TIME - YOUR MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY

How often do you say to yourself, "I don't have enough time to......"

It is certainly something I hear from just about every one of my clients.

Do you ever look at other people and think to yourself, "oh it's easy for them, they have so much more time than I do?"

But do they.......?

Do they have more than 24 hours in their day?

More than seven days in their week?

Or have they just learned to use their time more effectively?

Of course the latter is true - and the good news is, if they can learn to do so.... then so can you!

In an earlier post I talked about keeping an activity log, a really useful exercise. Try it if you haven't already done so. Divide your day into 15 minute slots and write down everything you do within that time period - and I mean everything. If you spend 10 minutes looking out of the window daydreaming - include that too. At the end of the period - at least 3 days, a week is even better, add up the time you have spent doing each activity. You'll find it quite revealing!

Knowing what you do with your time is a great start as once you've got this knowledge you can go on to use it more wisely. An excellent way to do this is to get into the habit of using to-do lists. People who plan ahead for each day are much more productive. It's a great discipline to sit down for 10 minutes during the evening and think about what you need to do the following day. Actually write it down, don't just think about it. Use your mobile phone and set reminders for certain tasks if that helps you. That's certainly good for phone call reminders - it's hard not to call someone when an alarm goes off with the invitation to make that call now at the touch of a button.

It is also really satisfying to tick off items on the list as you accomplish them. 

Why not use an A and a B list?

The A list is for tasks that absolutely must be done that day, the B list is for things that should be done but aren't of such a high priority. Remember to do the A list tasks first. Then tackle the B list. Find a way of rewarding yourself when you complete each list.

Spending a few minutes on a Sunday evening planning the week ahead is another excellent habit to develop. Once you get into this you'll find yourself working on lists for the month ahead and thinking into the even longer term. Believe me, the few minutes it takes to prepare in this way will save you hours and make you so much more time efficient.

All you'll have to do then is decide what you're going to do with all that time you save......

Now that's the sort of dilemma we all like!