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You Can’t Manage Time!
Written by: Sue Lindgren HawkesArticle Overview: You can’t manage time. You can, however, manage what you choose to do with it and the best way to do that is to manage your priorities. Here are five simple ways to do that!
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Free Download - You Can’t Manage Time! By Sue Lindgren Hawkes |
You Can’t Manage Time!
You can’t manage time. You can, however, manage what you choose to do with it and the best way to do that is to manage your priorities. Here are five simple ways to do that!
#1 Set Your Priorities
The first thing every morning, write down the 1-2 MOST important things you need to accomplish that day. (Never more than two.)
How do you identify them? They are the ones that if left undone, would consume your thoughts, energy, and sleep. You know – THAT phone call, THAT project’s finishing step.
Here’s the important part - make these your first activities of the day and only move on when you’ve completed them. Do not open email, do not go to a meeting, do not check your voicemail! (And don’t worry -over time it gets easier.)
Your most important tasks will no longer be ones you “fit in”, but those you lead with.
#2 Manage your Priorities
There’s one activity that’s not on our calendars and yet we spend oodles of time on it – email!
Don’t ever begin your day with email. Once you open the dreaded inbox, you are no longer driving your plan, but reacting. 1-2 times each day do email in concentrated batches and watch how much time you save!
Most people constantly interrupt their work flow to respond the moment someone sends an email. One word of advice – DON’T. I promise, people will adjust quickly to getting a response within 6-24 hours instead of instantaneously.
#3 Avoid stupid meetings.
Make your meetings quicker and more productive. Even better you will have less of them to attend!
• Limit meetings to those you absolutely must have
• Hold “standing” meetings – don’t sit down.
• Stick to the agenda (You always have one, right?)
As with anything new, you will need to practice your new priorities-first management skills and adjust. I’ve not met anyone – myself included – who perfected it the first time. After all, we don’t want to waste any more of your precious time!
#4 Get real.
Are you being realistic about what you say is important to you? Look at how you are presently spending your time. You may say your health is a priority, but if you aren’t exercising and eating right then that is not your priority. No matter how much you want it to be, it’s not.
Check your calendar and see how far off you are. Does the amount of time you spend with your family match how important they are to you? (OK, stop the guilt! Just looking honestly: no judgments needed!) If things are out of alignment, then adjust your calendar. The easiest way to do that is…
#5 Block your time.
For example, it is important to me to write for my business. But as deadlines used to approach, I had anxiety and writer’s block which was no mystery when I examined my calendar; I never had time to write simply because it wasn’t on it! I left writing till I “had time.”
Block time on your calendar each week or month for these important goals. Give yourself permission to move them around but never delete them from your calendar.
As with anything new, you will need to practice your new priorities-first management skills and adjust to them. I’ve not met anyone who perfected it the first time. After all, we don’t want to waste any more of your precious time!
MANAGE YOUR TIME
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Article Tags: batches, calendars, email, first management, important things, inbox, management skills, phone call, precious time, priorities, sleep, voicemail, word of advice, work flow, worry
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About the Author: Sue Lindgren Hawkes RSS for Sue's articles - Visit Sue's website  Click here to visit Sue's website   Without Emotional Intelligence Sustainable Change Cant Happen Excellence in Managing Leading and Coaching Slow Down to the Speed of Caring Success what is it and how can you have it Times a Wasting What are you doing with it |
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