Posts Tagged ‘priorities’

Time Management – It’s Your Life

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

This article is about more than just time management.  It takes the approach of time management relating to the priorities that one has in their life as well.  What is important to you?  Whatever it is, you will make the time for it.  The key is being consciously aware of what your priorities are.  This following article shares an experience and story about a woman who was clear on her priorities and what she is managing to accomplish based upon what her priorities are, and is using her own form of time management to achieve them.  Read on for more.


It’s your life and how you manage your time here is your decision. First of all understand that you cannot control time, but what you do with your time is under your control. Your time is ticking away. Is effective time management something you would like your life to benefit from?

Let’s start with you, the most important person in the world, by first taking the time to define your life, and what you want to be, do or have. That alone will start to help you with instilling effective time management disciplines in your life.

One night I met a lady in a take-out restaurant / bar in Brainerd. MN. While waiting for our orders we started a conversation. Shortly into our conversation she mentioned she was a Great Grand Mother. I could not believe it. She looked younger than me, had a beautiful complexion and a great attitude.

She was 67 years old, still working, but had a purpose to live, and that purpose caused her to manage her time effectively. Naturally, I had to explore what her purpose was, while exploring her time management disciplines, with her limited time.

Clara used to weight 237 pounds and had no real purpose to live. Through her church she had learned about having a positive mental attitude and a purpose in life. Once she decided on that purpose, her life started to change. She took control over the things under her control, one of them being the way she managed her time here on earth.

Unlike money which comes and goes, Clara understood something more valuable than money – time management, as time constantly goes and does not come back. Our time here on earth is limited and goes up in value as we get older. Therefore, we need to be more effective with time management.

Clara’s purpose was to take her family, grandchildren and great grandchildren to Africa and tour the historical slave route of their ancestry. To do that she needed to get in shape. She took control of her diet and started to exercise on a regular time management basis. She now weighs only 170 pounds.

She is still working and saving money to make her dream come true. She will continue to work until age 70, at which time she believes she will save enough money to live that purpose and retire healthy. She is doing her best at managing her time – that is the discipline of time management.

Do you know what your purpose is? This alone is the foundation of time management. Without a purpose, or goal, you are wondering around aimlessly and wasting time. Clara’s purpose gets her up in the morning. She maintains a great attitude because she knows where she is going and what she needs to do daily to get there. She will find the time to make things happen, as opposed to never having the time. That is the bottom line to time management.

Bob Urichuck is an International Speaker, Trainer and Best-Selling Author. Learn personally from Bob in the areas of Sales, Motivation, Leadership and Team Skills. Bob presents a series of great ideas and strategies with combination of facts, humor, and practical concept in a high-energy and self-discovery process that you can apply right away to achieve results. Subscribe to Bob’s Free Newsletter, worth $297, visit http://www.BobU.com Now!


More Time Management Posts


Time Management: The One Lesson That Should Be Taken From

Submitted by Kerri Lawrey-Jones on Fri, 03/19/2010 – 9:32am. When launching a business, the skill of effectively managing your time is crucial. For most, managing client needs, networking, and tending to your business fills more hours …

Publish Date: 03/19/2010 10:32

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TIME MANAGEMENT – NO!

Saturday, December 20th, 2008

I like this approach to time management because it subtly puts the focus on managing your life from an empowered place as opposed to a disempowered place. It comes from realizing what is truly important to you and focusing your time on that. We don’t realize how much time we waste on things that do not support us in our goals.
Read on for more insights to this different approach to time management.

Many people want to be coached to manage their time better. I say NO! to that. You cannot manage time anyway; it just keeps ticking away no matter what you do.

What you can do is manage yourself based on the two concepts I keep mentioning: self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Following are four principles to maximize the time that you have. They take time to incorporate into your life at the habit level. Don’t give up. Keep practicing.

1) GOOD ENOUGH

Accept that no human being is meant to do everything. We all have our uniqueness; things we do better than others and vice versa. Perfection is not a human condition. Cut yourself some slack and adopt the concept of “good enough”. You can rework your resume 50 times. Is it really so much better than a much earlier draft? You can shop for the perfect dress endlessly? Wasn’t the first one you tried and liked as good as the 15th? How much time did you spend past “good enough”? Demand higher standards of excellence where it really counts.

2) SPECIALNESS

Concentrate on excelling in what you do well, what you would enjoy doing better, and new areas you would like to learn. Delegate, hire, share, partner with people who complement you or can fill the needs you have in areas you don’t enjoy or do not know that well. Don’t ever berate yourself for not being able to do it all. Appreciate your talents and excellence and flaunt them. They are you, yours and very special. Let others have their specialness too. The results will not only save time but enrich and free you.

3) ENERGY AND TIME

Know and honor your energy levels. Are you a morning person, do you have an afternoon slump? Your time will be best used if you pace the tasks you have to do based on this knowledge. Do the most challenging at your peak energy time. Build in your Joy Breaks (see last month’s newsletter) both as rewards for finishing a formidable task and to refresh yourself at low energy periods.

4) FOCUS IN THE MOMENT

Develop habits that help you focus on what you are doing in the moment. Do not allow yourself to think of what you have to do next while you are doing what you are doing. Put a “do not disturb” sign on your door and do not take phone calls. By putting everything else out of your mind while focusing on the task at hand, you will be using your time efficiently. If you get stuck on something, take a break. Move to something else, get the information you need to continue, change scenery, stretch, whatever it takes, but don’t sit there stuck.

Note: The suggestions I make are not one dimensional or simple. The questions I suggest you ask yourself have multiple answers and may be different on different days. I suggest you keep them all in a file or notebook and refer back to them regularly. You will gain a lot if you do.

Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals and Business Partners and teaches teleclasses on techniques to break through barriers to the next level. Dr. Lehavi offers a complimentary coaching session so you can experience how coaching can work for you. Visit http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com


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