Time Management Activities
8 ways to think about time
Time Management Activities
8 ways to think about time
Develop your own time management activities using the table and questions in this article.
This tool is intended to be used with our article Why is time management important? You should read the article first for some thoughts on the critical importance of time and how we use it. To help apply the insights gained from the poem in the article we’ve created a checklist based on its eight ways to spend your time. Think through the questions and reflect on how you are using your time. Then try to focus on what you decide is most valuable to you.
Whilst these tips will only take a minute or so to read, it will take considerably longer to put them into practice. So take a minute to read it through, then set aside some time to develop your own plans. How will you spend more time doing the things you value.
Time Management Activities: The Process
In the first column, “time”, jot down how much time you spend on each activity in an average week.
In the second column, reflect on what you value about each of these aspects of your life.
In the third column think about what you want to do more of.
In the fourth column make notes to help you make better use of your time. Begin the process of making this happen by asking: what do you need to start changing to create time to do more of what you value? You’ll also need to think about what you need to stop doing, to free-up time for the things you want to do more of.
Plan to do More of What You Value
Create your own time management activities by being clear about what you want to say “yes” to and what you want to stop doing or do less of, in order to do more of what you value with your time. Plan to make the changes you have identified and reap the Benefits of Time Management. In the next week, what are you going to change? In the next month, how will things be different?
More tips on time management
If you want some practical tips and tools on time management, go to our guide Managing Time and Priority. The guide expands on the tips in this article and includes some excellent tools to help you eradicate time wasters. It will help you to:
Assess your time priorities and manage your actions.- Develop coping strategies to avoid the limitations of “busyness”.
- Manage the impact of other people’s demands on your time.
- Develop approaches to “getting things done”.
- Apply practical tools to managing priorities and time, to get the right things done.
- Help others to manage their time.
Tools:
Tool 1: Commitments summary
Tool 2: Time log
Tool 3: Time analysis
Tool 4: Time planning with task filters
Tool 5: Task priorities
