When grocery shopping, you have the choice of paper or plastic grocery bags. Paper used to be the most common. Now plastic has taken its place. Most people use plastic because that is what is offered. However, you can still get paper and some people prefer that option. Then there are the few who bring their own environmentally-friendly cloth bags to the grocery store every week.
What does this have to do with time management? Really... nothing... except the analogy that even though times have changed the options, the choices are still yours to make. What works for someone else may not work for you.
Modern technology has provided a multitude of time management tools for each of us to use. Paper products such as wall calendars, desk calendars, spiral bound planners and loose-leaf organizers are still very popular options. Over time, PC software tools, website utilities, PDAs and even cell phones have joined in the possibilities. The options are virtually endless. Explore these tools and determine which one, or combination, fits your individual needs.
Scheduling of your time for optimum productivity also presents many options. Consider how and when you work at your best. Are you the type that gets more done when you start a task and stick to with it all day long without distraction? (Is the lack of distraction even possible?) Or do you prefer to complete a big project in smaller steps and do multiple, different tasks in one day? Some people are more productive in the morning, while others work late into the night. Which one are you? Figure out what works best for you and then plan accordingly.
In order to effectively manage your time, you need to choose what tools and management style work for you as an individual. Trying to do it someone else's way is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole and will only lead to an overwhelming feeling of chaos. Doing it your way, believe it or not, could actually make scheduling a little more... fun!
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Undoubtedly, this prevalent problem requires a radical solution. But most classic approaches to "Time Management" only ask us to adjust our actions, as if all our conflicts with Time could be resolved simply by "establishing our priorities," "sticking to a concrete schedule," or "organizing our files." These external solutions are well-reasoned, but they're not psychological; they dismiss the internal emotional conflicts and pressures that influence us on probably the most fundamental levels.
Create a Designated Work Space - Identify a defined physical space - like your entire desktop -that you clear of everything (I mean EVERYTHING) except the one thing you need to work on right now. Your DWS should look like a newborn conference room table. Itwill help you eliminate the effects of peripheral vision which can be very distracting when piles of other work and your computer monitor are within that scope of vision.
Change is easy; deciding to is hard. That's because we all know that we need to make changes to improve our lives. However, the inertia of the status quo is a very powerful force to overcome when the moment to effect those changes arrives. My personal and professional experience is that small change is, indeed, the most effective strategy for accomplishing all types of goals.
I was recently askedmy thoughts on a productivity theory that advocated allocating specific slots of time for specific types of behavior - Productive Work, Administrative Work, and Non-Work. As thequestion was being posed to me,amental image of an industrial era worker came to mind -how theyconduct productive work duringpartof the day, administrative work part of the day (cleaning up, etc.), andnon-work part of the day (at home, away from the factory). What struck me as odd about that image was that it didn't fit into most modern professional and corporate work environments.
