The Importance of Time Management

What is the importance of time management? Why waste time making lists and planning your day when you could use that time to get things done? Why don't some people do it at all?

The truth is that we live very complex lives. Work, school and social commitments compete with mundane tasks like doing your laundry and paying the bills. Some people have a natural flair for organization and can sail through a week with ease. For the rest of us, learning time management skills makes life a lot simpler.

The Benefits of Time Management
Businesses are demanding more and more out of their employees these days. More job responsibilities put more pressure on workers to use their time more effectively. While technology has freed parents from many labor-intensive tasks that they might have done in the past, it comes with its own time demands. Students of all ages feel hassled when trying to keep up with school requirements.

All of these demands on our time leads to feelings of being out of control and overwhelmed. When you feel out of control, you can react poorly when "just one more thing" hits you out of nowhere, even if that unexpected task is relatively minor or unimportant. Life, in many ways, is about dealing with the unexpected.

Not being able to balance your time can also lead to stress. On a day to day basis, stress can leave you focusing on the negative, such as thinking about all of the time that you don't have instead of the time that you possess. In addition, important stress relievers, such as exercising on a regular basis, may fall to the wayside as you attempt to deal with everything else that is going on in your life. Over the long term, stress can lead to health problems and a lack of enjoyment of the things you once loved.

Spend Time to Make Time
Putting together a time management program does take some time. However, a creative time management program will help you feel more in control of your life, help relieve your stress and actually save you time in the long run.

Time management is not just about noting appointments on your calendar, although that is an important component. Instead, it is a detailed accounting of what you need to do and when you need to do it. It's a method of prioritizing and organizing each day so that nothing important (including time for yourself) gets forgotten.

To start, each project that you have, whether it be work related, home related, school related, child related or volunteer related, should be broken down into small, easy-to-achieve tasks. Each of these tasks should be prioritized and assigned a due date. Delegate some of these tasks to others, if you can. Record tasks and due dates on a calendar or in a day planner, noting the people who are responsible for delegated tasks. As your priorities change, adjust the schedule as needed.

Instead of focusing on monster projects that need to be completed at some point in the future, you have a series of prioritized actions to take. You don't have to worry about an important project's due date creeping up on you. You don't have to remember every day what you need to do because you have already laid it out for yourself.

Once you've gone through the process a couple of times, you'll find that it gets quicker. You'll see tasks that can be completed together, such as picking up the dry cleaning on the way home from soccer practice. You'll see how much you manage to achieve each week, and you may even find some extra hours for yourself.