Time is precious thing so make the best use of it. Mind Tools teaches you personal time management skills. This personal time management guide and the accompanying newsletter are dedicated to building a stronger foundation for your success. One skill at a time. These are the simple, practical techniques that have helped the leading people in business, sport and public service reach the pinnacles of their careers. There are only 24 hours in your day, just the same as everybody else's. So how do you end up frustrated, angry, behind in your work, and dead on your feet?

Maybe because you don't know how to use those 24 hours to your advantage. If you use these skills well, then you will be able to function exceptionally well, even under intense pressure. Developing time management skills is a journey that may begin with this Guide, but needs practice and other guidance along the way. Your main source of problems or your major breakthrough may still be hiding in your blind spot. What you really manage is your activity during time, and defining outcomes and physical actions required is the core process required to manage what you do.

Tips for time management

set priorities and manage your time to meet deadlines

Handle people and projects that waste your time

Action Plans and Prioritized - To Do Lists help you focus on the most important short term activities.

Prioritize assignments - When studying, get in the habit of beginning with the most difficult subject or task.

Make Sure the Surroundings are Conducive to Studying: This will allow you to reduce distractions which can "waste time." If there are times in the residence halls or your apartment when you know there will be noise and commotion, use that time for mindless tasks.

Time management provides you with the opportunity to create a schedule that works for you, not for others. This personal attention gives you the flexibility to include the things that are most important to you.

If using your time wisely is a problem for you, you probably don't have a very good idea of where it all goes. It just seems to go! A good place to start, then, is to keep track of how you use your time. Get a Weekly schedule (available in the Learning Skills corner of the Counseling and Testing Center's Career Library) and faithfully keep track of how you use your waking hours for one week. The results will probably surprise you.

Successful leaders in almost every field organize each day according to the priority assigned to the activities to be accomplished. Make sufficient copies of the Daily Activity Guide to insure a two-week supply, and use the form as an aid in planning each day's work.

The objective is to change your behaviors over time to achieve whatever general goal you've set for yourself, such as increasing your productivity or decreasing your stress. So you need to not only set your specific goals, but track them over time to see whether or not you're accomplishing them.

Put things that are most important at the top and do them first. If it's easier, use a planner to track all of your tasks. And don't forget to reward yourself for your accomplishments.

Visualize your long term picture of success and put it in writing. Review your goal frequently. Your goal should be specific, measurable, achievable and compatible with where you are now. There should be an end date as well. Steven Covey calls this "Begin with the end in mind."

Planning your day can help you feel more in control of you life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.