Time Management: “What is it?” Part 1
The ability to make decisions that are relative to the things we want to accomplish in our day or our life. It is the skill that some people have naturally and the skill that some of us will have to work at our entire life. Everyone has some sense of time management or they would never get anything done. Just understand that some people’s version does not really work that well. That’s why they are always late and seem like they are always rushing from one appointment to another.
“Why does this affect me?”
We all make choices during the day that guide where we will end up when the day is over. When you look back at the day do you see yourself in a better place than when you started or do you feel like you never get anything done? Do you always feel like you never have time to do the things that you want to do instead of always doing the things that you have to do? Some of us are guilty of filling our days with useless mind numbing stuff that has no lasting impression. If you are going to use the 24 hours you have wisely you need to plan what you are going to do with them so you don’t lose any along the way.
“I don’t want to rule the world; do I still need Time Management Skills?”
You don’t have to want to rule the world or be a wealthy businessman to benefit from the effects of practical time management. Ask any stay at home mom how she can get everything done in a day. There are definitely some serious time management skills involved. Ask any single parent that works, takes care if the kids and goes to college part time if time management plays a role in their day. We all have the same amount of hours; we just have to be aware of what we should do with them.
“I can’t keep track of my shoes, how am I going to find time to manage my time?”
You will never stumble onto an extra hour that you didn’t know you had. You will just have to decide that this is something that will benefit you in the long run. If you are really as busy as you say then you might be able to find your shoes if you made the commitment to put them at the foot of your bed as soon as you get home. Then you could use the extra thirty minutes you won’t spend looking for your shoes writing down things you need to do today. Now you have gained an hour because you won’t spend the first thirty minutes at work trying to decide what you need to do and where you left off yesterday. This is just a process.
Time to get started;
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed a train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
I don’t know the source of this, but I think it says a lot. We are all given the same 24 hours in a day. We are all asked to complete all of the things we need to complete in that same amount of time. That includes eating, driving, sleeping, and leisure. I almost forgot about working, setting goals, and staying motivated. We all have limited access to the same 24 hours. We all need to decide what we want to do with those hours. If you think you don’t have time, then you probably don’t.
