Its About Time! part 2

 
Last week we talked about the very first step in this time management journey - allowing God to show us which things should be filling our time. This week, lets talk about actually managing those things! Here are some proactive steps to take today to become a better time manager:

1. Set Goals

I’ve talked about goals before (and you know I set weekly and monthly goals) so this should be a no-brainer. It is so important to know where you are going with what you are busy doing. You cannot manage your precious blocks or time, or even minutes, unless you have a purpose and know what is important to you.

It takes time to think and pray over long-term goals. But you can start with just daily or weekly goals in the meantime. Before we can meter out our 24 hours in a day, we need to ask ourselves, What do I need/want to accomplish today?

2. Make Manageable Chunks

With your Goals in hand, it is time to break them down to what actually needs to happen today. Each month, evaluate your long-term goals, and set specific things that can happen over the course of the month. Each week, set weekly goals based on the monthly ones. This gives you a not-so-overwhelming task list to refer to each day, and set daily tasks accordingly.

Imagine the headache if you were to try and find time to do each thing on your long-term goals list every day. Talk about a headache! By having a small, manageable chunk of tasks, reaching the ultimate goal does not seem so taxing.

If you have gone through this process and still feel overwhelmed, perhaps there is something you need to say no to. Is there anything on your list that is unnecessary? Anything that you can consolidate, delegate, or eliminate? Find a way to pare that list down until you feel confident enough to tackle it!

3. Determine your Priorities

What is most important from your list? There are several ways of determining the priorities on your to-do list. My suggestion is to give each one a number, with the most important things getting a “1” and the least important getting a “3”. Then tackle those number 1’s first! Profound, eh?

Have you read Amy Lynn Andrew’s book, Tell Your Time? It is a brief eBook with some of the most concise, pointed time management advice around! Amy gives a great process for making a schedule and sticking with it. Here is a great reminder from her eBook:

She gives an easy system to set a plan in place and manage those 24 hours wisely. But obviously, I can’t rewrite her book in this post. :) You’ll have to pick one up for yourself!

4. Take action!

We’ll talk more about those 24 hours and how to manage them wisely next time. But for now, take action! If you’ve followed the steps outlined today, you should now have goals to accomplish today. So start them! Don’t put it off...anyone can start with something!

Some books I’d recommend:

Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews
Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George
Emilie Barnes’ 15 Minute House and Budget Manager...by Emilie Barnes :)

 What are your thoughts about goal-setting? How does it work for you? What changes do you need to make to help yourself out in your time management?


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