Time Management Strategy - Stop, Take A Step Back & Reevaluate

If things are getting on top of you and you feel like there simply aren't enough hours in the day, it may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your situation. With the pressures of modern life it is easy to lose focus on the goals that are genuinely important to us. If this sounds like you, it is probably time to stop and take a closer look at how you really want to spend your time.

I invite you to start this right away. Commit now to a time, perhaps away from your usual distractions when you can sit down and be alone with yourself and your thoughts. Then with pen and paper in hand, you can look at how you are spending your time now and how ideally you want to spend your time in the future. You need to discover your own motivation and turn it into a compelling reason to act.

Once you are clear about your own motivations, you will use these as a constant reminder in order to even out the ups and downs. These reasons will help you through the tough times or when you feel it is not worth the effort.

When you have gained a clear idea of your goals for the future and how you wish to spend your time you next need to look at how you are actually spending your time now. First of all you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What does my life both personally and professionally look like and feel like today?

• What am I currently spending my time on?

Write down everything that comes to mind. Think about your work, who you spend your time with, your living environment and your income. Also, try to pinpoint the things that are missing from your life as these will hold the key to your using your time more effectively in the future.

The best way to discover where you spend your time is by using a time log. A time log is a record of how you use your time, day in and day out. It is very important that you keep one so that you can see exactly where your time is spent.

If you do this even for just one week you will get a clear idea of how you really spend your time and will probably see some surprising results. Now, that you have a clear idea of how you want to spend your time and how you really pass the hours, it is time to compare the two.

When you do this you will most likely see huge differences between them. I appreciate this may feel daunting and I encourage you to keep going, you are already moving in the right direction.

You will see that change is required, sometimes big and sometimes small. Now you can begin to take steps to spending your time in a way that will make these changes come about. Start with the small things and set yourself realistic short-term goals. Basically, take it step by step. Continue to take small steps towards your goals and later you can move onto some of the bigger changes you may need to make.