We are all born equal! We all have the same 24 hours in a day as Oprah Winfrey has the difference is how we choose to spend our time. No matter how you dissect this concept, there could only be 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds at any given 24.

We’ve all been there and continue to get caught up in last minute rushes to meet deadlines, meetings that are double booked or achieve absolutely nothing, days that seem unproductive and crisis that spring unexpectedly from nowhere and destroy the most carefully planned day.

Somewhere in our education program, we all learned about the mathematical term “transition property” where if:

A=B and B=C, then A=C

Let’s try to apply this formula to what we’ve read so far.

oTime Management (A) = Planning & Prioritization (B)

oPlanning & Prioritization (B) = Productivity & Success (C)

Therefore…

o Time Management (A) = Productivity & Success (C)

14 years ago my family and I moved to Central California from Los Angeles. For us, we were living in a fast-paced world and everything and everybody seemed to be in a great hurry. Long commutes, rush hour traffic, being stressed all the time had a time slot in my day planner with my permission until I realized I was wasting time, a resource that I couldn’t stop or reverse even if I wanted to. The decision to move came in very easy and with it came the abundance of time and the guilty pleasure of “sneaking” or “stealing” a few moments of the day for myself and if you haven’t guessed it by now, I had the recipe for disaster brewing very slowly.

It is crystal clear to me that we all know about how important managing time is but frankly many of us aren’t that good at it.

In this article, we will target 3 specific elements that act as the foundation of time management and give you few specific techniques to manage time and enhance your skills better.

Define time: When we reference time in our daily lives, we talk about wasting time, spending it and needing more of it. Webster’s definition of time is: “The measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues”. Time is a resource you have complete control over that you choose to use consciously and only you decide how you want to spend it will be my definition. What is yours?

Prioritize: Remember you only have 24 hours in a given day. Use the LEAN approach and eliminate that which brings you no benefit whatsoever. Distinguish between what’s important vs. what’s urgent. Doing what’s important will leave you with a feeling of being in control of your life.

Adopt the approach: This is not about a sophisticated tool that you would use to manage your time. I am referring to what’s important to you in life and what values and roles do you want to focus on. Adopt a time management approach to maintain or achieve what you’ve designated as important. If you don’t decide what’s important to you, almost anything can compete for your time and attention.

Earlier in this article, we talked about the three elements that makeup the foundation for “Time Management”. 1) Understand and learn YOUR interpretation of time, 2) Plan smart and distinguish between what’s important and urgent, and 3) Focus on what you want to achieve and how important is that to you in life?

Once you establish the foundation, refer to the process of time management and use these techniques that will allow you the time for pursuit of your goal. The techniques I’m about to share with you are traditional in nature but what separates mediocre results from those which are extraordinary are the principles that take over where the traditional time management skills leave off.

o Are your organized?- Keep an orderly desk with a place for everything. Get rid of clutter and waste. You won’t be wasting time to look for stuff.

o Do you say no?- Avoid asking for forgiveness later for not being able to complete a task on time. Say no in advance to excessive work.

o Do you procrastinate?- Find out the real reason why you don’t want to begin with the task on hand. Motivate yourself to get it done. Start with some actions that are simple and easy and reward yourself for accomplishing them. Face procrastination head- on.

Here are three practices that take over where the traditional time management skills leave off.

o Exercise- Get exercise to fuel your body and nurture your soul. While you have to allocate time to get exercise, getting fit and being decisive will allow you to be more productive in the long run.

o Agile mind- Learn to multitask. We all know we only use a small percentage of what the mind is capable of. Use all of your mind and learn to multitask and get twice as much done in the same period of time.

o Review and Reflect- Step back from all of it and allow yourself to relax. Find an activity that will bring you mental and body relaxation. Careful, don’t confuse relaxing with wasting time. Regroup and allow for what really matters to you in life drive you.

In Summary, effective time management is essential to personal and business success. When people take the time to plan and prioritize, they can increase their productivity and sense of personal satisfaction with their accomplishments.

Take the first step toward mastering the art of time management. When you find yourself overwhelmed by a large list of daunting chores, you will be glad you did.

Why waste your precious time working on tasks, which are definitely not your forte when you can delegate or invest your money on a product or service which will free up your time? You can then focus on the more important areas in your work and your life.

Debbie’s Story

Debbie was the Director of her own computer company, employing four staff.

