Time Management: Productivity & Goals

People often feel that, in their personal and professional lives, time is running them. They feel they only have time for one life—personal or professional—but not both. The difference in giving your time more meaning or making it more productive is not found in trying to speed up or slow down your days. It is what you choose to do within the time frames that constrain us all that makes the difference. Are you taking advantage of the time that’s available to you?

In this first part I would like to talk about the key elements of goal management, because it is the basic point of effective planning and productivity. Managing your time is predicated on setting and accomplishing your goals. If you know what you want to achieve in the future, you can figure out how to use your time in order to get there. To help you get the right things done—that is, get where you want to go in life—it’s important to line up your daily actions and your long-term goals. Thus, the first step is setting the right long-term goals and then making sure your objectives and daily actions support those goals. These are the three elements of goal management:

Also, it’s crucial to keep your energy and motivation high when you’re trying to improve your time-management skills. To avoid losing momentum, consider the following:

• Do write down your goals and post them in a prominent spot where you’ll see them regularly.
• Do remember what you ultimately hope to achieve. Keep your eye on the prize, so to speak.
• Don’t forget why you’re doing what you’re doing.
• Do celebrate and reward yourself when objectives are met and goals are accomplished.

Find your energy peaks during the day.

Some times are better than others for certain tasks. When the sun comes up, so does your blood pressure. With higher blood pressure, you’re good to rise and shine. Your temperature goes up as well, and your metabolism gets ready for work as you do. At midday, your liver enzymes spring to action, ready to deal with your lunch. After dinner, your pineal gland cranks out melatonin, the hormone that makes you drowsy. You need to pay attention to your own body clock to determine which part of the day is best for you to make decisions, avoid making decisions, engage in physical activity, do your most creative thinking, and mentally process new information.

To be continued…

Time management is a valuable lifetime skill. Tell me about your favorite hacks of goal achievement, I will be glad if you share!