You’ve tried all of the time management techniques offered by the experts. You’ve attended seminars about getting organized, setting goals and working through your
”to-do” list. Yet, the pace of your work life is still more than you can handle.
Here’s an approach to time management that will actually help you feel in control and restore enjoyment to your daily routines. Great achievers plan, control and use their precious time wisely so they can reach even higher on the success ladder. You can adopt the same principles to reclaim your time and become more productive.
Here’s how:
1. Use Quiet Time
If you’re always on the go, your self-awareness will be at its lowest. Take time at the start and end of each day to assess your time style from the biggest picture possible, even from the perspective of the course of weeks and months and the year.
2. Control Time from Within
To gain a feeling of controlling your time, begin by going inward. Notice which tasks stress you the most. Approach those tasks with a calmer, more focused resolve. Vow that they will not upset you. Be determined that you will not rush or hurry through your day.
3. Take a “Purposeful” Approach
When you allow things to slip off your task list, even that act is a decision. Approach everything you do as consciously and purposefully as possible by taking time to review your tasks from a strategic stance often. Refuse to get mired in the day-to-day minutiae.
4. Do Less
Achievers don’t add more tasks to their to-do list as openings come up. They maintain breathing spaces so they can recover and operate optimally more often. Overcome the feelings of guilt or laziness if your calendar is not crammed full. Create healthy openings in your schedule.
5. Follow the Path of Least Resistance
There is wisdom in being a persistent, determined achiever. But when you meet strong resistance to completing a task, it may be wiser to let it go or to take a different approach. Recognize when you’re spinning your wheels. Then change course.
6. Decelerate
Instead of rushing to complete a particular task, slow down and enjoy it fully. Use it to refresh yourself and to take a break from more stressful tasks. Achievers know that sometimes you gain speed by slowing down. Strive for quality, instead of quantity alone.
7. Schedule Down-Time
Top achievers regularly schedule exercise, food, rest, recreation and other breaks throughout every day. They prioritize these tasks as much as any other. They realize the restorative properties of these stress-buster breaks. By scheduling down time, you’ll propel yourself ahead as well as maintain peak mental and physical levels.
8. Maintain Balance
Peak performers take regular mental vacations throughout the day. That action keeps them highly energized and motivated to be productive. Be a smart achiever. Take mental vacations to maintain your balance.
9. Your Mental Game Action Plan
What actions can you take this week to become better at managing your time? Here are some ideas to get you started.
*Increase your awareness about your time-management style.
Ask others how they view your current time control style. Take short breaks in your day and assess how you’re
handling your time.
* Make quick, positive changes to your time-management system today.
Eliminate a task from your to-do list right now. Move a few items off of your A list and onto your C list.
* Maintain balance and control by reducing your frenzied work style and replacing it with a live-in-the-moment approach.
Austin Bookkeeping & Consulting
Cheryl Finfrock, Owner
Call Now for Needs Assessment
(512) 426-9217
or email cheryl@austinbookkeeping
www.austinbookkeeping.com
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