10 Steps to Time Mastery
“Remember that time is money.”
– Benjamin Franklin 1748, Advice to a Young Tradesman
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Touch it Once
- Use Inbox & Filing Rules
- Use organized paper and computer files for future handling and reference documents/files
- Use a spreadsheet or database to track… To be continued.
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Overcome Stress and Procrastination
- Calculate Your Time Cost – Consider the magnitude of those costs – What could you do with that money?
- Bad Time Management = Stress
- Discover Why You Procrastinate
- Consider the 80/20 Rule
- To be continued…
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Make daily lists of the six most important tasks to accomplish.
Have a long-term list for larger projects and important but not urgent tasks; set milestone dates and pull items into your daily list as is scheduled or otherwise appropriate.
- Set the Rule
- Set goals using the S.M.A.R.T. method
- Gain the Pay-off
- To be continued…
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Plan How Long Each Task Will Take
Do not think about when you will do each task yet. Just determine the amount of time you will realistically dedicate to each task. This is an important step to make sure that the six items on your list can actually be accomplished in a day.
If one or more of the items on your list is too big to accomplish in one day, then write down how much time during that day you will dedicate to it. You will take care of bigger projects in manageable chunks of time.
Next to each item on your list, write how much time you will realistically spend on it tomorrow. Now your list might look like this…To be continued.
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Schedule Your Day
Assign time slots for accomplishing each task.
Now that you have allocated amounts of time for each task, you need to plan your day. This is not a general guide to how your day might unfold. It must be specific and have a time slot for absolutely everything.
This includes each of the six items on your list as well as time to check email check your inbox and open mail. Remember, if you are following the first rule and only touching these items once, then you need to have a dedicated period each day when you can deal with them.
To be continued…
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Prioritize
Focus on the difficult projects first (unless you are an A-Typical Person that has more energy late in the day). Start with, “What’s the Pay-off”.
Many people put the most important task last because it typically takes the most concentration or is the most difficult. But, by the end of the day, there is rarely time or energy to take on this chore.
Put the most important task first. This simple step will give you a tremendous sense of control and accomplishment.To be continued…
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Ask yourself, “Will it hurt me to throw this away?”
Studies show that 80 percent of all filed or stored information is never referred to again. So why hold on to it?
To determine whether or not to keep something, ask yourself, “Will it hurt me to throw this away?” Could you get it again if you needed it? If you’re a boss, the answer is usually yes.
Throw it away.
- Use Software Programs to Organize your documents & files, as well as to coordinate and prompt action, transitions, and appointments, and even your To Do List and Schedule:Consider the following to organize, locate and store your documents and files: To be continued…
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Conduct Effective Meetings:
- Meeting Killers
- Time leaks
- Unfocused agenda
- Idea Assassins
- Bad cop, absent cop
To be continued…
- Meeting Killers
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Practice makes Perfect:
You need to practice self-discipline regarding these steps/methods for a while before they become truly part of your routine. Don’t let a few failures thwart your total effort, don’t beat yourself up too much, regroup and get back with the program.
Inspiration
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
— Walt Disney
Disneyland was built in 366 days, from ground-breaking to first day open to the public.
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