First Level Leadership

Reward Yourself with Effective Time Management Skills

Time Management Skills and Productivity go together: Time to Think

What is glaucoma?Glaucoma is a gradual hardening of the eyeball. If it is not treated, it can cause blindness.Why?Because the vision blurs so gradually, the victim is often able to make adjustments to the deteriorating eyesight. The patient becomes aware of the disease only when it is too late to treat.

What does glaucoma have to do with time management skills?Making too many commitments can be like glaucoma too. You only realize when it’s too late.

Here is a lesson on Time Management Skills from my personal diaryI will never choose to neglect my eight-year-old son. However, I have been spending less time with him by default, without even realizing that was the case. I would silence my conscience with well meaning resolutions to “Make it up to him.” Did these resolutions ever translate into actual time…? No! Until one day, my son started doing his own thing after reconciling with the fact that that his dad was always busy.

These commitments also have a usual resemblance with a clutter.A clutter arrives one piece at a time, never in a basketful. The same is true for the clutter in our lives. It is not difficult to decline an enormous load of additional responsibilities. However, it is tough to refuse just one small commitment or a task.

Do yourself a favorAdd up all the extra tasks you perform, anything beyond what is required. Make a list of all the commitments you have on your to do list. You can always add items as you go along. Take your time, these efforts will help you immensely to gain control over your life. 

Now it’s time to figure out what all that activity really costs you.Most of us aren’t even conscious of how much time we’re donating. This lack of awareness makes it much harder to change your level of involvement or redistribute your energies. When you see these activities, you begin to get a sense of how much your perpetual motion is costing you.

Money has value in terms of what it will buy for us. Same is with time; we only truly appreciate it’s value in terms of what we can do with it.  

Question: What would you be doing if you weren’t doing some of the activities on your list? “Things you would do if only you could find the time. Make a list of your “If I had the time, I would …”

Take a good look at your list. It represents the true cost of your commitments. Line up the two lists, commitments on the left, your unfulfilled needs or desires on the right. Decide which activity on the commitment list you will quit and which activity on the wish list you will pick instead. Then do what ever it takes to make the transition.

Time management would be a lot easier if you knew the obvious time wasters in your life. However, unless you make a list you will not go far.

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