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Time is something that we all have the same amount of. Some people simply utilise their time better. Time management is more than scheduling your daily activities. It is about determining what is important to you and setting about to achieve it. Time management starts with the dreams that become the goals that become
the action plan that becomes the daily activity list. When determining
what you want to achieve today you need to look at the bigger picture
otherwise you can be busy all day and achieve very little. We may be efficient
but are we effective? Remember Parato's 80/20 rule i.e. 80% of the output
from 20% of the input. |
Thus we need to determine what is important to our goals and objectives rather than spinning our wheels on the urgent which may be irrelevant to our goal attainment. This is the same as constantly looking at the clock rather than checking the compass to see where it is we want to be heading.
Quotation:
"We cannot put off living until
we are ready. It is fired at us at point blank."
Jose Ortega Gasset
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Time Management Principles We may be efficient but are we effective with what we are doing? It is important to look at the bigger picture when assessing tasks to complete each day. In developing a "Tasks I Must Do Today" pad, it is clear that
all tasks must be given a priority to ensure that the most important are
completed as well as the pressing and urgent. There is also a tendency
for people to leave the unpleasant tasks until later and to work on their
pet project first.
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Are you prioritising daily crisis? There is a need to assess the priority of each task based on whether it is "urgent" versus "what matters the most." in achieving your goals. In the work context it is about aligning the goals of the individual with those of the organisation wherever practical. This is far more important than hanging the modern day big stick of "performance review" over the head of the your employees. The objective is to be able to motivate them personally to want to achieve the corporate goals as well as meet their own goals in the process. Isolate what is important to them and why do they keep coming to work each day? Having someone work sixty hours per week for you does not necessarily
mean they are a productive worker. They may be using the work environment
to hide from facing up to a drama in their life whether it be real or
perceived. It is far more worthwhile for them to work less-more productive
hours. |
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Quotation:
"When you choose goals and activities that align with your purpose and support your natural strengths and loves, passion will automatically follow. You'll begin to view each day through wide-open eyes filled with expectation, wonder and joy."
Cynthia Kersey (Author)
Time Management Matrix
The assessing of all tasks as to their "urgency" versus "importance"
has lead to the creation of the Time Management Matrix.
Take control of your time. Pay attention to how you use your time. Based on
the Time Management Matrix, the two key words are defined as follows:
· Important: Relates to your goals. There is a need to focus on the things which matter most rather then past events & present time crisis; and
· Urgent: Generally crisis. What is immediately pressing. It may be of your own making or from demands placed upon you by others. Learn to say no to other people's distractions.
Quick fixes do not work. Shortcuts do not deliver long-term results. But there is a path. It is breaking with tradition. Transformation comes from new awareness. It is putting the most important things first.
Quotation:
"You may have tried to stake your
claim on the good life, yet, you become so busy "making a living,"
you may have forgotten how to "make a life."
John Fuhrman
© Dynamic Improvements Pty Ltd 1999 ABN 71 088 392 161