Debbie had a hectic lifestyle. She worked long hours, had three children and a husband to organise and on top of that was in the middle of a major renovation of her own home. To make matters even worse, she was also studying for a Bachelor of Computer Science!

No wonder she was stressed out!

Here was a situation where she had overburdened herself unnecessarily. She had far too much going on in her life and something was about snap!

Debbie was unable to sleep properly with all the worry and strain of juggling everything and had neglected her own self in the process.

Debbie looked tired and haggard when I first met her. She was 15 kg overweight and looked at least 10 years older than she really was. She had lost touch with what was really important to her. Debbie was trying to be superwoman!

She had taken on far too much and was forced to review her lifestyle (or lack of it) or she would either have a nervous breakdown or die in the process.

The Solutions

In working with my clients I always get them to write down all the activities and responsibilities they are currently involved in, both at work and home.

By writing them down you can clearly see what is really important and what isn’t. You can also see where you fill up your day with unnecessary activity.

With Debbie there were many areas where she could free up her time to give her the time for herself as the number one priority and get some sanity back into her life.

Before Adding, Look at Subtracting

I suggested to Debbie that she needed to look at which activities and responsibilities she could defer, delete, delegate or outsource.

This is what she chose to do:

Defer her Computer Science Degree until the following year.

Organise a building company to project manage her home renovation. Up until that time she had been organising the whole project on her own!

Hire a babysitter with a car who could pick her kids up from school and run them around to their activities. The babysitter would also cook the dinner and do other light domestic duties.

Utilise her bookkeeper much more by delegating to her basic administration tasks, which she was very capable of doing. Her bookkeeper was only employed three days a week and was delighted to work an extra day assisting Debbie with other tasks.

Attend her local gym at 6.00 a.m. three mornings a week and once on the weekend. She also sought advice on her diet.

Within four weeks you could see the change in Debbie. She was more confident now that she has taken control of her situation. Her life was getting back on track!

The Final Word

It’s really easy not to invest money in yourself.

Do you spend money on your car, your computer, your business, your home and other ‘things’ in your life?

Are you not worthy enough to invest in yourself? Is the price you pay for neglecting yourself really worth it?

What can you defer, delete, delegate or outsource so that you can have more time for living your life?

All of us procrastinate on occasion. For some people, it’s a chronic problem; for others, it’s only a problem in certain life areas. Procrastination is always frustrating because it results in wasted time, lost opportunities, disappointing work performance, and generally feeling bad about yourself.

When you procrastinate, you allow less important tasks to take up the time and space that should be devoted to more important things. You do things like hanging out with friends when you know that an important work project is due soon, or going shopping instead of doing your homework. It can also be evident in behavior such as talking about trivial things with your partner to avoid discussing important issues in your relationship.

Most people don’t have a problem finding time for things they want to do. But once they see a task as too difficult, painful, boring, or overwhelming, the procrastination behaviors begin. You are not alone if you have ever made any of the following excuses to yourself:

1. It’s too cold to exercise outside today. I’ll wait until tomorrow when it’s warmer.
2. I’ve got too many other things to do first.
3. I’ll do a better job when I can concentrate on this project.
4. I still have lots of time to get this done.
5. They don’t pay me enough to do a more complete job. This is good enough.
6. This problem is too hard to talk about. I wouldn’t know where to start.
7. I work better under pressure.
8. It’s too noisy to work while my teenager is at home.
9. I should get the shopping down now because the stores will be more crowded later.
10. I can eat this pie tonight, because I’m starting my diet tomorrow.
11. My tooth doesn’t really hurt that much. The pain will probably go away tomorrow.

Most of the time, these excuses seem fairly innocuous. However, they’re not as innocent as they seem, because they cause us to postpone important duties and projects. Ultimately, these excuses can keep us from accomplishing important goals and make us feel bad about ourselves.

Why People Procrastinate

If you were hoping for a simple answer to this puzzle, you will be disappointed to learn that there are many reasons why people put things off. Here are a few of the most common (check those that apply to you):

Avoiding discomfort. Wanting to avoid pain makes lots of people shift into procrastination mode. However, the longer we delay, the worse the uncomfortable problem usually becomes. The rash gets bigger, the tooth hurts more, or the brakes squeak even more loudly.

