Manage Your Time, Manage Your Life
February 12, 2008
When people find out that I am a mother to three children (11 and under), cookbook author, public speaker, taking classes, involved in Toastmasters…you get the idea – they look at me in disbelief. Prior to starting college, I ran a pretty tight schedule with a part-time job, activities and organizations and school. The more you practice any skill, the most likely outcome is that you will become better at the said skill and eventually you will have mastery around it.
If you can manage your time, you can certainly manage your life. Time management is one of the areas of life that a large majority of people struggle with. Where are you on the topic of time management? Could you stand to improve your relationship to time? One of the many things that I do each week that works very, very well is to make a list of the things that I need and want to accomplish for the week.
I call this my “Things to do” list and I type it up on the computer numbering each item. I start the list by looking at my Franklin-Covey Planner and typing up any things that have to happen on Monday, Tuesday and so forth through the week. Once I have noted the conference calls, appointments, phone calls and other action items that are required to happen on a given day, I then list out the other items that either need to be done or that I would like to accomplish.
In total, my “Things To Do” list typically contains about 40 items. How much of that do I actually get done? Well, it all depends on the week. In a good week I get 50% of the items done. In a really great week, I can range up in the 75% range. And it flectuates due to items that are not in the plan like car issues, illnesses and other unscheduled meetings and plans.
If you don’t engage in a practice like this and you were willing to do it on a weekly basis, I know it would make a big difference in your life. I do my list on Sunday evening (usually), and then punch it and put it in my planner. It then drives the week’s activities! If you can manage your time, you can manage your life! Have a great week!
Love,
Lisa
