Work Life Balance

Most people find it a challenge to balance their life with work. As a result, one of these aspects tends to suffer. Managing time becomes really important in order to create a balance. But you can not manage what you have not scheduled. For you to understand this, you have to take work and life as two different entities that make up your activities, and are demanding your attention greatly. This will help you schedule your time, in other to create a work life balance. If you fail to schedule your time, something else will do it for you.

Work life balance is about setting limits and truly understanding that every detail in your daily routine is important to you and your goal. You need to have firm control of yourself and be the one in charge. When you loss control, and mis-manage time, both your life and work will suffer, due to the inability of your mind to contain the loss.

Prioritizing

It is all about understanding what you want to do, knowing that there are too many things to be done, and that you can not do all of them at once. It helps you to place a limit to your daily activities. The process of prioritizing helps in work life balance as you stick only to those things that are important to your set goals, either on a project or for your family.

You must know that you can not do every thing. Stay focus on your goals and concentrate your strength and resources doing it. You should understand that your work is as important as your life, and both should be handled with great interest. Start thinking of how to plan your daily activities, in such a way that it creates a work life balance.

Learn to say “NO”, as this will also help you to cut out distractions. Your environment is surrounded with things that demand your attention and time. You determine those things important to your goals for which you will say yes to. Before saying yes to anything, always question it to know whether it is relevant to your goal. Know that your goal is the ultimate aim you want to achieve, now or in future.

In other to starting enjoying a quality life, having more time for your family and less personal stress, I implore you to begin to plan a daily work life balance schedule for all your activities.

Life Is Beautiful

Life is a gift and it is beautiful. There are so many beautiful things to make out of life. Life is beautiful, if we do our best within boundaries and destiny takes care of the rest. Life is as one experience it. The present moment is a past moment in the future. One important thing about life is that it is a function of time. Your life is equivalent to your time. Whatever you make out of time is what will reflect in your life.

Time = Life:
One key thing about life is that it is a function of time. The real beauty of life is reflected in how and what you do with time.
Life......................Years.
Years...................Months.
Months................Days.
A day...................24hours.

We see that life is measured in time. As beautiful as life can be, mis-management of time can make it terrible. The different between your present location and the desired destination is time. Exploring and enjoying the beauty of life is to make proper use of time to your advantage, doing the right things.

Time on the other hand is neither a friend nor an enemy. It does not choose who to favor. Your understanding of time is what determines what you get out of it. As much as you guide and cherish your life, handle your time in like manner.

Time wasted is same as life waste. Do not give it away so cheaply, especially to those things that will not help you achieve your set goals. One truthful thing about life is that, whenever you achieve a goal or complete a project with time frame, you always have this feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. This shows to you the importance of time in what so ever you do.
When next you think of Life, consider time.


Simple Time Management Tips

·         Plan each day activity.

·         Eliminate Time wasters before you start on any task.

·         Set your goals and intention for each day.

·         Stay focus on your task.

·         Do first things first.

·         Stay discipline and committed to your plan.

·         Acknowledge your daily achievement.

Remember that every seconds count as far as your life is concerned. Spend your time wisely, because your life is dependent on it. Outside habits, like drugs, prostitution, and crime that affect life greatly, misuse of time has greater effect on you than them all. Your life is beautiful only when you spend time wisely.

Common Time Management Mistakes

Have you considered how time just ticks pass and you can not even account for what you have done. Most often people engage themselves in activities that are not relevant to their goals, and they do not even know.

There are many mistakes people make when it comes to time management. Some of the common ones are what I will talk about from my little research.

Failing To Plan

When you fail to plan, you have planned to fail. Planning is a process that does not end, until you achieve your set goal. When you do not plan, you definitely do not have a sense of direction of what to do. You end up spending time on everything, even when they are not important. Without adequate planning, it is difficult to understand what it will take to complete a project successfully. Lack of planning leads to inadequate preparation, unexpected problems and Poor execution.

Planning defines a path for you and helps in strategic management, as you begin to develop ideas on how to execute your plan.

Using Your Head

Most often people tend to do things from their head, with the belief that they have it all stock up there. It is good, but not effective. Under pressure, you tend to forget even the simplest of details. On the other hand you may remember all to be done, but you will be faced with the challenge of which is to be done first. The fact is that you simply can not rely on your memory alone to keep track of records, without getting overloaded.  It is best practice to have a “To Do List” of your activities written down in order of importance.

