Most people have often wondered how successful entrepreneurs and drop out billionaires balance their acts despite running multiple businesses. Are you an entrepreneur or manager? Do you want to learn how to effectively manage your time and balance your acts? Then read on because I am about to reveal some vital tips to building a business successfully by managing your time effectively.
How do you build a successful business and still have time for your family and personal affairs? This is often the question I get from aspiring entrepreneurs and protégés. Well, the answer lies in two factors: time management and delegation; but in this article, I will strictly be focusing on time management.
Now what is time management all about?
Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle also known as the '80:20 Rule' states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio '80:20' is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.
Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.
What does it take to effectively manage your time?
There are more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.
Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big or small your business task, everything counts. Each knowledge you acquire; each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.
What are the benefits of effective time management?
Having a balanced lifestyle should be the key result in having personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp.
Time management is about getting results, not about being busy. The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone's life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.
The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue.
The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.
The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relationships and being an active contributor to society.
The career aspect involves school and work.
The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.
The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.
Thoroughly planning and having a “to do list” for each of the key areas may not be very practical but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area’ then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.
How to Manage your Personal Time Effectively
Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small. A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.
1. One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term goals often.
2. A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.
3. Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced lifestyle.
4. Each and every one of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to tell when to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.
5. Learn to say "No". You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.
6. Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.
7. Try and get the co-operation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.
8. Don't procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.
9. Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.
10. Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.
From the moment you integrate time management skills into your life, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.
As a final note, these are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual. As the saying goes; personal time management is the art and science of building a better life. Work on prioritizing your task and managing your time effectively; I will see you at the top.