Tips for Time Management

1. Spend Time Planning and Organizing. Using time to think and plan is time well-spent. In fact, if you fail to take time for planning, you are, in effect, planning to fail.

2. Set Goals. Goals give your life, and the way you spend your time, direction. Set goals which are specific, measurable, realistic and achievable. Your optimum goals are those which cause you to "stretch" but not "break" as you strive for achievement. Goals can give people a much-needed sense of direction.

3. Prioritize. Use the 80-20 rule to prioritize. Identify that valuable 20 percent. Once identified, prioritize time to concentrate your work on those items with the greatest reward.

4. Use a To Do List. Some people thrive using a daily ‘To Do’ list, which they construct either the last thing the previous day or first thing in the morning. Don't be afraid to try a new system — you just might find one that works even better than your present one!

5. Be Flexible. Allow time for interruptions and distractions. Time management experts often suggest planning for just 50 percent or less of one's time. With only 50 percent of your time planned, you will have the flexibility to handle interruptions and the unplanned "emergency." When you expect to be interrupted, schedule routine tasks.

6. Do the Right Thing Right. Noted management expert, Peter Drucker, says "doing the right thing is more important than doing things right." Doing the right thing is effectiveness; doing things right is efficiency. Focus first on effectiveness (identifying what is the right thing to do), then concentrate on efficiency (doing it right).

7. Eliminate the Urgent. Urgent tasks have short-term consequences while important tasks are those with long-term, goal-related implications. Work towards reducing the urgent things you must do so you'll have time for your important priorities. Flagging or highlighting items on your To Do list or attaching a deadline to each item may help keep important items from becoming urgent emergencies.

8. Practice the Art of Intelligent Neglect. Eliminate from your life trivial tasks or those tasks which do not have long-term consequences for you. Can you delegate or eliminate any of your To Do list? Work on those tasks which you alone can do.

9. Avoid Being a Perfectionist. Yes, some things need to be closer to perfect than others, but perfectionism, paying unnecessary attention to detail, can be a form of procrastination.

10. Conquer Procrastination. When you are avoiding something, break it into smaller tasks and do just one of the smaller tasks or set a timer and work on the big task for just 15 minutes. By doing a little at a time, eventually you'll reach a point where you'll want to finish.

11. Learn to Say "No". Such a small word — and so hard to say. Focusing on your goals may help. Blocking time for important, but often not scheduled, priorities such as family and friends can also help. But first, you must be convinced that you and your priorities are important — that seems to be the hardest part in learning to say "no." Once convinced of their importance, saying "no" to the unimportant in life gets easier.

12. Reward Yourself. Celebrate achievement of goals. Promise yourself a reward for finishing the total job. Then, keep your promise to yourself and indulge in your reward. Doing so will help you maintain the necessary balance in life between work and fun and relaxation.