1. Have Clear Aims And Objectives – Long term goals require medium and short-term goals to prescribe daily activities. Keeping your most exciting goals constantly alive in your mind will ensure that you’ll always want to make the best use of every day. Time is your most valuable resource, but without clear aims it’s impossible to make profitable use of it.
2. Identify Priorities - List your tasks and activities. Some tasks are more important than others; some have greater urgency; some may not be necessary today or at all! Decide what is important. Re-evaluate for: urgency, by asking yourself WHEN tasks must be done. Using a simple system for assigning the order in which to do everything: A = Urgent; B = Important; C = Less Important.
3. Keep Order - Keep your surroundings tidy and functional. Put in systems that are efficient and easy to use. Simple is best. A tip for letter-writers and authors: write one word-prompts, decide on the sequence of your ideas, then write the letter.
4. Plan Tomorrow Today - Make brief notes to yourself as things happen (better still, buy yourself a Dictaphone). Then, at the end of each day, renew what happened and make a plan for tomorrow. As well as maintaining order, end-of-day organizing gives your subconscious mind a chance to compute your suggested plan for tomorrow. In the morning you may see better or different means for achieving your plan. This is why so many people find that if they ‘sleep on problems’ a decision comes more easily the next day.
5. Do It Now - Putting things off that could be done not only today, but now, is one of the most common of all time-wasting habits. It’s usually the things we enjoy doing least that we put off; and the degree of dislike for the chore grows, the longer we delay taking action. When we finally get down to it, the task usually isn’t as awful as we originally thought. Get yourself off on the right foot by doing something today that you have been putting off. It might be: a letter, an apology, a confrontation, a phone call, some paperwork, a report. Whatever it is, demonstrate to yourself that you will take control over your life and do it now! Remember, don't be highly developed in excuse making!
6. Expect The Unexpected - Unless we recognize the need to constantly revise and update our lists and plans, we shall always be frustrated by interruptions and changes. What doesn't get done shouldn't cause stress. If you expect the unexpected and are flexible enough to handle it calmly - it won’t get you down. If you have prioritized your day, the most urgent of the important tasks will get done, and anything delayed by change or interruptions can be rescheduled. Be prepared to go with the flow. Avoid becoming a fanatic! Don’t allow your goals and lists to become straitjackets! Where there are new ideas and information, reset your goal, or rewrite your list with the added insight to guide you, and adjust your plan of action accordingly. Don’t allow yourself to be warped by becoming a slave to the clock; make sure your lists are your assistants - not the other way round
7. The 80/20 Rule - You are likely to achieve 80% of your results from 20% of your effort. This 80/2O ratio, which applies in many areas, has been refined from the work of the Italian economist Pareto, who said, ‘The significant items from a given group form a relatively small part of the total’. If you are aware of the significant 20% of your time- the high priority tasks - it makes sense to apply yourself with extra diligence in that area. Get good at the tasks directly related to achieving your goals.
8. Use "Pocket Time" - Sometimes, in the course of the day, lumps of time appear unexpectedly for you like surprise gifts. Instead of feeling frustrated and annoyed when your own timing gets changed by something outside your control, be prepared for these ‘pockets’ of time to occur. Waking up earlier than usual, finishing a task ahead of schedule, or waiting longer than expected for a client. Be creative ahead of time and develop a habit of always carrying with you special ‘extras’ on which to spend your unexpected pocket time. Books, journals, the less urgent but must-look-at-sometime post, letter-writing stuff, goal and affirmation cards -anything to help you capture the gift of extra time, and use it for something special.
9. Find "Quality Time" - People’s inner rhythms vary. There is a time of day that is more productive for you than other times. For example, you probably know if you are a morning person or not. Identify the time of day when you are at your best, and with that awareness try to schedule the most demanding tasks for that time of day. This less tangible, but equally useful, time tip means we not only choose to spend time wisely, but also wisely choose the time we spend. Sometimes it is true that those who work the longest hours are least efficient. With more thought, some tasks can be completed in a shorter time, and some in a better time.
10. Re-Charge In "No Time" - If success and reaching your goals is important, there is a time for thinking of time as money. But there is also a time for treating the minutes of our lives with an even greater respect. Clocks and all mechanical devices for measuring the passage of time are essential for our working life, but they are inappropriate to some of our deepest needs if we are never without them. Relieve some of the stress or concerns in your life by making time for some ‘no-time’. Take a day, remove your watch and turn the clocks to the wall. Make a decision to have one day regularly, perhaps monthly (weekly if you can do it), where time is not an issue. Do whatever you feel like doing for as long as you feel like doing it. All hours are not created equal. Passing quickly, dragging or standing still our perception of time varies according to our activities and how much we enjoy them. At first it feels strange to detach yourself from time. After you've tried it a couple of times you'll discover a special serenity. If you are a workaholic this will be difficult but very much so beneficial. Sad to say, it took me years before I took a full day off and did nothing. My wife helped me with this process and I'm so glad she demanded that I take time off and then I realize I hadn't taken time out for me let alone my family.
I hope this has been a blessing to you and send us an email if this has empowered you to win in life? To God be the glory in all that we do!
Prepared by Pastor Anthony McFarland
