Time Management Tips

Scheduling and managing time wisely are important. If you miss important appointments and deadlines complications are created in your personal/family and professional lives. These complications trigger anxiety, frustration, guilt, and other negative feelings.

This handout is not going to tell you what to do. Instead, it will suggest how to make the most of your time and personalize it to fit your tastes and activities.

A Personal Time Survey. To begin managing your time you first need a clearer idea of how you now use your time. The Personal Time Survey will help you to estimate how much time you currently spend in typical activities. To get a more accurate estimate, you might keep track of how you spend your time for a week. This will help you get a better idea of how much time you need to prepare for each subject. It will also help you identify your time wasters. But for now complete the Personal Time Survey to get an estimate. The following survey shows the amount of time you spend on various activities. When taking the survey, estimate the amount of time spent on each item. Once you have this amount, multiply it by seven. This will give you the total time spent on the activity in one week. After each item's weekly time has been calculated, add all these times for the grand total. Subtract this from 168, the total possible hours per week. Here We Go:

1. # of hours of sleep each night: ________ X 7 = _______

2. # of grooming hours per day: ________ X 7 = _______

3. # of hours for meals/snacks per day - include preparation time:_______ X 7 = _______

4a. Total travel time weekdays: _______ X 5 = _______

4b. Total travel time weekends: _______

5. # of hours per week for regularly scheduled functions (clubs, church, get-togethers, etc.):
_______

6. # of hours per day for chores, errands, etc.: _______ X 7 = _______

7. # of hours of work per week: _______

8. # of hours exercise per week: _______

9. # of hours per week spiritual enrichment: _______

Now add up the totals: _______

Subtract the above number from 168 - _______ = _______

The remaining hours are the hours you have allowed yourself discretionary use.

Daily Schedules

There are a variety of time schedules that can fit your personality. These include engagement books, a piece of poster board tacked to a wall, or 3 x 5 cards. Once you decide upon the style, the next step is construction. It is best to allow spaces for each hour, half-hours for a busy schedule. First, put down all of the necessities: work, exercise, meals, etc.

Now block in your discretionary time activities.

Tips for Saving Time Now that you know how you spend most of your time, take a look at it. Think about what your most important things are. Do you have enough time? Chances are that you do not. Below are some tips on how to schedule and budget your time when it seems you just don't have enough.

Don't be a perfectionist. Trying to be a perfect person sets you up for defeat. Nobody can be perfect. Difficult tasks usually result in avoidance and procrastination. You need to set achievable goals, but they should also be challenging. There will always be people both weaker and stronger than you.

Learn to say no. For example, a friend would like you to see a movie with him/her tonight. You made social plans for tomorrow with your friends and tonight you were going to have quality family time and do laundry. You really are not interested. You want to say no, but you hate turning people down. Politely saying no should become a habit. Saying no frees up time for the things that are most important.

Learn to Prioritize. Prioritizing your responsibilities and engagements is very important. Some people do not know how to prioritize and become procrastinators. A "to do list" places items in order of importance. One method is the ABC list. This list is divided into three sections; a, b, or c. The items placed in the A section are those needed to be done that day. The items placed in the B section need completion within the week. The C section items are those things that need to be done within the month. As the B, C items become more pertinent they are bumped up to the A or B list. Try it or come up with your own method, but do it.

Combine several activities. Another suggestion is to combine several activities into one time spot. While commuting to school, listen to taped notes. This allows up to an hour or two a day of good study review. While showering make a mental list of the things that need to be done. When you watch a sit-com, laugh as you pay your bills. These are just suggestions of what you can do to combine your time, but there are many others, above all be creative, and let it work for you.
Conclusion

After scheduling becomes a habit, then you can adjust it. It's better to be precise at first. It is easier to find something to do with extra time then to find extra time to do something. Most importantly, make it work for you. A time schedule that is not personalized and honest is not a time schedule at all.