Perfectionism. Those who believe they must produce the perfect report may obsess about uncovering every last information source and then write draft after draft. Their search for the perfect product takes up so much time that they miss their deadline.

Laziness. Sometimes people delay tasks that involve fairly slight inconvenience or minor discomfort.

Thinking you’re not good enough. Some people are certain that they are incompetent. They think that they will fail, and procrastinate to avoid ever putting their skills to the test.

Self-doubt. If you second-guess yourself, you probably suffer from procrastination. You may avoid new challenges and opportunities unless you are certain that you will succeed. Perhaps you make feeble attempts to begin a project, and you tell yourself that you could do a better job if you put in more effort.

Workaholism. At the other end of the spectrum, many people who work excessively also fall into this category. They drive themselves ruthlessly, fearing that if they stop working, they will not be able to start again. Most self-doubters are driven by the belief that they must meet strict standards in order to see themselves as successful.

Physics Review

Remember the concept of inertia: a mass at rest tends to stay at rest.

For some reason, it is more difficult for most humans to start change than to keep it going.

Why Don’t We Just Say No?

Since procrastination produces mostly negative outcomes, why don’t we just change our behavior and eliminate these undesirable consequences? The reason for this is that procrastination reinforces itself. For some reason, it is more difficult for most humans to start change than to keep it going. We avoid getting started by cleverly diverting our attention from the things we really should be doing. We do something else instead or make up a story about how we will accomplish the task in the future-when we are inspired, or when we have completed a preliminary step, or some other trick.

Although recognizing how these diversions work won’t automatically cure your procrastination, being aware of it is a good place to start working on the problem. Once you are aware of the ways that you procrastinate, you can start to change your behavior.

When I was small, I have never considered the importance of time. I would just laze around, watch TV, lie in bed, and play video games. As I grew older, I thought about the things that I have achieved. To my surprise, I wasn’t able to accomplish a lot.

I resolved to myself that I will do things that will contribute to the benefit of mankind. I studied very hard and learned a lot of lessons from my experience. I lack self-confidence before, so I want to help other people overcome this predicament.

I became obsessed with self-improvement, so I started a newsletter. I’m also working on an ebook about persuasion as I’m writing this. I want to help anyone in need because it feels so good to solve other people’s problems.

I urge you now to make the most use of your time. It may be joining a fundraising organization. You may also learn new skills or crafts. Create a goal and go for it!

Don’t be a couch potato. Don’t just sit around and be contented with the monotonous patterns of your daily activities.

Do something nice and give all your best to the fulfillment of a worthwhile endeavor. It will give you a very deep sense of happiness and satisfaction.

Some people complain that they don’t have enough time to take action on their goals. They have to go to their 9 to 5 job, then when they go home they feel so tired all they can think about is watch TV, relax, and sleep.

I’m not saying that leisure is a no-no. In fact, everyone should take time out once in a while to recharge and revitalize their energy. The key is to have a balanced life. Set aside a fraction of your time to carry out your dreams and ambitions. Reserve some time to establish healthy relationships.

Ok, I hear you. You’re saying that you really just can’t budget your time?

Don’t panic. Here are some time management tips.

1) If possible, do more than one thing at the same time.

Exercise while watching your favorite TV show. Listen to educational tapes while waiting for the bus.

Be forewarned! Never do this if it puts you at risk or in danger; for example, don’t text while driving.

2) Don’t do something later if it can be done concurrently with an activity at present.

If you’re going to the market to buy some eggs, think of the other things that you have to purchase so that you don’t have to return again.

If you have an appointment with the dentist today and you also have to go to the bank (which is near the dentist’s clinic) at any day, schedule the two activities on the same day.

3) Be organized in everything that you do.

Put labels on bottles. Put similar files on one folder. Make a list of things you have to do for the day.

You can also use your mind to organize things you have to remember. Studies have shown that you could only retain information that fit between 5 to 9 categories at a time. This is the 7+-2 rule of Neurolinguistic Programming.

If you have many things to do, try to group related things together. You can combine activities such as reading books, listening to educational tapes, and watching training videos into a category such as “Education.” Then you can group swimming, playing basketball, and paying fees for the gym in a category called “Fitness.” Get the picture?

Time is one of our most valuable resources. Once lost, it can never be reclaimed. We must use time wisely for our development and advancement; so that when we are old, we can look back and recollect the pleasant memories and deeds that we have achieved. Time well spent is worth much more than gold.