Developing Daily Time Management Skills

© Michelle Howard Smith - All Rights Reserved

So many people today struggle with time management.  Life is filled with distractions that can take your focus off the tasks you need to accomplish.  Time Management is simply managing the time you have allotted to you.  Every human being on the planet is afforded the same 24 hours in a day.  Then, why is it that some people seem to accomplish so much and others never seem to get anything done?  Could it be that they have effectively mastered time management?

Have you ever heard someone say, "I have some time to kill" or "I have time to burn." ?  Maybe you have said it.  I know I sure have.  The reality is that none of us has time to kill or to burn.  Time is precious and it certainly is not promised to us.  Regardless of your age and how much time you think you have on this earth, it's important to take good advantage of that time by using every moment of it wisely.  Just as we should be good stewards over the "things" God has given us, we also need to be good stewards over the time we have while on this earth.

In order to effectively manage your time, I think it's critical to be aware of all the tasks that need to be accomplished along with the things you want to accomplish. Clearly, there's a difference between the two.  Things that need to be done are critical to your day to day functioning and the living out of your life.  Things that you would like to do are optional and won't necessarily take away from your livelihood if you don't do them.  The beauty of good time management however is that you will be able to do more of the "want to do" things because you will have effectively completed your "need to do's."

To develop good time management skills, consider the following ideas:

• Plan & Prioritize your days a day or two in advance.  Know what needs to be done and prioritize these items in order of importance.
  
  When planning your days, write out a plan to complete your tasks.  I use a planning tool that someone passed on to me to help me with my Time Management skills: Daily Method of Operation

• Keep a daily/weekly planner or electronic organizer to track your daily and weekly responsibilities.  Doing so will keep a visual picture in front of you of how full your plate is.

• Don't overwhelm your schedule.  For example, if you have long work days, don't plan too many extracurriculars after work.
  
  Manage your time at work (See also stress management at work) with a written plan but don't forget to manage your time at home as well.  For example, if you know you need to pay bills on Friday, don't wait until Friday to start figuring out what bills are due and need to be paid.  Keep a spreadsheet and make time in advance to update it.  Click for a sample spreadsheet of what I currently use.  Doing this will help to reduce stress at home.

• Learn how NOT to overextend yourself.  Know when to politely say no. (Read more on Managing Relationships)
  
  Allow yourself at least one hour of  "ME" time every day.  Oh no, don't you dare read this and say or even think,  "It's impossible. I can't do it."  Yes You Can.  You have to start with changing that mindset and then it's a matter of developing good time management skills.  Let me help you out. I'm going to let all of my visitors in my business a little bit so you can see that taking "ME" time every day is not impossible.   Below is a typical weekday of mine along with a typical weekend:

Michelle's Typical Weekday:

- Wake, Pray, Make Daily Confessions
- Get dressed and take vitamins
- Get daughter up for school
- Give son his meds
- Go to work (1 1/2 - 2 hour commute one way)
- Read Bible while commuting, do some writing
- Work on business (researching, writing, designing, filling orders)
- Complete one household chore daily
- ME TIME!

Michelle's Typical Weekend:

Saturday:
- Complete household chores and errands
- Rest
- Prepare and go to church

Sunday:

- Take my son to baseball (spring & fall only)
- Go shopping or do laundry
- Wash hair
- ME TIME (Nowork)

As you can see, I have a jam packed scheduled and this does not even include regularly scheduled doctors, dentists or orthodontist appointments that must be kept throughout the year.  Nor does it include dates with my husband and other time spent with family/family events.  However, I still manage to get in some ME time.  How? Time Management. It does however help to have a husband who is the cook of the house!  Even still, with tons to do and still manage to get some ME time and extracurricular things done.

Start with where you are and re-prioritize some thing sin your life.  Does that mean that you will always complete everything you need to do in a day? All the time. . . Nope.  Most of the time. . . Absolutely.  It's all based on what I like to call the 4P's. Practice, Prioritization, Practicality and Perseverance!

Have a Blessed and Prosperous (another one of my favorite P words) Day!