to achieve goals. First, it allows you to budget your resources, including time and effort, in ways most conducive to goal attainment. Secondly, it helps you stay action and solution orientated. Lastly, effective time management will help you stay motivated as it allows a concrete method of tracking goals.

Being able to manage time efficiently makes the waters of life easier to navigate. People who apply efficient time management techniques to their days have been shown to have lower stress levels as well. By evenly distributing tasks over time, you minimize stress. This is due, in part, because you take conscious control of the amount of time you spend on any activity in order to maximise your personal efficiency. You may not be able to control every current in the river of life, but actively applying effective time management skills makes for a smoother and more productive ride.  © Debra Contreras 2010©