Time Management

>> What is time? Well, we know it's something that keeps on passing whether we want it to or not, and we know it's something that flies by when we're doing what we love. Like spending time with our in-laws. So how do we manage that time to get done all that we have to get done? That, my friends, is time management. [ Music ] Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities. You can't possibly implement a good time management strategy if you don't know how you're spending your time. Study yourself for a couple days. What do you focus your attention on? What distracts you? What eats away at your precious time? >> I think if you can sort of lay out what your priorities are, what you really need to get done. Try not to delay those things and get them off of your table. You'll find that you have a lot more time. It's also important to sort of audit your time like you might audit money and find out during the course of the day what you do. You know, if you sleep seven hours or eight hours, it means you got 16 hours left in the day. How are you spending that? >> You want to use a day planner to schedule specific tasks for specific times of the day. Whether it's in an actual schedule book or on a smartphone, this will keep you focused and on track. >> Utilize technology. I'm a very pro-technology type person, but really that would be my personal recommendation. If you're not a technology person, then I'd say get a Day-Timer. Get something -- if you're the type of person who needs to write it down to remember it, write it down. Learn what works for you and then implement it on a daily basis, because then it will become a habit and then you can rely on it when it's crunch time. >> We recommend you avoid using Post-It notes or loose sheets of paper that you could easily lose. When you sit down to evaluate your time, give priority to the most important task of the day, some professionals even suggest doing the most difficult task first or the ones that you dislike the most. >> What I try to do personally is, before I go to bed at night, is look at my next day and plan it accordingly, say, "Okay, if these are the three things I have to do, and I prioritize, from this time to this time I'm going to do this." But what I really try to do is the thing I hate the most, do that first, get it over and done with; it's off your back. It's like a big rock rolling off your shoulder and then you can do everything else. >> You might want to try physically crossing off completed tasks. Many people say that those little victories give them motivation to keep on going. There's no sense making a schedule if you're easily lured away from it, so you want to avoid distractions, whether it be putting your cell phone away, shutting a door if you have one or even using noise-cancelling headphones. Find out what works best for you and stick to it. >> What I do is I'll come into the office and I'll do like a "must do," "can do" and like "would be nice to do" list. The must-dos have to get done, and so if that means that am there until seven to get them done, they have to get done. The can-do is, "I can do this today," but if I get to part of it and if I get to part of it tomorrow, that's okay. And then the "would be nice to do" would be nice to do today, but if it gets pushed to another day, that's okay. We've all heard the cliche "There's not enough time in the day." There is enough time; you just need to manage it well and stay on track. [ Music ]