Trying To Do Everything

That you have plan does not mean it will be actualized instantly. Planning is a process that requires determination, dedication and Patience. You can not do everything just at ones, because not all things are important as far as your goal is concerned. When you attempt to do too much, you invariably end up shortchanging and neglecting important areas of your life that get left behind.  Give place only to those things that will positively take you closer your goal.

Always Saying Yes

There are so many reasons while people say yes, even when it is not convenient to.

-          It might be not to offend some

-          Trying to please/impress others.

Any activity that is not in your to do list should not be considered. Saying yes is like a commitment, if not keep might make you lose your integrity. You could be given out your free time that would have been spent with family or sleeping, without realizing it. Every time you choose to do something, you always give up something else you could have done with that time.

The Concept Of Time Management

Everybody talks about time. No matter where you are in the world and what you do, time is common to everyone. I strongly believe it is not a subject to be over looked. But you can not  talk about Time Management, without understanding some basic truth about time.

                Things to Know about Time

·         It is universal: it implies that no matter where you are, regardless of color, culture, religion, and location time affects us all.

·         It is a constant: 24 hours makes a complete day, nothing more nor less.

·         It does not Stop: It is design to continuously tick, independent of whether you are active or not, alive or death.

·         It can not be adjusted: Whenever a particular hour passes in a day, let’s say 10am, you can not bring it back.

·         It can not be bought: Of all purchasable items, time is one that has no market place of exchange.

The worth of time varies amongst people. Your value for time depends on your understanding of it. Time means different things to us. For most people, time has more value than money, a resource to achieve goals, a tool to manage live, and a gift to treasure.

Which of these reveals your view of time? What you think of time really matters a lot, because it will affect how you relate to it.

The various views of time, is what gives rise to “The Concept of Time Management”. It then becomes imperative to know what time management is. Remember that a concept is an idea or notion shared by someone or a group of people.

Time Management is not having ability to manage time. You can only manage what you have control of. Since time can not be controlled, it is then not possible to manage it. This may sound awkward, but it is basically the truth. While not try pausing time may be for a minute or two, to see show much control you have over it.

If you have a challenge in meeting deadlines, or getting things done what you probably need to do is to manage yourself. It takes discipline, determination and patience to do so. But once you’ve mastered the skill, your productivity and effectiveness in using the time you have to get things done will increase.

The concept of time management deals not on managing time, instead it considers your understanding of what time means to you, and gives a true definition of time management. It focuses on achieving goals and completing projects by applying some simple tools.

How To Gain More Time

The one thing people do not have in excess is time. They wish they could extend it, so they get more done. This appears like a limitation to getting things gone. Do you know you can carry out your daily task and still have time for other things not in your schedule?  It depends on how you approach each day.

Spend time in planning.
Using time to think and plan is a time well-spent. Planning is a process that continues until you complete a task. The first step is to analyze how you actually spend your time so you can determine what changes you have to make. Organize in a way that makes sense to you and stick to it no matter the hitch you may experience on the way.

Have a StrategyThe strategy you implore matters a lot in carrying out a task. Each task will pose different challenges.  So you do not approach them in the manner. Your plan should be such that allows you to adopt of modify your strategy if the need arises.

Prioritize Your ActivitiesSo many things around you demand your time, but not all do worth it. If you see your time as precious then you will not waste it on just anything. Give attention to those things in your "To Do List". Ascertain the things that need to be accomplished first so that you can do them accordingly. The activities that do not fall in are not important as far as your time is concerned.  Focus on activities most important to the achievement of your highest goals and on other activities afterward.

Take Assessment of Your ActivitiesIt is a good idea to evaluate regularly how you are spending your time doing activities. Take time out, may be every 3hours to keep track of your activities. It will help you know what you have done, what is left to be done, the time you have spent, and what is left. You will be able to know your time rate of doing things.

Continuously improve yourself
 A river that is stagnant will stink. So also is the person who remains the same. Make time in your schedule to learn new things and develop your natural talents and abilities.  For example, you could take a class, attend a training program, or read a book. Continuously improving your knowledge and skills increases your marketability, can help boost your career.

