This article may be freely downloaded and reproduced in electronic and/or print format. Where reproduced it must be reproduced in its entirety and include an acknowledgement and a link to new-age-spirituality.com

Time Management

Page 2 of 2 | Page 1

The Best-laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry

Life is unpredictable. The only thing that's certain is uncertainty. Don't battle it; it's the nature of things. Accept uncertainty; embrace it as bringing excitement and adventure. Build slack into your plans. Don't treat plans as set in stone, rather as written in light pencil. Be prepared to change. Be flexible, changing circumstances often bring new and unforeseen opportunities. Learn to look for the silver lining inside every cloud.

Contingency plans

There are two schools of thought on contingency planning.

The first is "don't plan for failure" because "thinking makes it so".

The second is based on sod's law, "anything that can go wrong, will", so we'd better have an idea of what we'll do if (or when) it does.

There is truth in both. While we should never plan to fail we must be realistic and accept that not everything will run as smoothly as we'd like. There are many ways to achieve a desired result. In choosing our prime strategy we should at least be aware of the alternatives and be prepared to switch to one if need be.

Deadlines

Do you dread deadlines? Bad memories of college assignment submission dates? Or perhaps your line of work involves the meeting of deadlines.

Stressful? Sure. But deadlines DO get you working at your best. With a deadline hanging over you, you tend to produce.

Use deadlines to your advantage. Set yourself deadlines. Give yourself a small treat if you meet them, and/or some (small)"punishment" if you don't.

But don't get too stressed. Remember, most deadlines are not life and death. If you can't meet them the world will still keep turning, and life will go on.

Relying on Others

One of the hardest elements of time management is relying on other people. You can keep to your schedule, get your tasks done on time etc. But what if others don't do what you expect of them? It can be very frustrating.

First thing here is choose your associates carefully. Never place more responsibility in the hands of another than you have to. If people aren't doing what they should, don't be afraid to tell them so; or, if need be, replace them. This is one area where contingency planning is definitely recommended.

In short, make sure you do whatever's within your power to ensure your dealings with others goes as smoothly as possible. This won't always be entirely smoothly as others have their own priorities of which your needs are just one. But the point is you've done, and continue to do, all you can to make the relationship effective, and having done this you can't do any more. So don't stress about it.

All Work and No Play...

Time management is tough. It requires a lot of self-discipline. By practicing time management you will ultimately achieve far more than those that just drift along taking things as they come.

But sometimes you will feel that the more "casual" more fun than you.

Fun is an important part of life. It's the sweetener that makes the more difficult stuff easier to swallow, as well being valuable in its own right. Build fun and chill-out time into your time management schedules. It will make the harder parts easier to fulfill, and lead to better results.

In Conclusion

Life is precious. By employing a few simple time management techniques we help ourselves get the most from it.
Set priorities. There are many demands on us from all angles. Recognize the most important.
It’s OK to say no.
Make plans for different intervals. The shorter the interval, the more detailed the plan.
Remember to include slack time
Be flexible. Uncertainty is the nature of life. Be prepared for the unexpected, especially where your plans rely on others.
Remember to include plenty of chill-out time, it’s the oil that makes the wheels turn smoothly.