When it comes to time management skills, your first reaction might be to think about how you can really focus for a period of time to get a certain task done and to replicate that philosophy. This might well be the essence of time management, but essentially you are missing the entire point. After all, time management should work in tandem with goal setting. Simply, you need to set goals, large ones and small, before you try and apply any time management techniques. You will be far more successful, effective and productive if you pursue goals and consequently make the right decisions as you are doing this.

Your personal goals must be credible, tangible and achievable. Don’t gloss over this, as goal setting should not be taken lightly. If you do not have a purpose ahead, life will be haphazard and ineffectual and you will have no real drive or spark. Some unfortunate people who have no purpose in life or real goals often suffer from depressive illnesses. Whatever they do, it seems that they cannot be successful or make a difference of any kind.

As if it’s part of a tradition, the closest that we come to goal setting and thinking about time management is at the end of the calendar year. We realise that we are, as that dour observer whose name escapes me once remarked, “one step closer to the grave,” and feel duly motivated to pay attention for a while. Failed New Year’s resolution or not, goal setting is not a once per year duty, but rather requires an ongoing attention.

Before you set any goals, understand that you need to be realistic first. If you are not reasonable in setting your goals, then you will be destined to fail without a realistic approach. Many who fall at this stage can end up turning their back on time management and goal setting as a consequence. It’s much better to be realistic, so that your process of betterment is right in front of you and you know you can achieve it.

This is a good acronym – specific, measurable, attainable, rewarding and timely, otherwise known as “SMART.” All these guidelines must be in place if your goals are going to be achievable and workable and really mean something.

What are your specific goals – write them down. You should write down your reasoning as well, and go over this carefully, all the while asking yourself if you’re being realistic. Essentially, you must be able to measure the path that you will take as you go towards that goal. What specific criteria will determine whether you are advancing or not? Again, you must be able to measure otherwise your whole program disintegrates. We have already discussed the need for you to be realistic and to set attainable goals. This does not mean that you must always aim lower, but you must always have a challenge associated with your goal. How can you reward yourself when you reach your goal? Visualise it clearly and promise yourself this end result. If you like, print out a photograph of the “reward” and stick it up on the fridge door.

By focusing on effective goals, you must also be willing to be productive in your work. Thankfully, time management software can help you to do just this. Due to advances in technology, online time management has become the product of choice for really productive people, those who are not used to leaving anything to chance. By using time tracking software you can see whether you’re allocating the correct amount of time – that you promised yourself, as you set out to achieve your primary goal.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 5:48 pm and is filed under Business and Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.