Use These 8 Time Management Tips to Reduce Your Stress and Improve Your Time Management

"Time is one thing that can never be retrieved. One may lose and regain friends. One may lose and regain money. Opportunity, once spurned, may come again. But the hours that are lost in idleness can never be brought back to be used in gainful pursuits" ~Winston Churchill

1. Develop a meal plan.
Knowing what you are going to have in advance will reduce the frantic running around for the essential ingredient. Cooking in bulk can also help to reduce time spend slaving away in the kitchen.

2. Beat procrastination
Procrastination is a thief of time, and while it is a comfortable bed to sleep in it can be a hard habit to break. If you find that there are important tasks that you are not getting to in the day, then this is a signal that you could be procrastinating. There are many reasons for procrastination, and knowing your reason is generally the best way to beat procrastination. Ways to eliminate procrastination include drawing up a pro's and con's list, setting clear goals, rationalization and so forth.

3. Reduce your TV time
TV can be fun to watch but if you watch too much it can be a big time waster. I look at the shows that I want to watch that week and the record them on my DVD. This way I save 20 minutes every hour because I don't watch the advertisements. This also allows me to watch the TV on my time, rather than theirs!

4. Do your friends love to talk on the phone
This can be a real timewaster. While it is great to talk to your friends on the phone, if you need to call someone who really talks, then try to call them when it easy for you to get off the phone. For example, I call just before class or late in the day before dinner.

5. Work your body clock.
Each of us has a natural rhythm throughout the day. When are you most productive? When are you least productive? I am most productive in the morning before lunch, so I plan to do those things that require my best effort then. In mid afternoon I am least productive, and plan those things that require little energy.

6. Declutter
If you don't know where you have left the keys, or you are overwhelmed with the mountain of paper that is on your desk, it is time to declutter and organize. Clearing away the clutter and organizing yourself will increase your effectiveness and reduces your stress.

7. Delegate.
Delegation is one of the most praised but least used time management tools. Delegation, when done well, provides and opportunities to train the people around you and also helps to free up your time to do more important tasks.

8. Exercise
Research shows that exercising before midday is related to people reporting greater feelings of happiness and as though they have got through more in their day.