Now that we've established what time management really is, let's move on...
Time management requires these two things;
1. WHAT IS IMPORTANT
2. DISCIPLINE
If you don't know what is really important, what should come first and what's a priority to you and discipline yourself towards achieving it... you're most likely to mismanage yourself and your time.
This brings me to the topic of today.
STEPS TO EFFECTIVE PLANNING.
There's a difference between planning and planning properly. One thing that stuck with me during my school days in Economics class was “Scale of Preference”.
We were taught that scale of preference is placing your wants in order of priority.
Planning helps you prioritize your time according to your goals.
How do you plan your day?
Do you even make any plans or just take the day as it comes?
The first step to effective planning is to PLAN YOUR DAY WELL IN ADVANCE.
Yes, you should set out your day knowing fully well what you intend to achieve that day.
Write it down and set reminders if you have to.
You can also get an accountability partner, this helps to keep you in check and on guard.
The second step is to CREATE A TO-DO LIST IN ORDER OF PRIORITY.
Write down the important things you need to do from the most important to the least important. High priority should always come first. You might not even get to finish up what you have on your list for that day but because it's written down in order of priority, the most important ones are likely to be tackled first creating a feeling of satisfaction and achievement at the end of the day. Pending tasks can be completed one by one.
To be cont'd...
Next up : TMS 3 - HOW TO PRIORITIZE ACTIVITIES
Previous post : Time Management Series PT 1
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