TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO MASTER IN 2013

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Jeff Monachelli , One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO MASTER IN 2013

By: Jeff Monachelli- Certified Professional Life Coach/Astrologist

Time Management skills are probably the most important arsenal you can have when it comes to reaching your goals and being truly productive. There is a plethora of philosophies to help you with your tasks, actions, goals and long-range projects. While we can’t cover all of them in this article, here are three efficient methods; you can begin using at once. While Time management mastery is crucial to checking tasks off your to-do list; managing ourselves is just as important. We must practice mindfulness in regards to what we do with ourselves on a daily basis.

Ancient scholars and philosophers agree that what you focus on expands. Simple actions like getting sufficient sleep and regular aerobic exercise is essential to maintaining maximum, efficient energy. Planning, setting short-term and long-range goals, and allocating are some of the many activities that surround time management.

1) The 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower drafted his own organizational system, called the “Eisenhower Box” method. According to his methodology, tasks are evaluated using the criteria important/unimportant and urgent/not urgent and put in respective quadrants. Tasks lumped as unimportant/not urgent are dropped, tasks in important/urgent are done immediately and personally, tasks in unimportant/urgent are delegated and tasks in important/not urgent get a completion date and are done personally.

Mr. Eisenhower stated: “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” It behooves us to prioritize our actions. You can use a box system(see Mind Tools website). Credit: MIND TOOLS

2) Another system you can use is called “The Pomodoro technique”. This was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 80’s. The technique uses a timer to break down 25-minute periods of work called “Pomodori”-Italian for tomatoes; separated by short breaks. The idea is that frequent bursts of intense work activity, followed by regular breaks boosts mental agility.

*Fundamental principles: 5 elemental steps:

1. Decide on task to be done
2. Set the Pomodoro timer to 25 minutes
3. Work on task until timer rings; check off with an “x”
4. Take brief break (3-5 minutes)
5. after 4 “Pomodori” sessions, you have earned a longer break (15-30 minutes)

Various stages, such as planning, recording and visualizing are valuable in using the technique properly. In planning, you create a “to-do list” for today. Doing so helps you to estimate what effort will be required for the items. As “Pomodori” are completed, they are recorded adding to a sense of accomplishment.

Seeing what you have completed helps to motivate you to do more; even small tasks/actions. Regular breaks help absorption of the material you are working on. An essential design of this technique is to decrease interruptions, both internal and external. Finishing an action, without interruption can help with focus and flow; two basic elements of productivity.

3) Getting Things Done or GTD, by David Allen is a well-respected and widely used productivity method. Allen is a business consultant who developed this time-management methodology. The GTD method rests on the idea of moving projected tasks and work activities out of the mind; by recording them externally so they can be molded into actionable work items. This allows one to focus attention on taking action on tasks, instead of on remembering them.

In summary, managing our time and ourselves requires discipline, practice and awareness. Use a journal if necessary to jot down ways you might be wasting precious time throughout your day. The most substantial concept in your work is to assay to be your authentic self. Be as honest with yourself, as you are with what you can accomplish. Set realistic, but attainable goals and you will move forward.