Many of us do not know how to manage our time properly and thus time management tips are in high demand these days. When you ask anybody for a definition of “time management,” the list is h.u.g.e.

Time management is not about packing more and more things into your daily life. Worthwhile time management tips will actually be learning how to focus on activities which are meaningful for you. Just like Demonia boots are the cat’s meow for me, doesn’t necessarily mean they are for you. Time management systems are the same way – you need to find, and stick with, a system that works for you.

Tip #1: Learn to be Efficient and Effective

Efficiency is getting more things done within a limited period. At the same time effectiveness is concentrating on activities concerning you. Every day we spent much of our time trivial and boring tasks like checking email etc. Daily you may get hundreds of emails, and even when you spent a lot of time to empty your inbox you may be feel satisfied. That means though you have done a lot you have not attained much. The reason being that it was not something you really wanted to do. You can run as fast as you want, yet if you are running in the wrong direction you will not end up where you wanted. Now, if you’re running backward and falling into the arms of say .. George Clooney .. go for it!

Tip #2: Analyze How You Spend Your Time

It will be really surprising to note the time we spent on time wasters, which are actually those activities which do not improve the quality of your life. Instead they prevent you from achieving more important objectives in life. Here are some time wasters listed for you:

• Watching TV shows which you are not really interested
• Checking email again and again
• Surfing the net or chat rooms without any specific purpose
• Walking around shops doing window-shopping
• Spending too much time on household chores
• Shuffling the very same set of papers on your desk

Tip #3: Bring Back Things on Track

Luckily you can change these senseless routines and get to control time management. All you need to do is an active decision to plan and spend your time effectively:

• While returning from work do not put the TV on straightaway and start watching whatever is there. Spent some time doing more meaningful things. Review the weekly TV schedule, and spot out the programs you are really interested and watch the recorded version without commercials later
• Never check email more than thrice a day. Turn off the mail alert program which gives you the message “You have got a mail” each time a new mail arrives.
• If you are unable to control the worthless net-surfing, get an automatic timer set to go off in 20-30 minutes.
• Make out a monthly shopping list and do shopping from the list only. Don’t go to the shopping mall when you don’t require anything and go the shop where the things you need are available.
• Mark a day of the week to sit with your family and list out the plan. Go out with a definite plan and route in mind. If anybody forgets anything let them wait till the next week or let them do it themselves.
• Spend 5 minutes every day to sort out the daily mail. Separate the papers which require some action and put them in a folder; discard others. Clear the desk daily before you leave the desk.

Tip #4: Spot out Your Priorities

A few simple changes in lifestyle can give you hours of free time each week. Use them for your advantage and set apart specific time in your schedule for important tasks and make sure nothing interrupts the schedule.

The tips listed above can certainly help you manage your time better and do more things than you are doing now. These are only a few of the many ways available to deal with specific situation and you can find a way out for every situation.

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