Time: Friend or Foe ?

The world today is focused on time, or for the most part lack there of. For most people there’s never enough…Right? Some say you should learn time management skills. In theory sounds good, the reality is you can’t manage time. Think about it can you control the seconds, minutes and hours each day? do you believe you have the power to stop time or slow down how fast each day goes by? There are many things in life you and I can control but time is one thing we have no control over, it keeps on going no matter what we do!

But you can control your “use of time” which is where we all tend to get a bit off track each day.

There are only 24 hours in each day, no matter what we do that’s all we get. The average person gets up goes to a job all day comes home eats supper, spends time with family or friends, goes to bed, gets up the next day and does it all over again…The treadmill of life. Sound familiar? Ever wonder if there was a way to stretch time, perhaps get just that next thing on your list done? or have a little more time to spend with family? When you sit down and think about all the things you do each day it’s amazing there’s any “you time” at the end of the day. But if you keep track of the time on all those daily tasks you might be surprised with your findings!

You might discover there are areas where time is using you instead of you using time to your advantage.

Today’s work place: People of today’s world work much harder than those of the past, tighter schedules as well as a competitive economy have shrunk profit margins for business, most now rely on a lead staff in order to be successful. This is frustrating not only for employers but equally as frustrating for employees as well. Needless to say there are many challenges today, however there can be areas you might want to evaluate on your own which might help you be more productive:

1. Does your current position challenge you?
2. How much time to you spend each day addressing emails?
3. How many meetings do you attend?
4. Does your company have goals and a plan to achieve their goals?

If you ask most people today you’d find their answer the same as yours. Take note of what you do each day. Track how much time your spending on each task, share your results with others. Look for solutions and not problems. Work toward being productive!

Social Media: There has been a shift in our culture today, communication is instant with a click of a hand held key board, a text, tweet or voice mail makes it faster to be socially connected to the world. It’s all good! Consider how much time you spend each day on social media, monitor the frequency of your visits.

Personal Time: Do you have a routine? Do you keep track of what personal tasks need to be completed each day? Some of the most successful people in the world state one of the key elements of their success is they maintain a morning and night time routine, and stick to it. With out a schedule it’s easy to get off task.

Delegate: It’s easier to just do it yourself that way you know it gets done when you need it done right? Truth is sometimes you will need to delegate a task to another person. Doing all the tasks yourself can tie up all your free time and can prevent you from doing additional tasks that would not have been able to do if you chose to do if you decided to ” do it yourself.” Ask for help in the long run you’ll add time to your schedule.

Time Limits: In order for tasks to be completed in a reasonable amount of time, keep track of how long your spending on that report, reading emails, phone calls, or simple to-do’s around the house. Schedule time each day to complete a task, that way you can limit the amount of time you spend without being unproductive!

       

Did this help you? If so I would greatly appreciate it if you commented below and shared on Facebook.

~Steven~