Self Management

Time is a constant, which means it does not change. 24 hours a day is universal and common to everyone. In the real sense you can not manage time; because it is fixed you only adjust to it. Just like a river that flows, time ticks on, you are the one who aligns yourself to every tick.

Self management is what you need to be able you need to utilize time. Change is a constant, which does not apply to time, but to you. Your evaluation of yourself, affects how you handle time. If you mean nothing to yourself, nothing will mean anything to you. Feel great about yourself, embrace time, live full and fulfilled.

Get Organized

Oraganized yourself by putting things in their proper place. The way you do things, the nature of your surrounding affects your organization.

When do you wake up in the morning?

How does your bedroom look?

What about the files on your office desk?

When you answer these question, you will have a clue as to whether you are organized in the way you handle things. All your activities are tired to time, so if you cannot organize them, you definitely would with time.

Identify bad Habits

Make a list of bad habits that are stealing your time, sabotaging your goals, and blocking your success. After you do, work on them one at a time and systematically eliminate them from your life. Evaluate the time you spend on your PC, in front of the TV, hanging out and even sleeping. You will be amazed that you have spent more hours on nothing at the expense of your goals.

Remember that the easiest way to eliminate a bad habit, it to replace it with a better habit.

Take Responsibility for Yourself

Your ability to respond to change will is very vital. It shows s that you are on top of it and have things in control. Be the custodian of your actions. Be bold to accept responsibility for your actions. When you accept responsibility you take control of changing the results. 

Write down things

A common time management mistake is to try to use your memory to keep track of too many details leading to information overload. Using a to-do list to write things down is a great way to take control of your projects and tasks and keep yourself organized.

Personal Time Management.

Personal time management is an essential life skill that only allows people to get things done but gets them done at the right time. Learn time management skills and know the main benefit of that can intensely improve the quality of your life.

The first thing that you need to do is to plan accordingly. You have to realize that planning is very vital in any process. It can help you do the tasks that you need to do smoothly and easily. Try to note down the things that you need to do for that specific day so that you will be aware of them all the time. This is a good technique for you not to forget the things that you need to accomplish. You can cross out the things that you have finished already for you to be able to proceed to the next task.

The next things that you need to do is to prioritize the tasks that you need to do. This is one good way for you do the things that you need to accomplish. Ascertain the things that need to be accomplished first so that you can do them accordingly.
You have to realize that sometimes you will not be able to accomplish all the tasks in one day. You must schedule other tasks for the next day. You just need to do important assignments first by prioritizing them and leaving other tasks undone. You can do the others the next day or whenever you have finished the important ones already.
It is normal that you will not be able to finish some tasks early. You have to realize that you must do the most important ones. Try to appreciate the tasks that you have finished even if you are not through with everything. This will make you feel good for sure. Appreciate the things that you have done so that you will have enough energy and motivation for the next task.
Goals can be achieved if you will be able to manage the tasks that you need to do to accomplish your goals. Try to familiarize yourself with time management basics so that you will be able to do your tasks easily and accordingly. This is one good way to accomplish the things that you need to do.

Manage your time for Success

Time has different values in different cultures. It also has different values for different people. Some consider it to be money. But time is more valuable than money because it cannot be renewed. But time, like a river, is neutral. It flows where it will regardless of what people think about it. Regardless of different views, one thing is clear: it is precious. It is precious because it is a non-renewing, diminishing resource. When we use it well, we can create happy and productive lives.

For Success-oriented person, time is neither a friend nor an enemy. It is a resource.It is a master resource, because you use it to decide how to allocate other resources, like skill, effort and money. Using time well is ordering your actions and organizing your experiences. . These are based on first deciding what is important to you. When you know what you need and want then you can decide how to best go about getting it.

Your goal should be a blend of idealism and realism. It should be ideal because it forces you to reach to a new level. And it should be realistic because it allows you to access your current resources to get started on it. When you decide how to reach your goal, it becomes a plan. When you break the future into time frames, you can measure your progress as you proceed.

Time management is a success tool because it is a process of establishing order over chaos, intention over accident, and purpose over whims.In managing your time, you also have to take into account three influential variables: flexibility, mood, and bodily rhythms. You need to be flexible because things have a way of taking longer than expected. You need to be in the right mood because if you're angry, frustrated, or depressed you'll sabotage your plan before it has even unfolded.

