Kickstart Your Monday, Command Your Week: The A–Z of Time Management

Most of us want to manage our time wisely and it is imperative to manage our time well. As it is often said time is an equal opportunity employer. There are so many time management books and with the advent of technology we thought we will get more control which may not be the case. Here is my A - Z of time management which can help you towards getting the most out of the 24 hours we get every day.

Attention – You get in life what you pay attention to. It is important to pay attention only to the important things to you and ignore everything else. The more attention you pay to the things that matter to you the better control you have over your time. For example, we might want to keep up with all the latest developments, but it can also stress us out. It is better to check in with the news once or twice a day. If we overdo the point of keeping up with every news item which comes up, we will feel more stress. Focus on the vital few versus the trivial many.

Be focused – We all have 100 things pending. We have books we want to read, articles we want to write and multiple hobbies that we want to pursue. However, with limited time we need to be focused only on the things that matter. Focus on the vital few vs the trivial many repetition but worth repeating. Saying no is the most potent weapon in your arsenal of time management.

Clarity – All successful time managers absolutely know what they want out of their lives. They are also clear on their personal and organizational mission. Without crystal clear clarity you cannot be a successful time manager. Be clear on the objectives, vision and mission of your life. Write down goals for every area of your life and review them periodically. Plan your week and you will feel more in control. Of course to get even more clarity in life you can define your personal mission statement which can be your guide towards all your daily actions.

Discipline –Time Management is a discipline, and you need to view time as a perishable commodity. All successful time managers are disciplined with respect to meeting their schedule, managing their time and also ensuring very little time is spent on meaningless activities.

Energy – To get the most out of life with the time available you need to have a lot of energy. We have multiple demands with work, family and friends. To meet all those demands with a smile we need to maintain high energy levels. To maintain high energy sleep well, take adequate rest, exercise and eat well. Only if you are fresh, you manage your time well. This also means renewing and rejuvenating when you get an opportunity like the weekend to completely switch off from work related activities.

Forget yesterday – This is the key as we will always have things which we could have completed yesterday but didn’t. If we keep thinking of the things that we didn’t complete we won’t have the energy to complete what is needed today. The other aspect is most of us will think we could have used our time wisely earlier in our lives. The key is we all have the time available for the remainder of our lives. The key to your success is to concentrate on the time available vs the time that has already been spent.

Gift – View every 24 hours as a gift as it is indeed. Once you have this perspective you will automatically make sure you use your time effectively. The only question you should answer is “Is this the most important thing I should focus on now?” If the answer is no you should change that activity with something more important.

Hours – Some people advise that most productive people look into 24 hours in terms of minutes and plan accordingly. However, I think planning in hours is better. I believe you can concentrate on one thing for a maximum of 90- 120 minutes. Break down your tasks into 2-hour segments and block distraction. When you are working intensely block out social media and all notifications. Then take a break with a recommended walk to get fresh air and then come back to your work.

Interest – Develop interest in whatever you do for a living. If you don’t have that interest, then work becomes drudgery and you won’t have the motivation to manage yourself well. This is also one of the qualities of developing grit as Angela Duckworth has mentioned in the book of the same.

Joy– If we don’t have any joy in whatever we do there is no point in managing ourselves with the time available. Make sure every day you engage in activities that provide joy. For me it is reading, exercise, writing and listening to high energy music.

Don’t kram – Don’t schedule every minute of the day because that’s when you feel overwhelmed just looking at your calendar. Make sure you have those unscheduled down times on a daily basis, if possible, to do the things that make your heart sing. Being relaxed help us do better in everything we undertake. Solitude is one of the keys to every great achiever.

Love life – If you love life there is no need for time management as you will automatically want to make the most of the time available. Love your life and as mentioned earlier see it as a gift to showcase your remarkable talent. Irrespective of where you are on the pecking order or irrespective of your title or salary you are important and your life is valuable. Once you understand the deepest meaning for your life you will love your life which will result in you managing yourself better.

Manage yourself– We all get 24 hours but how we manage ourselves within that time is the key. Make sure you know what you are after and focus only on that. Warren buffet reportedly said “Write down 25 things. Then choose the top 5 and ignore the rest of the 20 things.” Our lives are valuable again worth repeating and time is precious. The way we use our time will ultimately determine where we end up in our lives. Make the most of the time you have on the highest priorities of your life.

No – No is the best word in your vocabulary of time management. The best thing to do is to never compare yourself with others. You might think others are doing much more than you but going down that path is not useful. You have to say no to the things that don’t move you towards your larger vision. Just do what you think moves you towards your vision and mission. Metaphorically put your blinders on and just move towards your dreams while appreciating others achievements.

Overlook – If you have not used your time well in the past there is no point in brooding over it now. Just overlook all the things that happened in the past and just focus on getting the most out of yourself this very day.

Prioritize – As Stephen Covey says “Don’t prioritize your schedule. Instead schedule your priorities.” Make a list of items to be completed and then focus only on the top priorities for that day. Doing this consistently will eventually lead us to achieve all our important goals.

Quiet – In order to get the most out of every day you need spend some time being quiet. When you are quiet you get great ideas and your mind becomes clear. You also feel like you have more time when you have some quiet time rather than moving fast between task to task. Don't worry if you are an introvert as it has been proven that introverts make better leaders. As Gandhi said, "There is more to life than increasing its speed." Don’t worry if you are an extrovert as well. Bring the best of your personality and we can all reach our best with our personality.

Reflection – This is best done through a journal. Every week note down what went well, what can be done better. Your life is worth recording and your life does matter. In the weeks when I do this, I feel better about myself. There is always something we have done well in any week. As Peter Drucker said, "Follow effective action with quiet reflection and from that quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

Stop doing list – We all have to-do lists but to be effective you need stop do lists. I think Peter Drucker was the first to mention this idea. For example, you might have something like I don’t want to drink on consecutive days. This helps in ensuring you stick to your agreements. Since we are human, we will fall behind a lot of times. So be gentle with yourself and make sure the next time you don't repeat the same action that you are unhappy with.

Teachable – When you have a teachable attitude you are open to new ideas. This helps because if you are flexible and learn something new you will save some time implementing the new solution.

Upbeat – As a great time manager you need to maintain an upbeat attitude. You can do this by smiling, being enthusiastic in your communication and maintaining an overall optimistic stance. This will help you have more joy with the 24 hours you are blessed with.

Vision - I know vision is always associated with leadership but to me all good time managers have a great vision on where they want to be in the future. They begin with the end in mind by executing flawlessly with the time available to reach the ultimate vision of the organization.

Work – A lot of time management experts say you have to view your work in such a way that you are paid hourly. If you prioritize your work with the 9 hours per day and complete all the work, then you free up sometime for other personal pursuits. Work has to be planned.

Avoid Xtreme positions – There are some gray areas in time management. Be prepared not to adopt any extreme positions and be open to change in schedule. Being rigid will create internal discontent.

Yardstick – As a time manager you need to have a measure against which you will be managed. Metrics are the key to successful analysis. Have yardsticks defined for every part of your life and reflect on those weekly. Define your success metrics and measure according to your definition. If you are doing well per your definition then you are successful.

Zenith – Your job as an effective time manager is to ensure you reach the zenith which means reaching the ultimate summit of your potential. Once you reach the predetermined outcome you have defined then your success is assured. Once you reach the summit you will know you have used your time well.

There you have it the A –Z of Time Management. Of course, this is not easy to implement but a gentle reminder on what is really required to manage ourselves well on our life journey. Time management is the key to get the most out of life. Wish you a great productive day and week ahead. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.