How to Become An Effective Manager of Your Time

There are many courses and lot of information about time management. I don't want to compete with them here. I have read several books on this topic including the classic Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. But what happened to me last week is that I learned something new about managing our time. Better said I read something that gave me a new insight on this, new way of looking at it. In fact it is a piece of Jim Rohn's knowledge. It touched me so much in a positive manner that I want to share this with you.

So how to become effective manager of your time?

First we need to realize, how much precious time is. Your life doesn't last forever. Our days and moments store is not never-ending. The main point in life is to utilize them the best way possible. Don't let them just slip away. Utilize them to the max. There is just limited amount of them. In your nineties you had lived through 90 springs. When somebody tells you: "I have 20 years left", you say: "No, you'll experience only 20 springs."

If you are used to go fishing once a year, you can go only 20 times more. Here it starts to be little critical. It's not that you would have whole 20 years more, but you'll experience everything only 20 times more. How much worth you want that 20 times be? It doesn't matter if it is going to concert, or being with your family or being on vacation. It is only a certain number.

When is the best time to start the day?

Another good tip is this. Do not start the day until you have finished the day. Plan your day the best way you can. You will have enough time left for surprises and innovations, or anything. Plan your day well, make a good schedule, because every day is a piece of mosaic of your life. And do it the night before. Start the day after you have finished the day.

One simple method

There are few concepts of planning time, for example Stephen Covey teaches weekly planning. The simplest way is to use a diary where you write by hand, not electronic diary. The method is as follows. You'll write the tasks which you have to do in the days when you'll do them. You'll write the tasks for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and so on, depending on which days you'll decide to work. When filling the day you see it's getting full, stop and start writing in the next day.

Now the important piece of this. When you are writing down tasks, you know that they are promises you give yourself. Don't write the task, if it is not totally clear that it's a promise you are giving yourself.

To be able to start taking action, you must have it written. Because once you write it down, the power of written word will allow you to focus on what is expected from you to do, and so you'll do it. When you write down that you do something the certain day, then you can do it that day. It's a promise you are giving yourself.

My experience

From my personal experience I can say that planning really works to improve time management. It allows me to do/manage more things in less time, like it was before using planning. I think it's a great thing. When I have my week planned, I don't need to think about what to do next (this was happening very often before). All I have to do is follow my schedule. And if get interrupted unexpectedly, it's okay, I can easily reorganize the schedule, because weekly schedule has ability to adjust any necessary changes.