And you need to remember that you are a time clock too. You work with your habits, your cycles, and your mental and physical rhythms. How you sleep, eat, exercise, or relate to others has a profound impact on how you manage your time.When you manage your time, you create specific steps for success. This is the real value of all theories of time management.

Time Management strategy for managers

Your time is quite different to any other resource, as the terms can't be changed:  everyone is a year older than they were twelve months ago there are only 24 hours in a day, no matter how much you try to create more you can correct mistakes made with other resources, but a wasted hour is lost forever. One thing that the most impressive managers have in common is that they are well organised and manage their time well.

 Why improve your time management? Do you always meet deadlines?
Do you have enough time to do the things that are important?
Do you spend enough time with your family/friends?
Do you spend enough time relaxing, taking exercise, enjoying your hobbies?
Are you always content with the amount of time that you have available?
Do you spend enough time thinking about/planning the future of your business?
Do you spend enough time with the members of your team?
Do you spend enough time with your customers?
Do you spend enough time reading and keeping up to date?
If your answer to one or more of the above questions is no, then you could benefit from
improving your time management.
Managing your time is about being effective (doing the right things) as well as beingefficient (doing things right). To ensure that you are doing the right things, you need to have clear goals:

Identify your ‘key result areas’ ie the main aspects of your job where you should achieve measurable results… sales, levels,budget performance, productivity,market share etc.
 Identify specific objectives and targets for each key result area, for the forthcoming year/quarter/month e.g.
increase market share by 1% per quarter,grow sales by 10% by the year end.

Ensure that your goals and objectives reflect the needs of your customers. 
Decide how to track and measure your performance.

Set review dates, to check that your goals and objectives are being tracked.
For each objective, identify the activities or tasks to be done. It is important to prioritise these, so that the
most important and urgent tasks get done first. Determine the priority of an activity in terms of importance
(contribution to your overall success or achievement of an objective) and its urgency (how soon it needs to be done).
  Plan to do the tasks in the following order: 1. Plan to do tasks which are both important and urgent first.
2. Fit the urgent but not important tasks in quickly after.
3. Put time aside when you will do the important but not urgent things.
4. Identify time wasters and resolve to ignore them.
Decide how much time to spend on each activity, considering the time-benefit ratio. How much time is it worth, considering its value?Set time limits and deadlines for everything you do.

Consider who should complete the task. Is it the best use of your time, or should it be delegated to a member of your team? Your time management system will help you to determine what you should be doing now.

• Avoid distractions and try to manage time wasters.
• Identify the root causes of what wastes your time.
• Remove time wasters, if possible, or at least minimise their impact.
• Review whether or not you are delegating enough.
• Discourage others from keeping you informed of too much detail.
• Anticipate what information you need to share with your team and find a time- effective way of doing it eg a short meeting, an email.
• Only hold a meeting if it’s necessary and be disciplined in sticking to a timed agenda.
• Avoid interruptions by letting others know when you would prefer not to be interrupted.
• Learn how and when to say no, to avoid always being led by the priorities of others.
• Before making phone calls, make a list of points to cover.

 

Do you have time for Success

Success is one thing people every where desire to attain. Whether you are a CEO, Entrepreneur, Business personnel, professional, or a student, irrespective of the field of specialisation, success is always in view. People want to be counted as successful. Success is not an achievement, but a destination, and the difference between one destination and another is time. If you desire to board on a plane from your present location to another location, what you are most concerned about is the time of departure and that of arrival. You can not talk about success, if you do not know how to manage time wisely.

   Am There....But too lateWhat do you think of a man at 70year obtaining his first degree, a woman at 65year having her first issue, making your first million at 80year. All of these achievement calls for celebration, but the timing is not just right. There is nothing like early satisfaction. When you see your goals come to pass at the right time, it gives you great joy of accomplishment and fulfilment. Start early, so that you can get more done and accomplish great.
   Choose Your Time
Time varies from place to place, and from one person to another. 6am in New-york is not the same in Madrid. Morning time for most people, might be Evening for others. Determine your time. Decide that now is the most appropriate time to begin your journey to success. Put away the agents of boredom and distraction, harness the treasure of time.

