The Successful Person's Guide to Time Management

FCS7-101

The Successful Person's Guide to

Time Management

There Is Enough Time!

Too little time and too much to do is a common condition for many of us. Everyday demands or chores seem to engulf the day, leaving little time to pursue those things you enjoy. But you do have choices about how you spend your time. Balancing what you need to do with what you want to do can lead to happiness and success. Many of us complain, "There just isn't enough time in the day!" But the truth is that we have enough time to do what is important in our lives. You can always make time for the people you value and for the activities worth doing. All you need do is become a master of how you use your time.

Turning time-management skills into habits will take time--but what better way to spend it? With the help of this workbook and two or three hours, you can learn valuable techniques for managing your time and your life. By the end of the exercises, you'll know yourself better, have a map of goals for the future, and maybe fulfill a few dreams.

What Is Good Time Management?

Strictly speaking, we cannot really manage time--we can only manage ourselves. As we acquire new skills in time management, we gain control over our lives. A key to managing yourself is to know who you are and where you are going.

The following exercises will help you evaluate your current time management practices. You will explore how and why you want to manage your time better and discover what your time-management priorities are. You will learn to determine the time of day you have the most energy for accomplishing important tasks, as well as what your life goals are and what steps you need to take to accomplish them.

"Good time management simply means deciding what you want to get out of life and efficiently pursuing these goals. Time management does not mean being busy all the time--it means using your time the way you want to use it--which can include large doses of day dreaming and doing nothing. Good time management brings with it increased relaxation, less stress, more satisfaction, and greater accomplishment."

--Dorothy Cudaback, Family Life Extension Specialist

Evaluate Yourself

A good way to begin taking charge of your life is to give yourself several good reasons for wanting to manage your time better (for example, to earn more money, to increase productivity, to free yourself to find the kind of idleness that fosters cultivation of the mind, to spend more time with family and friends). List your reasons below. Focus on what you want and need most in your life.

1. ____________________________________________

____________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________

Time management is "a vehicle that can carry you from wherever you are to wherever you want to go."

--Brian Tracey, author of Time Power

____________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________

____________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________

____________________________________________

The first step toward turning your desires into reality is to evaluate your current time-management behaviors to give yourself a baseline for change. Knowing where you stand is a powerful tool; without that you cannot plan where you are going.

Assess Your Behavior

Use the Time-Management Behaviors matrix (Table 1) on page 3 to assess your current time-management skills.

Instructions 1. Read each statement and assess how well it describes you and your time-management practices. In the second column (How often?), indicate how frequently you practice each behavior.

2. Read each statement a second time and assess its value to you. In the third column (How important?), indicate how important each practice is to you.

3. Multiply the second column by the third column and enter the results in the fourth column (Rating).

4. Circle the values in the fourth column that are less than 5.

2

Table 1. Time-Management Behaviors

Behavior

How often? How important?

1 = Seldom

1 =Not at all

2 = Sometimes 2 = Somewhat

3 = Frequently 3 = Very

Rating

I have three or four clearly established personal and career goals that I am striving to reach.

I use a "To Do" list daily.

I make use of a daily planner or calendar to record important events and tasks.

I rank my priorities daily from most to least important.

I delegate as many responsibilities as I can.

I have adequate time to be with friends and loved ones.

I am aware of my daily energy levels.

I complete my most important tasks when I feel most energetic.

I work on my most important tasks before I work on the easy ones.

When I face an unpleasant task, instead of procrastinating I break the task into manageable, bite-sized pieces.

I plan ahead by setting aside time on my calendar to complete major tasks.

I schedule time for interruptions.

I take good care of myself by rewarding myself for completing realistic objectives.

At the end of most days, I look back on my To Do list and find that I have accomplished the most important tasks.

I take good care of myself by rewarding myself at least twice a week.

When necessary, I set limits by saying, "No, I just don't have time right now to do that."

When waiting for a stop light or for an appointment, I take two or three deep breaths and relax deeply.

I schedule and limit the amount of time each day that I devote to phone calls and e-mail.

I strive to handle each item in my mail only once. I am organized well enough that I can find my bills or an important letter in less than five minutes. Each member of my household has clearly defined household duties.

I ask for help when I want it.

Key: A score of more than 5 on an item suggests that you value that time-management practice and do it frequently. The circled items describe practices that you do not find important or have not found time to implement.

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Ask Yourself

Am I practicing the time-management behaviors that I value most? What am I doing right in managing my time? Which practices work best for me? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

Which practices do I consider important and yet seldom act upon? What are the possible reasons for my lack of action? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Which two or three new behaviors would give me the most control over my life?

New behavior

Desired result

__________________________________ __________________________________

__________________________________ __________________________________

__________________________________ __________________________________

4

Find Your Prime Time

Everyone's energy timetable is different. Some are morning people. Others do better in the evening. One key to better time management is to find your high-energy periods and schedule complex tasks when you are likely to be at your best. To discover your high-energy "prime time," complete the following exercise.

Instructions 1. Choose a typical day to graph your energy level. Be prepared to spend a few minutes each hour evaluating your energy level and recording it on the chart.

2. Above each hour of your day, place a dot in the box that best represents your level of energy for that hour.

3. At the end of the day, draw a line to connect the dots.

4. Examine your peaks and valleys of energy as represented on the graph. Note your high-energy periods.

"Know and use your prime time, that time during the day when you are most likely to be alert, enthusiastic, and creative."

--Dorothy Cudaback, family life Extension specialist

You may want to repeat this exercise several days in a row, or on days with varying levels of activity to get an even better picture of your energy levels. In the "Time-Management Steps You Can Take Today" section on page 9 you will find tips for taking advantage of your prime energy times.

Energy Graph

ENERGY LEVEL

Very High High Medium Low Sleep

MORNING

AFTERNOON EVENING

NIGHT

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4

5

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