Time Management
This section contains Time Management articles. Managing time is an integral part of organizing your life. We all have limited time and the idea is to utilize it in the most productive way, and not waste it. Time is one of those things that you can never get back. What is gone is gone. These articles will give you simple ideas that you can quickly incorporate into your daily life.
To me, any time management idea needs to be simple to implement and maintain. Otherwise, they will take more time out of my day and be counterproductive. For example, using software to manage time could mean you spend a lot of time downloading, installing, learning and maintaining the software itself. Tool is not the solution in this case. You can be very productive and an expert in this area with a notebook and a pencil. On the other hand, if you are not motivated and persistent, the fancy software you downloaded will not be of any help.
Most of the ideas listed here don’t require you to buy things or learn new software. Don’t get me wrong – If a new planner helps you, then go ahead and buy it. The point is that tools can make your life easier, but they don’t make the fundamental changes that you need to make in your life. You alone can do that. In the beginning, just start with a piece of paper and pencil. As you start organizing and managing your time more and more, get a planner or a desk top calendar if you think that will help you become more productive. Once you know how you are going to manage your time, you have a better idea of what tool(s) you need.
To get most out of the following articles, try to implement what you think will make the biggest change in your life. Go for the low hanging fruits – things you can implement without much difficulty but will get you big returns. Be persistent, but don’t try to be perfect. In course of time, you will learn to manage your busy schedule well. But be patient. It won’t happen overnight. Many times your plans may be disrupted by unforeseen events, or even by a meeting someone throws on your calendar. Eventually you will be able to handle these situations with ease.
Also keep in mind that as you try to increase your productivity and effective use of time, never forget the fact that everyone needs rest or down time. You may be able to work for short stretches (days, weeks) without taking a break, but it will catch up with you eventually. So make sure that you allocate enough time for breaks, vacation etc.