• Set goals.
• Make plans toward achieving your set goals.
• Prioritize your plans.
• Take consistent action steps towards your goals.
• Keep track of your activities.
• Assess yourself to know how well you are doing. This will help you adjust, change and improve where there are lapses.
• Always rate your performance as it relates to your goals.

The Gift Called Time

Just like life and several other gift we receive without effort, labour or request. Time is also a gift that is
precious and should be cherished. We get excited about gifts we receive during birthdays, anniversary,
thanksgivings and other eventful occasions in live. Stop and think, how many times have you ever being excited about time. The beauty of time is that it is independent of seasons, events, inventions and all other factors. It is a constant.

Seasons change, but Time is constant,
Records are broken, but Time ticks on,
Products expire, but Time remains,
Alive or dead, Time does not change,
Time does not stop, it ticks on and each tick accounts for life. Your altitude towards time show your value for it. The greatest lost to avoid is not that of a job, car, stock or money, but of time. You can replace a car, get a new job and earn more money, but time gone can never be recovered.

More than you love your career, love time
More than you respect your boss, respect time
More than you value your jewelries, value time
More than you are committed to your relationship, be committed to time
More than you manage your business, manage time.
If there is one gift to be worried about loosing, it is your time.

Utilising Time
Time ticks irrespective of persons. It does not choose who to favour and who not to. What you sow is what you reap. In order to utilise time, you must know that there is non to waste. Keep in your mind that you do not own time, therefore you can not control it. Thinks of time as the difference between your today and your expected tomorrow. See time as your resources to attain greatest and achieve your dreams.

Time Management and Money

Time is money. Managing time is saving money. If you want to make money, you need to manage your time very carefully and avoid anything which distracts you and takes you away from your primary focus. What time worth varies from persons to person. Every seconds of every day has monetary value, no matter what you are doing. While most people earn $7.25 an hours others earn more depending on the worth placed on time. Knowing how much time to schedule for each job is critical. Time is a resource you must invest it carefully. The bottom line is to start thinking of your time as the precious commodity it is. Time is money - so invest it. Invest it in those areas that produce the most benefit and lead toward living a full and enriched life. Stop just spending time, wasting time, and giving time away. Invest it!

  Thinking of Time as Money
Assign a monetary value to your time, and watch how much less of it you are willing to waste on unimportant stuff. When you are not sure an activity is worthwhile, calculate how much it will cost to do it. Watching TV suddenly becomes very expensive, money that could take you closer to your dream. The choice is yours.  Change the way you manage your time. There are four primary things we can do with money. It can be spent, it can be saved, it can be invested, and it can be given away. Time cannot be saved. It passes by, second by second, 1,460 minutes, each and every day. Once it is gone, you can never get it back. You have only three options for using the time you are given each day. You can spend it, you can give it away, and you can invest it. To spend money means to pay out money or give money for something in return.

Never Late....Always On Time

The essence of time management is carrying out planned task within the stipulated time. Beyond setting goals and panning on how to actualise those goal is the within time factor. the satisfaction of accomplishing a task is doing it within the time allotted. trust is a function of how much you respect time. You can not be trusted, f you can not maintain time. Lateness either to work, an appointment, or even an occasion, shows lack of self discipline and disregard for that valuable asset called time.

   Self Value and Discipline
Time management begins with self discipline.Time management will be hard if you do not apply enough self discipline. Boredom and tiredness can easily set in which may upset the process. The value placed on something, determines what it is worth and the time that will given to it.
How much value do you place on yourself? Remember, you can not give what you do not have. If you do not value yourself, you can not value time. Begin working on yourself. When you can properly manage yourself, you can manage time to your advantage.

   Starting Early
There is an advantage in starting early, which you must utilise. When you start on a task early you gain more time to yourself. You must understand that there is no time to waste. you must at all times be busy doing something relevant to your goal. when you delay in carrying out activities, you would end up having carryovers that would make you have pile-up  work for the following day. making the work more task full.

Time Management Skills

If you have problems running late, meeting important deadlines or getting things done what you actually need to learn is how to manage yourself. Then you can make the most of the time you have. Time ManagementSkills, are really self-management skills. Once you learn how to create and manage your focus, control your habits, manage your energy levels and limit distractions you will experience what has become known as "Time Management Skills."It's really about being productive and effectively using the time you have to get the important things done. Once you focus on managing yourself, rather than attempting to manage the external concept of time, you will take control of your results.

