Time Management Tips - Get Organised and More Productive

In my article Achieving Life Goals Daily Through Weekly Planning I have explained in detail my weekly planning approach that has enabled me to manage my time better, get more organised, achieve my life goals and most importantly, to be more effective and happy in life. It took me a couple of years to develop and adopt to weekly planning system. My planning approach is based on time-tested principles and has worked for me. However, I must say that planning approach, irrespective of how good and principle based it is, is perfect for every individual. Just like no one good diet is “the best” for all, the proven and efficient planning approached are also to be tailored to individual needs, requirements, personality, work habits, life’s purpose and goals. Very frankly, I must admit that I consider Stephen Covey’s weekly planning approach is his book “First Things First” (on which my approach is based) is better than my approach. But that approach is little “too much” for me. So while I did follow Covey’s approach, I tailored it to suit my unique personality and environment.


The basic point is to keep the basics or the fundamentals upfront and plan around these; you’ll not go wrong. So here are my four tips to help you start devising your own unique planning and time management system


1. Understand the Importance of Time: Understand and absorb the fact that time is your most valuable asset. Almost everything else, all other resources can be replenished, recovered, regained; but not time. You can more money than you have lost, recover your health, but you can’t regain the time. For an effective time management, you must respect the value of time. How you are going to use your time today will decide where you’ll be after a week, a month, a year and a decade. You use of time will shape your future; success or failure. But don’t forget that your time management will will also decide your present; this hour, this day and this week. You time management will enable you to balance your life and handle everyday life pressures of work, business, social, family, studies, personal development etc. and family, is a difficult task without effective time management.

2. Start with the Bigger Picture. You must have a clarity of your purpose in life: your vision and you life’s mission statement. Devise your time management system around your life’s mission statement. What is really satisfying for you and where you want to go. This will help you to focus on core values and will help you eliminate distractions; giving more time to you to get best out of life, today and every day. Your clear vision of the bigger picture will give you the strength and the courage to quit those useless activities and time wasters that do not lead to a truly happy life.

3. Planning and Execution. We all have plenty of ideas for effective time management. But what really makes difference between the successful person and a failure is the ability of the former to workout an executable plan and then execute it. Planning and execution is therefore, the most important and challenging element of the whole time management paradigm. Here as some practical steps:

a. While planning, breakdown your bigger picture in smaller workable parts and actions.

b. Define deadlines, timelines and set priorities accordingly.

c. Plan for the year, quarter, week, and day.

d. Update your yearly plan and plan the quarter once every quarter. Then plan individual weeks upto each day every week, so that every night, you have a clear picture of all the tasks that you want to perform the next day, with their respective priority / importance (important/urgent/urgent and important/neither urgent nor important).

e. Once you have the plan, just focus on the day and adjust weekly plan, if there is a requirement, at end of each day, refining the next day.

f. It is a good idea to have only about 5 really important tasks planned for each day. Don’t clutter your day with a big list of tasks, unless most of these are classified as may be. The must do should be those tasks (around 5 for a day) that are really important.

g. Find out how what is the optimal length of time for different types of tasks and how grouping of different tasks works best for you. I, for example, normally take a break (relaxing on chair/small walk/stretch etc) after 45-60 minute of mental work that requires intense concentration.

h. Develop good habit and your own tools for effectiveness like how to eliminate procrastination etc.

i. Always plan the unexpected. Leave in your planning some room for unexpected tasks that arise spontaneously.

4. Balance and Prudence in Time Management. When it comes to time management, people normally take it scheduling their work related task. Please don’t fall in this trap. Plan for whole person. Have time slots for fun, self, family, social life etc. If you are just scheduling TASKS, with no consideration for yourself and family, your time management will never be effective. You may be able to achieve some materialistic goals or tasks, but you will not be having a fulfilling life.

I assure you that reading this article will help you little, if any, if you don’t act. It is my experience that (for some strange reason) no physical change manifests until something moves physically; your condition will not change unless you act. So start acting. If you don’t think you are ready for big changes, start small. Have a paper and list 5 important tasks that you should complete today and start completing them. You may complete only 3 or 4. This failure does not matter as by starting to plan your day, you will set your sails to a voyage that will transform your life from just passing to really fulfilling and happy. So please start right now. This is the "right time" you had been waiting for all your life.