Manage Your Time To Live a Better Life

Rajendra Sagolsem *

If you want progress in life and if you want to live a better organized life, you have to manage your time effectively. Time Management is an important key to a successful life. These days our life is becoming more and more hectic. We have to do so many things and we don't get enough time for all this. We all have got only twenty four hours a day.

For some twenty fours may be too much. But for many people, who are on the run to progress in life and to achieve something, twenty four hours is too short. So they start looking at the basics of Time Management. Rather they are trying to develop the necessary skills for effective Time Management.

Some may view Time management as a simple list of schedules that include appointments, planning, creating to-do-list and prioritizing their activities. Yes of course, they are the core basics of Time Management. When some one starts applying Time Management skill, these core basics can't be overlooked. However Time Management doesn't end there.

Here are some more important points to be considered.

Goal Setting

Goal Setting is a pre-requisite of Time Management. What is the need of Time Management to a person who doesn't have any desire? Does Time Management have any meaning to a person who has nothing to achieve in life? You have to have something to achieve. Only then Time Management becomes meaningful.

Decision Making

Once you set your goals, short-term or long-term, big or small, you have to start planning your activities. Without proper planning, you will certainly waste a lot of time in achieving your goals. Ability to make the right decision at the right moment plays a great role in planning and prioritizing your activities. This way, you can minimize your time and maximize your gains.

Emotional Control

You should be mature enough not to be distracted by your emotions. Life doesn't sail on a smooth surface. If you fall, you should be able to get up and walk once again. Your aim is to achieve what you want. Adversities should not be considered a hindrance to your journey to success. Rather you should be able to convert them into springboard to jump up to the next higher step.

Critical Thinking

You should be able to measure the pros and cons of every situation. To achieve something worthwhile in life is not an easy task. It requires lots of efforts. It requires lots of planning and re-planning. A critical mind is therefore required in effective Time Management. Once you have developed the skill of Time Management and follow the necessary rules, you will be more productive.

You can see the drastic change in your output. In the past, you used to put more efforts and you got little output. But after you have managed your time effectively, you get more output with less effort. This is called Pareto Principle. This principle says that "80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output."

The Pareto Principle is also known as the "80:20 Rule." It further says that "However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort." See the benefit of Time Management. Although the ratio 80:20 is only arbitrary, it is used to emphasize how much can be gained when you manage your time effectively or how much can be lost when you don't manage your time properly.

The purpose of Time Management is to systematically organize ourselves to gain more with less effort. And living a better balanced life-style should be the end result of effective Time Management.

Time Wasters

In order to manage your time effectively, you have to acquaint yourself with time wasters. The following are some of the common time wasters.

Gossips

Gossips are a big time waster. People enjoy gossips. Small gossips may not be too harmful. But if you indulge in big gossips, you will be wasting lots of your valuable time.

Mistakes

We often make mistakes. But we've to rectify them. In the process, we take the same amount of time again or maybe, even longer. What a waste of time! To make mistake once is pardonable. But making the same mistake again and again isn't a wise guy's habit.

Meetings

Meetings occupy a large chunk of our daily activities. Meetings with unwanted visitors, meetings with people for trivial matters are some of the examples of time wasters. Manage your meetings to save your valuable time.

Telephone calls

You have seen so many people talking through their cell phones for hours and hours together. If they are talking for important matters, it's all right. If their talks turn out to be telephonic gossips, then what a waste of time!

Before our parting, I just want to remind you that Time management is not about being busy. It is about getting better results with less effort. It is about living a better organized life. Therefore organize your activities. Concentrate on your goals. Utilize your time in the best possible way. And don't allow anything to distract you from achieving your valuable goals.

And remember what Mike Murdock said. "Your future is hidden in what you do daily."