Wouldn't It Be Nice if TIME Grew on Trees?
The top two things that people seem to want more of are money
and time. As a matter of fact, more money and more time are the
top two issues people come to life coaches for (they also happen
to be the top two excuses people use for not hiring a coach). It
would be great if we had a money tree and a time tree in our
backyard. That way if we ran out of either, we could just walk
outside and pluck some off the tree. Unfortunately, God didn't
make those kinds of trees. Probably because He wanted us to
become good stewards of our money and time. Just like we can
learn to better manage our finances, there are things we can do
to improve our time management. Outlined below are seven tips
for gaining more time.
Prioritize, Schedule and Focus. Make a list of all the things
you have to do and want to do for a given time period.
Prioritize each of the items on your list. Assign high priority,
moderate priority or low priority to each item. What are the
most important things to you? Spend most of your energy and time
on your high priority items and schedule the moderate and low
priority items around your main concerns. Stay focused on what's
most important to you at all times.
Eliminate Some "Have Tos" in your Life. There are things in life
that we want to do and have to do. Some "have tos" simply can't
be eliminated such as laundry, cleaning the house or grocery
shopping. Other "have tos" are negotiable. You don't have to
volunteer your time every time someone needs it. You don't have
to participate in all social activities. Look closely at all the
"have tos" in your life. Which ones can you drop?
Pay Attention to Time Stealers. Sometimes we're not aware of all
the things that eat up our time. Take the friend who calls to
chat. Next thing you know 30 minutes have gone by. What about
the internet? I don't know about you but I can spend hours
surfing the net. In line with the internet are e-mails. Reading
and responding to e-mail is a real time stealer. Watching
television and poor communication also rob you of valuable time.
Set aside only a certain amount of time each day to tend to
these items.
Delegate Tasks. Not everything has to be handled by you.
Sometimes it's helpful to let go of the notion that you are the
only person that can manage a particular task. Children as young
as three can help around the house. Husbands can run errands and
do chores as well. Friends and family can lend a helping hand.
If money permits, consider hiring help. Teenagers love to make
money. Many tasks such as housecleaning, laundry, ironing,
organization, lawn care, and home projects can be farmed out to
the professionals.
Cut Back on Commitments. With so many activities to choose from,
it's easy to over schedule your time. The church and community
offers many opportunities to volunteer. Children are involved in
sports, music, dance and school activities. Friends and family
members are often good at booking your social calendar. Add home
and work commitments and you have to start using multiple
calendars to keep track of everything. Consider limiting the
amount of activities you and family members are involved in. Cut
out volunteering for a period of time. Carefully select which
social activities you want to attend.
Increase Organization. Believe it or not, lack of organization
eats up a lot of time. You spend time looking for things. Poor
planning results in mismanaged time. Eliminate clutter from your
life and organize the rest of your belongings. Keep a calendar
and "to do" list. Set up daily routines. To maximize your time,
take 15 minutes at the end of each day to plan for the next day.
Conquer Procrastination and Perfectionism. Perfectionists spend
way too much time getting things "just right". Procrastinators
waste too much time avoiding things they don't want to do. If
you fall into either of these categories, making a commitment to
tackle these self-management issues will go a long way towards
giving you more time.
How can you better manage your time? Pick an area and commit to
working on making some changes that will give you the time you
want. Take that extra time you create to nurture your
relationships, have some fun, or take better care of yourself.