 Benefits!

With the ability to manage your time, you will be able to reduce the stress in your life, have more focus to concentrate your efforts, have more motivation to achieve what you want, increase your self-esteem and belief in yourself. Besides benefiting yourself, it will benefit others too. For example, you can help to make improvements in everyone time management by setting a good example.
For your continuing development, set yourself challenging yet realistic goals. When your goals have been accomplished, build on that success and set new goals. Make a commitment to make changes to those changes you have identified for yourself. For example, change something that can help to improve your lifestyle. Remember, time is very precious because once spent, it will be gone forever!

The Value Of Time

Each person begins the day with the same valuable resource-you have 24hours until tomorrow at this time. It does not matter who you are and what you do, time is one resource given to each person in an equal share. Your time is your most valuable asset, much more valuable than money. Time is one resource that can not be replenished; once this day ends that time is gone forever.

To make the most of your time and use that valuable asset in the most productive way requires value for time.

Value time more than anything else:
Your time is your most valuable asset and should not be compromised. If you determine how much your time is worth, you will value how much you spend it. Don't allow people waste your time for you. When you have a high value on your time, other people will start to value your time too.

Determine what is important:
There are so many things that require your time, but not all of them are worth your time. You must never find time for anything. If you think it is not important then decline dealing with it. Al way ask yourself if the thing taking your time is worth it, now or in the future.

Set Goals:
If you shoot at nothing you will always get nothing. Goals help to set priorities of what's important and what's not. When you do not have a clear sense of where you are going, you will never know how to get there. Set daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and long term goals and you will attract the things you need to create it.

Take action consistently towards your goal:
Do something everyday towards your goals. It does not matter if you can only do a little bit every day. Just do something!Being consistent is more important than doing a lot, because it is the habit of taking the right actions that you want to develop.

Take responsibility for your result.
Decide today to take 100% responsibility for your results. When you accept responsibility you take control of changing the results. When you blame external forces (like time) for your results you give away all control to change them.

Time and You

When it comes to time management, the most important thing to take into recognition is you.The truth is that we cant really manage time.Everyone has the same 24hours in a day.What is needed then, is to manage how you use those 24hours.
The value of doing things lies in the fact that you choose to do the right thing at the right time.

Managing Yourself in Time:

Managing yourself in time, will allow you to focus your energy on your goals and limit the distractions that pull you off track.Pouring all your concentration into one activity will ensure you do it to the best of your ability.Your determination to accomplish a task has great influence on time, because nothing happens until you act.There are certain things about yourself you need to know, for you to effectively manage how you use time.

Know when you have the most Mentally energy?
Know when you have the most physically energy?
Know when you are most creative?
Know when you are most tired?

Your answers to these questions will help you understand yourself, and how to make the most use of time.

Your Activity And Time:

The value of your activity is that it has time as a function to take into consideration.Any task completed after the stipulated time, is seen as a failed task, however perfectly done.It then becomes important to know how to set time frame for your activity.Note that whenever time is misspent, and lost by not employing it for the design purpose, diligence has to be doubled for the future.You dont have the time enough, to waste it over things that are not in your schedule.Give your time only to the things you have planned for and avoid unnecesary distractions

Time Management

Do you ever sit and wonder where time has gone?Time is like a flying plane without a pilot thatgoes into the future.This simply implies that youdont control time, but you adjust to it.Time is a constant, 24hours makes a day and that doesntchange.You are the only one that change, for change is afunction of time. It becomes essential to know how to manage time.Remember that there is no bank where we can buy or recover lost time.Time never stops, it is used one way or the other.

Planning your day

Planning how your day goes will help you in many ways.Failing toplan is as good as planning to fail.24hours, however short and fleeting,is something that can be handled even by simple human beings like us. Remember, every day is precious, so you need to speed up. Thereforebegin eachday with a plan target.The best way to do this is to know earlywhat you want to happen, and how you would go about it.

Schedule Your Activities:
Schedule how long you will work on each activity outlined for the day. Decidewhen to begin and how long you work on a particular task. If you decide to workon a task for two hour, at exactly the end of the two hours, switch over to thenext agenda to be done.

If you fail to schedule your activities, you will drift from one activity to thenext, with very litle. Distraction will crop up and split your focus. This will wasteyour time while you try to pick up where you left off.