Time Management: 10 Top Tips For Managing Your Time Effectively

Published on this site: August 14th, 2008 - See more articles from this month

Are you completely or partially organized, in all aspects of your life? Would being organized make your life easier? Here are a few questions to help you see how organized (or not!) you are.

• Is your life structured in any way?
  
  
• Have you stopped to think how you life has changed and evolved over the past few years?
  
  
• When was the last time you identified what needs to be organized in your life?
  
  
• What time do you allocate to planning and implementing disciplines, good habits and systems?
  

Naturally you have to start off by identifying the problem areas where you aren't organized. You do this by reviewing different sectors of your life. Once you have identified the problems it is a good idea to record this information on a Tracking Chart to help you implement the steps to reaching your goals.

Here are some ways to help you make better use of your invaluable time, and achieve more quickly and easily the things that you want to do, or have in your life.

1. Identify areas in your life that are not well organized

Physical well-being: Massage, chiropractor, dentist, doctor, exercise.

Clothes: Buying, laundering, dry cleaning, ironing, mending, storage - casual & work clothes.

Financial: Paying bills on time, checking the efficiency of your expenditure.

Home: Keeping inside clean and tidy. Smoke alarm & fire extinguishers in working order. Maintaining roof, and outside of building.

Car: Regular maintenance and safety checks, MOT, car insurance & licence kept up-to-date.

Work: Organized filing system, portfolio, product samples, printed advertising material, business cards.

2. Look at what you procrastinate about doing: To get started, I suggest making a list of all the things you have been avoiding or procrastinating over, that need to be done in your life.
   
   
3. Create lists of things to do: Whenever you need to remember something you want to get or do, jot it down. This includes home, clothes, car, business, health and recreation.
   
   
4. Prioritize - decide what needs to be done first: Prioritizing is a problem for most people. List your responsibilities and commitments and review them. Then record the date and how you will implement the actions you need to take. Write down how and when each goal will be achieved.
   
   
5. Keep a Calendar & Day Planner: Diaries, planners and calendars are great tools for keeping you organized. Discover which works best for you to help you keep track of important things from day to day.
   
   
6. Create an Organization Tracking Chart: Once you have identified problem areas that need organizing you can set up an Organizing Tracking Chart. You need to ensure that you have organized yourself and that you have a proper place for all your belongings and other pertinent information. Note the problem area, followed by what you will do to improve in that area.
   
   
7. Create a Division of Time Chart: Good time management isn't just about arriving on time; it's how you divide your time. If you are always late, there is a reason for this. You consistently make decisions and re-adjustments on how much time is spent on each activity as you assess your daily priorities. Using a chart will greatly facilitate this.
   
   
8. Create a Responsibilities & Commitments Chart: Use this to keep track of ongoing or new responsibilities.
   
   
9. Use visual reminders - Write important things down: On colored post it notes or similar - and place them where you will regularly see them.
   
   
10. Set up data bases: Select either electronic or printed version for your needs. Take time to record everything of importance correctly, and update often.

Genevieve Dawid: http://www.genevievedawid.com Genevieve Dawid is a published author and highly successful consultant, www.genevievedawid.com/benefits-of-mentoring.php mentor and lecturer for dyslexics, individuals and corporations. Her book www.theachieversjourney.com The Achievers Journey" is a partial biography and explains how she mastered her dyslexia and dyspraxia. For free templates of the charts, visit the website.