Magazine Online    The Authority On African-American Conventions, Incentives, & Leisure Travel
Issue: January/February 2014
Effective Time Management Tips
By: Velton W. Showell III


Most of the time; you will hear people complain that they do not have enough time to finish up their tasks which generally lead to un-productivity as well as stress. You will also find that there are some people who wish that a single day was made of 48 hours. The truth is even if their wish was made true they would still not fulfill their duties on time. Why is this you may ask? The main reason is because of ineffective time management skills. You do not have to suffer because of this as there are some time management tips that can be followed to manage your time well such as:

Time Management Tips - Plan each and every single day

One of the most essential points when it comes to time management tips is planning your day. Take some time preferably at night to plan all the activities that need to be done the following day. This includes waking up, grooming, work, meals, breaks and everything else that needs to be done. Allocate enough time for all the activities to ensure they are done well. This helps you to gain more control over your life to minimize conflicts as well as get rid of any last minute rushes that can take a toll on you. Make a list of your daily activities, then ask yourself; Are the things on this list going to help me achieve my goals and objectives?

Time Management Tips - Prioritize tasks

Prioritizing tasks is also very important when mentioning time management tips. This is because there are many times when you find yourself taking too much time handling things that are not even important. As you put down the-to-do-list, ensure that you have the most important ones at the top so that they can be given the amount of attention they deserve. Where possible delegate the not so important activities so that you do not have too much on your plate. Remember time lost can never be recaptured, so devote your time and energy to the task that will make the largest impact on your goals at the top of the list.

Time Management Tips - Break down larger tasks

There are times when you will spend time thinking about handling a task instead of getting right to it. Most of the time it's because you feel that it is too challenging to handle thus you waste a lot of time thinking of how it will be done. Instead of this, you can practice the 10-minute rule as part of time management tips. This is where you work on the task that you have been thinking about or setting aside for ten minutes. You may be surprised to find out that you can handle the task with ease and finish it faster than you thought you would. There is a saying, "Eat the apple one bite at a time" often we are so focused or driven to get things done we over load our to do list with tasks that are so complex that we never get one thing completed. We need to break up the tasks and accomplish them in stages versus getting frustrated do to the complexity of the challenge we place on ourselves.

Time Management Tips - Take breaks

It goes without saying that break time should be included as part of the time management tips. This is very essential especially when you do not want to experience burnouts or handle the tasks in the wrong way because you are too drained. Plan to have some breaks between tasks and use this to rejuvenate. This does not have to be a lot of time as you can set aside even as few as 10 minutes to get energy needed to go on with the tasks of the day. It is also important to eat right and get enough sleep to have a healthy body as you go through the tasks that life throws your way. Our body is our temple and must be given the correct amount of rest and nourishment to perform at its maximum level, to achieve great things!

You can read this and more articles from Velton Showell in each addition of Black Meetings & Tourism Magazine or visit www.veltonshowell.com and check out my Blog.

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