All of us would like a prosperous new year. But we don't necessarily want to
end up working hard 24/7 to achieve it. Fortunately, if you know how you don't
have to.
Let me reveal a few of my time management and personal success secrets which
you can adopt for yourself and can help you achieve much more in 2008.
* The beginning of a new year is a great time to assess what you've achieved
so far and decide where you want to be in twelve months time. So sit down, make
a list of your own personal long and short term goals and put them in order of
priority. Then set target dates throughout the year by which you are going to
achieve them.
* Recognise the power of good time management. The famous Pareto Principle
says 80% of your output is achieved in 20% of your time .... and it's true. Use
that diary you got for Christmas to keep a log of what you do and what you
achieve each day for the next month. Then study it to maximise productive
activities and eliminate wasted ones.
* Use technology wisely, not just for the sake of it. Manage your emails --
don't let them manage you. Deal with e-mails only 2/3 times a day -- not the
minute they arrive. If some new software or hardware you're thinking about
investing in doesn't make the job faster and easier -- don't buy it.
* Go AWOL sometimes! Do some work at home, or at the library. Switch your
mobile off for an hour or so each day. It's amazing how much more you can get
done when other people can't interrupt you.
* Don't waste time waiting for other people. While some time waiting for
appointments or for a train etc. is unavoidable turn this wasted time into
productive time by always having a book or report to read or a notebook to start
working through your next project.
* Recognise that business meetings are one of the biggest threats to managing
your time properly ever invented. The longer a meeting lasts the less is likely
to be achieved. Decide in advance how long a meeting should take. Announce at
the outset that you will have to leave at that time to make another appointment.
It's a great way of keeping you and everyone else focused and productive.
* Challenge your natural tendency to say 'yes' -- which most of us have --
without examining exactly what's involved. Ask yourself what's required of you
and whether the returns justify the effort. If they don't, don't be afraid to
say 'no' sometimes.
* Keep a notebook with you at all times. New ideas, plans and solutions to
problems can occur to you at any time of the day (and night). Don't let them go
to waste by not having somewhere to jot them down.
* Make time to read a different famous biography or inspiring self help book
every month. (Not some trashy kiss-and-tell biography by a so-called celeb.) You
can learn an awful lot from the most brilliant business, political, sporting,
economic and military minds.
* Plan time to deal with unplanned activities. Maybe you don't know exactly
what those unplanned activities might be but -- sure as eggs are eggs -- you
know they will happen every week. By doing this new, exciting projects won't get
derailed due to daily 'firefighting'.
* Build a scrapbook. Collect
newspaper articles, interviews, quotes from people you admire, photographs and
advertisements that interest you. Use them for ideas and inspiration. Lift the
best ideas for use in your own projects.
What I'm not saying is that you should aim to practice all of these tips in
2008. That would be a super-human feat indeed! But just a few of them really
could make a difference. Just imagine, if a few of the time management tips
alone help you free up one extra day each month then, over the course of a year,
that's enough time saved for an extra holiday!
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