After my last week's article on success, I received several emails from readers asking me how they could manage their time well and make the most out of it. There is no doubt that all successful people know how to manage their time. Therefore, they are achievers in all walks of life. Not only do they get a lot more done in considerably less time, but they are also relaxed, focused and very much in control of their lives. The first thing you should do in order to manage your time well is to know that “time is life.” Whatever time you lose is being lost from your lifetime. Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff that life is made of.” This will make you realize the importance of this precious source that you need in order to achieve what you want in life. It'll help you complete your work, achieve your goals, and spend time with your loved ones. Secondly, you must clarify your goals. That is to say, to start managing time effectively, you need to set goals. This will help you know the amount of time you must allocate for your goals. There are different ways to set goals. One of the most successful ones is to create a “big picture” of what you want to do with your life. This will give you the chance to know what general goals you want to achieve. After that, just divide these goals in different categories. For example, long-term goals, goals you want to achieve in 10 years, five years, and short-term ones that you want to achieve in a year. Thirdly, you must prioritize your goals. This is particularly important. Because, without prioritization, you may find yourself spending time for the wrong purposes. Knowing what is important and what is not, and what is urgent and what is not, will help you eliminate many time-consuming things. Success does not necessarily mean getting lots of stuff done, but rather making sure that you are working on the right things – the things that truly need to be done. Several people are always busy in a frenzy of activity, but they may achieve very little. This is because these people are not concentrating their efforts on things that matter the most. Instead they spend their time doing unimportant things. Fourthly, find out where you're wasting time. When you eliminate your personal time-wasters, you will find more time to spend on important things. We waste our time in many unimportant things. For example, most of us take personal phone calls when we are working, others spend too much time browsing, reading emails, or watching TV. Try to get in the habit of setting time limits for these pastimes instead of allowing them waste your time. Finally, I hope these strategies will help readers manage their time well. It is important to remember that time management does not mean changing time itself. There are always 24 hours in a day. What it means is changing your habits and the way you use your time. – SG The writer can be reached at [email protected] __
