Marco Bitran - Everyone Can Benefit From Better Time Management

No matter what role you play in life - stay-at-home parent, CEO, student, entrepreneur, retiree, etc. - managing your time has an impact on your quality of life. Well actually, managing yourself with respect to time has an impact, since we can’t manage time itself. It’s not my role to tell you what you should be doing with your time, but I can help you find ways to use time in ways that will make you successful, in whatever way you define success. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Say “no” more often. Evaluate what’s important to you and only take on new roles and tasks that will help you meet your goals. Consider what saying “yes” will cost you in terms of time away from other things you may prefer to do.

Plan your day. It may sound elemental, or it may sound confining, but I’ve found that daily planning is the most prevalent and powerful habit of successful people with whom I work. If you were going to go on a road trip to a specific destination, you’d most likely plan your route, right?

Do the same with your day - figure out what you’d like to accomplish by the end of the day and plan your route to success.

Make time for self-care. Adequate sleep, proper nutrition, and physical activity all have a positive impact on our ability to focus and work efficiently. Busy people often sacrifice sleep to get more done, but studies show that inadequate sleep leads to workplace errors and reduced productivity. Even when you’re feeling the crunch of a deadline, your best option may be to get some rest and recharge your brain, rather than spin your wheels when you’re tired.

Focus on one thing at a time. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be gained from finishing what you start, but if you bounce from task to task due to distractions, it may be hard to achieve that satisfaction. Eliminate the sources of distraction by choosing times during the day to ignoring your phone and email and focus on the task at hand. If it’s helpful, jot down on a sticky note what you want to be working on at the moment so you can refer to it when you find yourself getting pulled off track. If you’re severely prone to distraction, set a time to go off in frequent intervals to give yourself the opportunity to evaluate whether you’re still working on what you intended to be.

Find what works for you. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to time management - just what does or doesn’t work for you. Pay attention to how you spend your time and look for opportunities to take control in areas that could benefit.

Internationally known organizing and productivity consultant, author, and speaker Sue Becker of From Piles to Smiles® enjoys helping people live better lives by creating customized systems to overcome their overwhelming paperwork, clutter, and schedules. She specializes in helping people who are chronically disorganized, especially people with AD/HD and is Illinois’ first Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization.

Sue invites you to sign up for her FREE Starter Kit: 5 Proven Ways to Organize and Simplify Your Life at http://www.pilestosmiles.com - you’ll learn simple ways to discover the freedom of an organized home, office and life.

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