Stop wasting time..

TIME is nature's greatest "force". Unlike the wind, it cannot be felt. Unlike the sun, it cannot be seen. Yet, of all nature's forces, time has the most profound effect on us.

Time remains constant, but our perception of it changes. When we focus on it, it slows down. When we turn our backs on it, it speeds up. This makes us think it is something tangible.

We arrange it, divide it up and give some to our friends. Sometimes we feel it is precious, at other times we waste it.

We give it the power to heal when we say, "Time heals all wounds". It can also kill, as when we live stressful lives because we "never have enough time". On a day-to-day basis, nothing is defined and redefined in our minds as much as time.

Herein lies our power. Because things are as we perceive them, we can choose to see time as a manageable commodity and live our lives according to that assumption. This is one of the secrets of successful people - they work at shaping those things that others think are uncontrollable.

Efficient vs effective
In discussing time management, some people argue that we need to use time more efficiently. Others claim: "Let's not worry so much about efficiency, let's be more effective!"

Efficiency means doing things right. Effectiveness means doing the right things.

Working efficiently is doing things with the least amount of wasted effort. Efficiency gets you from point A to point B via a straight line, while inefficiency makes you go round in circles.

Effectiveness means doing the things that yield results.

Many people, when learning about time management, ask the question: "Which should I work on first, efficiency or effectiveness?"

In theory and practice, the best answer is to improve your effectiveness first. It is much better to aim your sights at the result than to worry about the process. Too often, people get bogged down in the means and lose sight of the end.

Eliminating time wasters
Time wasters come from the people around you as well as from within yourself. Some time wasters are unavoidable, but can be reduced.

Identify the most frequent sources of time wasters in your day. Check yours against the list below. Many researchers find the same handful at the top of their lists, which indicates that these are problems common to most people:

• Scheduling less important work before more important work;
• Starting a job before thinking it through;
• Leaving jobs before they are completed;
• Doing things that can be delegated to another person;
• Doing things that can be delegated to modern equipment;
• Doing things that actually are not a part of your real job;
• Keeping too many, too complicated or overlapping records;
• Handling too wide a variety of duties;
• Failing to build barriers against interruptions;
• Allowing conferences and discussions to wander;
• Conducting unnecessary meetings and making needless visits and/or phone calls;
• Chasing trivial data after the main facts are in; and
• Socialising at great length between tasks.

Setting priorities
When setting your priorities, there are two famous laws to remember.

The first is Parkinson's Law. It states that work tends to expand to fill the time allotted for its completion. Parkinson's Law makes setting priorities twice as important. If you do not know what your priorities are, your other work will expand to fill in the extra time. It will take longer for you to accomplish less.

The second law of note is Pareto's Principle, which, in this situation, states that 80 per cent of your results comes from 20 per cent of your efforts. Another way to look at it is that 80 per cent of your business comes from 20 per cent of your clients.

Using a "to do" list
A list of "things to do" for each day and week is a valuable aid to managing your time.

A "to do" list organises your thinking and planning onto one form in the least amount of time with the maximum amount of efficiency. Such a list is especially helpful if it coincides with the record-keeping you already do for your company.

Your "to do" list should define a specific amount of time (if possible) for each activity. This will keep work from "expanding".

Your activities should be listed in order of priority. Work on tasks with high priorities first. In listing the activities, it is helpful to spell out the result as well as the process. Stating when, where and what you are going to do increases your chances of doing it successfully.

As the day goes by, check off completed activities and make any notes that seem relevant. In the evening, make out a new "to do" list for the next day and include any activities you could not complete the day before. Always save your "to do" lists for future reference and evaluation.

After a short time, you will find yourself handling a greater volume of work without increasing your stress. You will simply become more efficient.

Article contributed by Dr Tony Alessandra, a professional keynote speaker, an author and the co-founder of MentorU.com, an online e-learning company that provides training, coaching and mentoring. Website: www.alessandra.com