P PH PHOT O: PIOTR MARCINSKI KI
KAREN TOBICH
truly urgent or important, (what will happen if it’s not handled immediately) you will eliminate a great deal of future fire fighting. 2. Break the big tasks into smaller, more manageable ones You might feel overwhelmed by the larger goals or tasks you set for yourself, the ones that seem so big you don’t know where to start. So you usually just don’t start them at all. Instead, break these things into small, bite-size chunks that you know you can manage. List the things you need to accomplish this month and then rank them in order of urgency, importance or both. Make sure the tasks and activities that are most important to you are at the top of the list. Then start to tackle each one individually. Set yourself up for success by starting small.
Make time your ally Mind M ind yyour our m mind ind – aand nd yyou’ll ou’ll h have ave p plenty lenty o off ttime. ime.
T
ime is equality; it is the one commodity in this world that every earthling has the same amount of. Each one of us has 24 hours in the day and 8760 hours in a year. The question is: “How do you invest it?” You don’t need to learn to manage our time, but you need to learn how to manage yourself. As Stephen Covey said: “Where you’re headed is more important than how fast you are going.” By learning how to manage your time, you might get things done faster, but what is the use of going faster if it turns out that you are going in the wrong direction? The key is to use your time efficiently and eliminate time wasters from your day. Your attitudes and behaviours affect how you use your time. Time does not have to be your enemy. Each one of us can make it our
ally by getting clear about our vision and our focus, by prioritizing our needs and desires, and ignoring the plethora of distractions that come our way every day. Here are 10 ways how time can become your ally: 1. Get clear on what’s most important to you and make a plan Have a definite vision for yourself of what you want your life to look like six months from now, a year from now, five years from now, etc. Then ask yourself, what actions do you need to start taking to make this happen? Planning is so critical when you want to accomplish something. Planning in advance provides direction before proceeding toward a goal. By planning and asking yourself whether or not something is
3. Set aside definite, uninterruptible blocks of time to accomplish these things Move things from your “to-do” list to your calendar. If you don’t block out specific times and days for these activities, chances are they’ll remain on your list as a source of frustration, annoyance, and stress. Take them out of your head and off your list and plan to make them a part of your day. 4. Be realistic We all think we can accomplish more things more quickly than we actually can most of the time. Unexpected obstacles show up and throw us and our schedules for a loop. Consider realistically how much time you think a task will take. Then double it. Seriously. If you get the job done in less time than your new estimate, that’s great take a break and find some way to reward or congratulate yourself. And remember to include time for the unexpected phone call or flat tire, which might otherwise completely throw off your day. 5. Don’t take on too much, be willing to eliminate Biting off more than you can chew is a prime example of taking on too much. Not having strong, clearly communicated boundaries is another example. You do not need to volunteer to be on every project, organization, taskforce, association, etc.
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