What is the secret to being successful? What do most of the world's richest people know that you don't know? Ever wonder how some people are able to accomplish so much while you languish over a to-do list of less than 10 tasks? The difference between the most successful people and the least effective folk is time management. How can you make time work for you? Here are some tips to help you re-evaluate how you spend your time.
You and Donald Trump have something in common. You also have something in common with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. All four of you have 24 hours every day - no more, no less. But what each of you chooses to do within the confines of that limited time on a daily basis is where the similarity ends.
Time should command your respect
Highly effective people know how to manage their time. They respect time. They don't kill time, they don't waste time. They use time as wisely as they spend money. They spend both thoughtfully and purposefully. This is not to say that these men are all work and no play. Trump enjoys golf, while Gates and Buffett are known to play Bridge. They make time to pursue leisure and entertainment. What they most likely do not do, however, is watch American Idol or read grocery store tabloids. Learning to manage your time and spend it as you would your hard-earned cash, is the key to success and a feature of wealth and prosperity.
Time is money
Really, it's not. Time isn't money at all, but it is a finite resource. Even the wealthiest of all can't buy more time. If you look at time this way, then time is actually MORE valuable than money. Then when you consider that, in essence, we are dying a bit each day, well, time becomes yet even more scarce and more important. Think about time the way you should think about money.
Time requires a budget
Just as you need to know where you spend your money, you need to be aware of where you spend (and waste) your time. Little chunks of time can be lost the ways dollar bills and coins have a way of disappearing once you cash a $20. A quick jump on the Internet to find a recipe can end up as a two-hour surfing stint before you even realize the time has passed.
Eat your frogs first
The concept, written about by Brian Tracy, is simple: do the hardest thing you have to do each day first. Get the worst done and then you don't have to worry about it the rest of the day. If you're a student and it's time for study, your frog is your hardest subject and the one that is causing you the most difficulty. Eat that frog, then move on to the easy subjects. If it's a business proposal that needs to be pitched to the boss, that frog gets your time first. All those follow up calls to co-workers about next month's conference can wait until after lunch.
Give up multi-tasking
Have you ever realized how you can only do one thing at a time really well? You cannot watch TV and do homework at the same time. If you do, the homework will suffer. You can't talk on the phone and drive well either. Only one of those activities is going to get your full attention and frankly, it should be the driving. Multi-tasking should never be a option unless the main activity you are involved in is passive, such as riding as a passenger in a vehicle, sitting in an airport terminal waiting for your flight, sitting in your parked car waiting for the kids to get out of school.
Do mundane tasks to fill up the lost chunks
Use those extra 10 and 15 minute chunks of time to keep your home orderly. Wash a few dishes, load or empty the dishwasher, start a load of clothes washing, fold dry clothes, etc. Most household chores alone only take 5-15 minutes. Using this time effectively will get these items crossed off your list without having to set-aside an entire Saturday morning to catch up.
Five big things
Your daily list of things to do should not be a mile long. Don't drive yourself to exhaustion ticking off trivial tasks on a list. Instead, choose five things each day that are your priorities. Ask yourself each day, what are the five things I can do today that will make the biggest difference in my life, my career, and or my future? These are the areas where you need to focus your time and energy. Mundane tasks can fill up empty and lost chucks of time. For these big items, give them the best you have and greatest chunk of your time. The difference between you and the millionaires and billionaires is that they know how to use their time in the areas that will give them the greatest return on that investment. Become a wise time investor, not a time waster.
Time sharing
Once you master the art of time management, you'll have more than enough time to achieve your goals but also extra time to give to others. Find an organization or a charity that shares the same concerns as you do and donate some of your time to helping it achieve its goals. Maybe you're interested in a religious organization, or furthering a social cause, helping a battered women's shelter or working to feed the malnourished in third world countries. Whatever your passion is, make that effort to share your time and your talents with others. This is one of the little-known secrets for a happy life.
Learning to manage your time is challenging at first, but with daily practice it will become a habit. Your career will be better for it, you will be more productive, happier and you'll realize that 24 hours each day is all that anyone really needs.
