Time Management: Reaching Your Goals

Pink Floyd said it best in their song; Time. “Time keeps on slipping, slipping into the future.” Slowly but surely, as we pile more and more “to-do” on our agenda and try to manage getting more and more things accomplished, it begins to feel as though there isn't enough time in the day, and that time truly is slipping away. However the issue is not how much time we have to do things, it’s that time management is necessary so that we do things efficiently and effectively. Setting goals and prioritizing our projects is essential in time management in this day and age.

Ask yourself, do you know the difference between tasks that are important and tasks that are urgent. How do you categorize your tasks? What measurements do you use to qualify your work projects as high importance and low importance? Do you evaluate your opportunities based on risk, opportunity, or necessity?

Let's address the issue of the management of what is urgent and what is important. Tasks that are important are opportunities that fulfill life goals and dreams.  Tasks that are urgent are activities that require immediate time. These are activities that usually accomplish goals for others rather than yourself. Urgent tasks are the “things” on the to-do list towards which most of our attention and time is usually directed.  Is your current time management efficient? 

Ask yourself, does getting everything on the “to-do list” really get me to reaching my life goals and dreams?  The answer is no. That is not to say that you ignore the activities on your to-do list because they are important for other parts of your life, such as work. However, prioritizing your goals and tasks ,and using time management tools correctly is going to allow you to accomplish your dreams. So time management is of utter importance.

A great tool to use to help you with time management is the Top Six Check List.  This exercise is used to add power and fulfillment to your goals. It is designed to keep you moving forward and feeling accomplished. When one feels accomplished and sees the tasks on the list being checked off, it creates momentum and enthusiasm. Give this time management tool a try!

Instructions: Choose what your top six goals are for the day, work related or not. Write them out. Decide, in order of importance, what you would like to accomplish today. This is called management of your priorities. Your number one priority should be determined by the following: if there was one thing I could accomplish today it would be- fill in the blank.  Address the rest of your goals accordingly. Next make a list of errands, phone calls, emails, and to-do’s.  The objective is to work as far into priority number one as possible. When you get stuck, move on to goal number two. If you find that you are getting stuck, go to your errands, phone calls/ emails, and to-do’s. The errands, phone calls, and to-do’s are breaks from the goals. When you have checked a few items off the errands, phone calls, or to-do list, go back to the goals. Work a little more towards completion of priority number one.

This time management tool, as you will see, allows you to prioritize your goals, which in turn allows  you to use your time more efficiently and effectively.  You will find that as you gain better management skills with this tool, time will no longer feel as though it’s slipping into the future.