Prioritize and Plan: Create a time management plan. Try clarifying your priorities, your strengths and weaknesses, and your goals on a personal and professional level. Have an ongoing, categorized Master List including all the “to do” items in every area of your life. Write these down and place a star by the ones which are the most important. Get those tasks “out of your head and onto paper” so there is no worry about forgetting something. At the end of each day, refer to the Master List and cross off the items you accomplished. Then identify the most important items you will do tomorrow. Write these items on a Daily Accomplishment List.
At the first of each month, set aside an hour to plan your month. Use a Month-At-A-Glance calendar to block off your personal/family obligations with a colored highlighter. Then use a green highlighter to block off time for interviews, shows, office time, networking, and attending team events.
Making the most of your time: Being effective means doing the right job for the right reasons. Remember to stay focused on what will bring the greatest return on your time and energy. A good rule of thumb is to spend 80% of your "Business" time on income producing activities and 20% on management activities.
The following example is for a part-time career of twenty hours per week: Sixteen hours on income producing activity (selling products, booking and holding shows, and prospecting/holding interviews with new Consultants), four hours on management activity (office administration, self-improvement, etc.) Again, focus 80% of your time on activities that promote sales and 20% of your time on management.
· Improve the quality of your time by evaluating when you feel most alert. Try to schedule your appointments or make phone calls for your business during the times you are at your best.
· Monitor the way you spend your time by using an activity log. Take a few days to write down daily activities and the time it takes you to accomplish them. Based on the information you gather, make the necessary changes.
· Create extra hours for yourself by getting up early. This is an easy way to create more time. If you get up 1-hour early for a year, you will create approximately 10 additional working weeks.
Set yourself up for success by sticking to your schedule and not taking on additional obligations that will take away from your personal/family time or your business. Learn to say “NO!” Time Management and planning work hand in hand for the success of your business. It gives you a sense of peace as well as a feeling of order.
Articles On Time Management
Many of us struggle with the concept of time management. This is especially true when we have a set list of defined goals that we want to achieve. It is important to understand that when we set goals, the first main part to achieving those goals is to determine what it is that we wish to accomplish. The next main part is to implement simple time management techniques in order to ensure that we can achieve those goals with little distraction. Here, you will be introduced on how you can achieve goals through effective time management.
In order to achieve the goals that we have in life, it is imperative that we have essential skills in time management techniques. Individuals who are able to appropriately manage their time have been reported as being the most effective group of people both personally and professionally. These people are able to achieve any type of goals that they set for themselves. Many who are well-skilled in time management techniques understand that achieving goals and managing time is not about simply staying busy, it is about delivering results that are appropriate to the goals.
If you wish to set goals for yourself, you should know and understand exactly what goal setting involves. Goals are nothing more than simply creating a vision that you find appealing for your future. This is the easy part. Complications arise when it comes to finding the motivation within yourself to do something about this vision. It requires you to find a reason to turn your vision into your reality. Many individuals get stuck on this component of goal setting. The most common reason why is because of procrastination.
Many individuals give many reasons as to why they are procrastinating. However, procrastination boils down to two fears. One of the fear of success and the other is the fear of failure. Simply put, procrastination is an assembled group of excuses that an individual uses to rationalize initialization in the goal-setting process. It is important to understand that there is absolutely nothing standing in the way of your accomplishing your goals, except for you.
One of the first steps in planning out your goals is to create a day that you want to start on the road to success. You should take the time to outline the necessary steps that will be required in order to achieve the goals that you have set. This may include any type of work that is involved, resources that will be needed, as well as the time that is required for achieving that in which you want to accomplish in your life. Once you have established your goal-setting plans, you are ready to move on to the next step.
The next step involves using a system to effectively plan your time. Many may elect to implement the use of a personal planner, while others may want to use a computer software program to manage their time. Daily activities and goals should be listed in your planning system. Many individuals prefer to start their day with the more complicated tasks that they must achieve while others may choose to start their day with the smaller tasks. It is important to develop a system that is appropriate to you.
Achieving goals through effective time management can prove to be extremely complicated if you experience a lot of distractions. In order to maximize your time, it is absolutely essential to ensure that you limit the amount of time that you spend delving into distractions, and increase the amount of time in which you are focused on the goals at hand. By doing so, you are placing your concentration into more focused venues. Many individuals simply do not understand the vast amount of distractions that can occur on a daily basis. However, the following list will describe some of the things that steal our time from us:
- Interruptions from telephone calls can take up a lot of time. If you are working on a project in order to achieve your goals, you should consider allowing the answering machine or your voice mail service to take calls. Many individuals designate a specific time of day in which they focus on returning calls.
- Ineffective planning can also have a great impact on our achieving the goals that we desire.
- The inability to say "no" to others can prove to be quite a burden on your time. Learning to let people know your schedule and the appropriate times that they can request you is an important element in being able to save time and focus on your goals.
If you wish to achieve your goals through effective time management, it is important to ensure that you learn to take charge of your time first. Once this is done, you will find that accomplishing your goals in life is an easy process.
Both Nicki Keohohou & Kevin Sinclair are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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