Time Management Made Easy

I am not a good time manager. Because of that, I have read all the books, attended all the seminars, and bought all the tools. I may not be a good time manager, but I am an expert in time management. So, when I say I am about to share the best tip I ever got, that should carry some weight.

This tip assumes that you have two things - some kind of calendar where you schedule appointments and some kind of To Do list where you write out the things you need to get done.

Most people use the calendar only for appointments. These are time specific and definite. They include such things as meetings, social engagements, and professional appointments such as doctor appointments.

The To Do list is anything from an informal list of things you want to do today to a more formal list that includes steps in on-going projects with targets for completion.

So, here is the all time best time management tip I ever got:

Enter items from your To Do list on your calendar in blocks of time just as if they were appointments.

This simple step may involve upgrading both your calendar and your To Do list.

Your calendar needs to be some kind of daily journal, not just a monthly calendar where you mark major appointments.

Your To Do list, likewise, needs to be global enough to include tasks you need to perform to reach your goals. This would include the steps you need to complete to meet a project deadline for your work or for personal goals.

Suppose, for example, your child's birthday is coming up in a couple of months and you are thinking of having a party. You need to find a location and reserve space. You need to make a guest list and get addresses to send invitations. You need to get party favors, plan activities, arrange for food and order a cake.

Your general To Do list may include "plan the birthday party," but you should also have a project list that includes all the steps you can think of in some general order for this particular project. Then, you can plug these steps into your calendar and block out time to do them. In effect, they become appointments with you make with yourself.

Then, when you make your daily To Do list, you are sure to include these important steps and you have set aside time to do them. Because this time is already blocked out on your calendar, you have not scheduled other commitments in that time. The result is that you are getting the steps done and you know where you are in the process.

Blocking out the time and committing to it goes a long way to guaranteeing that you don't get to the last week before the event and find yourself swamped by details you have overlooked. Even if that happens anyway, the major items will have been handled.

I have an electronic calendar for my work appointments attached to my work e-mail. Anyone in the company who wants to meet with me can check to see when I am available, schedule the appointment, and send me an appointment e-mail to accept or reject.

I find it extremely useful to block out time on my work calendar for actual work on my own projects. That necessary time, then, becomes unavailable for appointments. This effectively protects the time I need to meet my own commitments.