Successful Time Management For Dummies. Zeller Dirk

people are deluding themselves into thinking they know where everything is located. Frequently a large part of their day is spent trying to find or remember where they put things, instead of being productive at the office or home.

      Refuse to excuse a messy desk or work environment for this week. If you have to clear your desk to be able to start on a project, just do it. Take the one task or tool you need to work on, and clear the rest off your desk. If you have to put everything else in drawers, cabinets, closets, waste baskets, or even on the floor, do it. Test this on yourself. Unclutter your space. No excuses for a few days, and see how productive you become.

      Chapter 2

      Setting Yourself Up for Success

       In This Chapter

      

Tapping into your time‐management strengths

      

Building a solid system of time management

      

Facing up to time management’s biggest challenges

      

Addressing issues with others

      

Applying time‐management skills to all facets of your life

      Time is the great equalizer – everyone has the same amount in a day. No matter who you are, where you live, and what you do, you clock the same 24‐hour cycle as the next person. One person may be wealthier than another, but that doesn’t earn him a minute more than the poorest people on the planet.

      If that simple fact seems a bit discouraging, think of it this way: You may not have the power to get yourself more time, but you do have the power to make the most of it. You can take your 365 days a year, 7 days a week, and 1,440 minutes in a day and invest them in such a way that you reap a return that fulfills your life and attracts the success you dream of.

      That’s what this book is about: taking control of how you spend your time to make sure you’re using it how you really want to. You really are in control of your time, even though you don’t always feel like it – even if you have a job that demands overtime; even if you have kids who keep you in the carpool loop; even if you have dreams and goals that involve developing new skills or furthering your education.

      All in all, discovering how to manage your time well is part mental restructuring and part creating a system. Effective time management requires a little introspection, some good habits and organizational skills, and more than a few logistical and tactical tools. But all are achievable, so if you have the time – and I assure you that you do – get ready for a journey that’s certain to, if not buy you more time, show you how to make the absolute most of the 24 hours in your day.

Getting to Know Yourself

      Although everyone gets the same number of hours to work with each day, what people don’t have in equal amounts are other valuable assets: skill, intelligence, money, ambition, energy, passion, attitude, even looks. All these unique reserves play into your best use of time. So the better you understand yourself – your strengths, weaknesses, goals, values, and motivations – the easier it is to manage your time effectively. In this section, you look at your strengths and goals, think about how much your time is worth, and observe personal energy and behavior patterns that affect your focus throughout the day.

       Assessing your strengths and weaknesses

      

As a young man, I thought I was good – okay, I admit it; I thought I was great – at a much larger group of skills, tasks, and jobs than I do today. In fact, the older I get, the more I realize the list of what I’m not good at dwarfs the list of things I am good at. Being consciously competent at those few, however, gets me a lot further than being unconsciously incompetent, as I once was. Despite my poor academic record in high school, as a young adult, I was a quick study at what I needed to do to be as successful in life as I wanted to be. At some point, I saw the light and realized I needed to face up to what I had to do to get where I wanted to go.

      First, I took stock of my assets: I tallied up my strengths, skills, and even my weaknesses. And I identified things I needed to work on and things I needed to leverage. That’s when I realized that although some people were smarter, were more educated, had more money, and knew more influential people than I did, I had the same amount of time as anyone else. And if I wanted to get ahead, it was up to me to harness my time and invest it in such a way to get a greater return. My willingness to invest more time to gain the edge helped equalize the playing field for me and help me achieve the success I enjoy today.

      Chances are that by this point in your life, you’ve discovered some skills that you come to naturally or perhaps have worked hard to acquire. Maybe you’re a master negotiator. Or a whiz with numbers. You may be a good writer. Or you may have a silver tongue. Whatever your strengths, developing the handful that brings you the most return on your efforts, propelling you forward to attain your goals, is a more productive course of action than trying to be the best at everything. For most people, these strengths typically number no more than a half‐dozen.

      In addition to pinpointing your strengths, you need to identify the areas where your skills are lackluster. Then figure out which tasks are essential for meeting the goals you want to accomplish, and build those skills. Invest time in honing and maintaining your strengths, and improve the weaknesses that you need to overcome to reach your goals. Remember: To be successful, you need to be selective.

       Naming goals to give you direction

      You know how it is: When you’re working toward something, keeping your focus is much easier. A woman may want to lose weight, for example, but perhaps she struggles to stick to a diet or exercise plan. But if her son’s wedding is looming three months away on her calendar, she may be more inspired to stay on track, cutting back on second helpings and getting in workouts.

      

Your goals can serve as inspiration in adopting good time‐management skills. After all, managing your time isn’t really a benefit in and of itself, but managing your time so you can spend more of it doing what’s important to you is – whether you’re saving for a retirement of travel and adventure or buying the house in the perfect neighborhood.

      Using your aspirations to fire up your time‐management success means you have to identify your goals and keep them in the front of your mind. Pinning down what’s most important to you may require some soul searching. Write down your goals – all of them – and follow these guidelines:

       ✓ Cast a wide net. Go for the big goals, such as joining the Peace Corps, as well as the not‐so‐big ones, such as getting an energy‐efficient car next year.

       ✓ Think big. Don’t rein in your dreams because they seem unrealistic.

       ✓

Be as descriptive as possible. Instead of “build my dream house,” flesh it out: Where is this house? How big? What features does it have? What does it look like? When do you want to move in?

       ✓ Don’t limit goals to a single category. Think about goals for your career, your personal life, your social situation, your financial status, and any other facet of life that’s important to you.

      The process of goal‐seeking can be a fun and energizing experience, and it’s one you can explore at length in Chapter 3. You also see how your current time use can affect the forecast for your future.

       Assigning a monetary worth to your time

      Most people think about the value of their time as it relates to on‐the‐job activity. The fast‐food worker knows he earns a minimum wage per hour.