A Brief Introduction to Time Management Systems

The 21st century is not yet two decades old and already time management has become a critical skill for an entirely new generation.  That is because we are constantly doing so many things we don’t have enough time in our days to accomplish everything we need to.  The way people are making time for new tasks is to spend less time doing most tasks.  And the less time you spend performing a vital task the less likely you are to do it well.

Fortunately we learn to do many things inefficiently.  The purpose of this Website is to help people learn how to save time in their day by completing desired and necessary tasks much more quickly.  We’ll cover many topics from personal time management techniques to how to improve the speed with which we perform basic, every day tasks.

Twenty years ago you might have purchased planning notebooks from companies like Franklin-Covey, Day Runner, Day Timer and other companies. These kinds of fancy organizers, planners, and other necessities often cost a lot of money and, honestly, who has time to write all that stuff down any more?  We live in a digital age. We have to manage our schedules differently from the way our grandparents did and it will be great if we don’t have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to manage our personal time.

An effective time management system should help you decide to two things: what to do and when to do it. Deciding what to do takes more time than deciding when to do it. Self-help gurus add many unnecessary items into these two steps. You complete the first part, deciding what to do, by listing your goals and when you want to accomplish each of them. When you have decided what you need to do, allocate the time to the needed tasks. The schedule works as a guideline as a guideline. It is best to stick with them as closely as possible, but all time management systems should allow flexibility.

The best way to manage your time is to develop good habits that allow you to live a healthy, active lifestyle on a schedule that meets your needs.  You should be able to quickly integrate any new task or personal activity into your schedule without having to thumb through a paper calendar to see which days are open.  When you just know where you can fit a new item into your schedule then you have control over your time.

Our daily routines should be our calendars but lest life become boring we should leave time each day for freedom to explore new things.  We can apply this principle at work just as much as we can in our personal lives.  If you have the flexibility to schedule your own meetings, try creating a “meeting zone” or two during your day so that you have time to complete necessary tasks before you rush off to confer with your colleagues and superiors.  A good meeting zone runs 90 minutes to two hours.  One zone in the morning and one zone in the afternoon should suffice for most people.  And just because you have that time available for a meeting does not mean you can only meet during that time.  Just make sure it’s the best time.

When you are planning your weekly tasks at home think about how tired you’ll be after getting home from work.  What will you need to do for yourself or your family in that tired state?  You need to find ways to reduce the time required to take care of your personal evening business so that you don’t feel trapped by too many tasks.

Time management skills are vital to our well being and health because if we commit to too many tasks we place ourselves under unnecessary and avoidable stress.