by Cheryl A. Clausen

Do you find yourself complaining that you never have enough time? Are other people and things keeping you from getting things done? Perhaps you are a time management strategy victim. Perhaps your own negativity and passiveness are the real source of your time management issues. Blaming others and responding to every distraction or crisis that hits your radar screen are the easy things to do. But when you choose to respond that way you’re allowing other people and other things to control your time and your destiny. You’re allowing hap-in-stance to determine how you will invest your time, and keeping yourself from the achievements that would make you successful. The only way to stop being a victim is to take control of your time by taking responsibility for how you will use your time at every moment of every day.

When you aren’t clear about what you’re trying to accomplish you can practice good time management skills. Set aside some time to develop a clear direction for where you’re headed and the actions you need to take to get there. Only then can you make daily decisions about the most important actions for you to take each day. Better time management techniques lead to better decisions about how you allocate your resources.
There is a common myth that you can multi-task. You really can’t because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking forces your brain to switch between tasks. Neither task gets the attention it needs and neither gets done well. To make the best use of your time focus your attention on the actions you can take to make the best use of your time. When you don’t get the most value from your time you don’t get a chance to use that time again. There are times when you miss an opportunity there isn’t a second chance ever. To get the most value from your time track and measure your outcomes so you focus on what you’re trying to achieve. That way you can focus on doing the right things at the right time. You can change your current time management skills and increase both your productivity and free time.

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