3 Steps to Productivity and Time Management

Part of achieving any goal is making the most of the hours in each day. Everyone has the same 24 hours. It's what you do with those hours that makes the difference. Here are 3 steps for improving your productivity and time management

Determine Important Activities

Use a notebook or journal to write all daily activities. Include the trivial tasks for this assignment. Take a few moments at the day’s end to review and categorize the recorded tasks as time wasters (day dreaming, unintentional internet surfing, answering unimportant email, etc.) or important (tasks moving you one step closer to your goal). Schedule the important tasks appropriately and remove the time wasters from your daily schedule. Your daily list need not exceed 10 important tasks in order to prevent burn out.

Organize and Reach Your Goal

Determine your goal for the day. This will be the one or more tasks that move you toward your long term goal. Gather tools such as a calendar and storage bins to help you organize for better time management. For your home office, you may want file folders, a filing cabinet, and desktop organizer. For your home, you may want plastic storage bins, a large family calendar, and a phone station organizer. Remember, successful time management is your focus. Organize activities each day moving you toward your goal.

Practice Time Management

Begin each day using time management strategies. Review your to do list to rid your day of time wasters and prioritize important tasks. Keep your list in mind in order for you to reach your daily goal. Complete one task at a time. Work with the most important task first, then move down the list. You will feel a sense of accomplishment as you complete each task. At the end of your day, take a few moments to review the day, reschedule important tasks left undone, and create your complete list for tomorrow. No need to organize tomorrow’s list at this time. Reward yourself for a job well done and return to this practice again tomorrow. Soon you will master the skill of time management.

By Tonya Heathco GoalTribe Staff Writer

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