Time Management

The Ultimate Self Challenge: Time Management

"We must use time creatively and forever realize that time is hope to do great things"
Martin Luther King Jr.

Brian Tracy, time management and goal-setting guru has said that this is a skill that you absolutely must learn if you desire to achieve great results. Time management is life management. It is the core skill around which everything that you do revolves around. It can be said that the quality of your life will be determined by the quality of your time management. No other skill will give you a better payoff in terms of rewards, happiness, effectiveness and the pleasure of knowing that you have the ability to achieve the goals that are important to you. Time management is a skill like typing or playing the piano and it can be developed over time. Time management is really the external demonstration of self-discipline in your life.

The most valuable things human beings have is time. You can always get more money but once you spend some time its gone for ever. First we have to realize how valuable time is and then we need to understand the principles if we are going to manage it effectively. Day Timer, a company that understands time-management built a huge company helping people use their time more effectively. In 1947 Morris Perkin, a local attorney, realized that he needed more information about his work day than could be provided by a simple appointment calendar. So he designed his own system, which he called Lawyer's Day. This time-record book of calendar pages combined all the functions of: an appointment book, a tickler reminder system, a detailed time record, a diary and record of all work done and activities, and a work planner and organizer. It was Perkin's personal solution to time management. By 1952 Perkin needed a commercial establishment to handle the printing of Lawyer's Day for him, so he approached the Dorneys -- and changed all of their lives. As Bob Dorney recalls it: "For a while we just printed it for him, initially he only had about 700 customers. But he really struck a nerve, because Lawyer's Day went over very well. As the subscription list grew, we began shipping it for him, then marketing it, too.

Eventually, it got to be a little more than he wanted to handle, and after dotting the i's and crossing the t's, we merged." They sealed the agreement with a handshake, and the partnership quickly became a successful venture. The diaries were sold using the theme: "Lawyers who keep time earn 42% more than non-time keepers." Results of a Bar Association study revealed that lawyers who used the system earned 50% more than those who didn't. Lawyer's Day was a revolutionary concept that was soon being used by 20% of the lawyers in the country. Commerce and trade were booming in the early '50s, and the economy began to flourish. Calendars in use at that time were primitive, consisting of dates on simple pages or blocks of dates on a page, with little room for appointments, and no space to record details of meetings or transactions. Because of the vitality of the economy and the increase in "action," business people had outgrown these basic calendars, they needed more room to keep track of more obligations, appointments, expenses, and details. After conducting extensive market research, the Dorney brothers discovered that the Lawyer's Day system would also be effective for professionals other than lawyers.

Another significant time organization thought is many people continually take on new projects and activities without stopping old ones. You can only do so much in so much time. You probably already fill 24 hr of your day. If you want to do something new you need to ask yourself what am I prepared to give up so that I can make room for this new activity. There is never enough time to do everything there is to do, but there is always enough time to do what is most important to us. There are many tools on the market to help you to plan your time more efficiently, not only must we adopt good habits in dealing with paper but we must also use the time management tools to prioritize our activities and responsibilities. That is why I have spent so much time on listing everything that you can think of in your goal categories and then prioritized it down to the top 3.

Time management law:
Here is some of the best time management advise you could possibly get. Find the few things that make the most difference in what you are about to do and spend most of your time on those few things. It is the 80/20 principle which states that there are usually about two out of ten things that will give you 80% of the results. Find those two things and spend most of your time working on them. Don't major on minor things and don't confuse activity with productivity. You have taken the time to clarify, prioritize and set your goals. Now examine your plan of action carefully and determine the 20% activities.

Time management principles:

Time management is really self management. It is about discipline. If you lack the discipline then seek out some accountability to help hold you to doing the things you ought to do. What you will find is that the activity gives you the motivation instead of trying to find the motivation to do the activity. Zig Ziglar said it best when he said "When you do the things you ought to do when you ought to do them, a time will come when you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them".

Time management is about prioritizing. It's about identifying the 20% activities mentioned above and the priorities you have placed on your activities.

Time management is about planning. It is estimated that planning will give a 500% return on energy, that's 5 times your investment! (Wouldn't it be nice if the stock market gave us that kind of return.) We have to learn to be good planners. A plan is a road map that shows you the quickest route to your destination.

There is no real magic in time management. You have already clarified your goals, identified the activities in your plan of action. Now your have to sort through those activities and choose the 20% activities, seek good experienced advice and organized yourself to be efficient and effective. Now the rest is up to you to discipline yourself to do the things you ought to do. There are some mental exercises [see article on Mastering Change with the bits on mental conditioning and belief systems] that can be of benefit and certainly to eat and sleep well all help to give you the extra leverage and general well being to be disciplined and focused.

Time Management Systems:
There are many quality time management systems available. It is highly recommended that you investigate what's available and how you can benefit from them. I emphasize taking a course and learning about the program or a planner to get the most from it. Some of the computer programs and planning systems are extremely sophisticated and powerful which can be of major benefit if you learn how to use them properly. You can find a local computer training company like PBSC (www.pbsc.com) which can train you to maximize on a companies software program in about 1 day for $225.00 CDN or ask the manufacturer of the planner where you can learn about their system. See "Resource" section in the back of this book.

I personally like Lotus Organizer for it operates just like a physical planner with many advanced functions for e-mail & Internet.

Step One. 
Take inventory of how are you using your time now. You can have the best map in the world but if you don’t know where you are then it is unlikely you will be able to find the best route to get where your going. You now have clear goals and a good road map. You have to find out just exactly how you generally use your time. A common and simple method is to document everyday for a week everything that takes up your time. How many times did the phone ring and how long was each call, making your bed, brushing your teeth, reading the paper, walking the dog, etc., etc., etc. How much time do you spend doing things from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. Make note of them right away, don’t try to trust your memory and record everything at the end of the day for you will not remember everything that you did.

Step two.
Once you know how you spend your time you can decide how and what is valuable and what is not. Apply the second principle and prioritize according to your goals. This is the all important, must do part of the exercise. It really doesn't matter if you spend most of your time and resources on goals b, c, and d for that matter. In fact it doesn't even matter if you spend a little time there. The reason you took the time to identify your top goals is so you can start to allocate you time, money and talent to your top 3-5 goals. This is the third and most powerful part of this whole planner.

#1 - was to get clear on what it is you want and what will make a difference in your life, your A1, A2, A3 goals.
#2 - was to create a plan for their achievement.
#3 - is to evaluate and spend most of your time, money and talent on those goals.

I assure you that if you do these three things well, soon and very soon you will begin to experience a life you never dreamed possible. Sort out, delegate or drop all together the 80% activities. Create your "To do list". These lists do not have to make you into some inflexible machine, they are simply a list of the 20% activities that will move you toward your goal in the shortest period of time. They are very helpful and motivating as you begin to knock off projects one at a time. You can plan your days weeks and even months and years in advance.

Step three.
Create a chart of one week from morning to night on one side and Monday through Sunday across the top like the below example. I suggest to make several copies because you may go through several week charts to create the ideal week according to your goals. Once you have filled out the week calendar with your goal activities to work on it is simply up to you to follow through, set up the disciplines and do the things you want and know you should do. Some real magic takes place as you begin this process. You become stronger, more disciplined and more focused all the time. Soon you will be amazed at the kind of individual you have become and everyone will be proud to know and associate with you.

"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."
Earl Nightingale