Good and Bad News About Managing Your Time By Eddie Williams Why do most of us wake up with our first thought being, “let me survive another day!” At the end of a long, interrupt-driven, and hectic day we collapse with our final waking thought being, “Whew! I survived another day.” With the myriad of professional and personal to-do's, are we busier now that we have ever been? We struggle daily to manage the things we have to do, the places we have to be, and the volume of information we have to handle. There must be a better way! Well there is … and there's both good news and bad news about it. Here's the Bad News. You cannot manage your time! Time Management is an oxymoron, like the terms “jumbo shrimp” or “pretty ugly”. We have all the time there is: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Now for the Good News! There are only three critical time management “habits”. You are already doing them. Realize that it takes about 21 days to modify a habit - even if it feels uncomfortable for awhile. For example, fold your arms. Now fold them in the exact opposite way. Doesn't it feel uncomfortable? Well, consider this definition of insanity; “Doing things the same way you have always done them and expect different results.” Why not make “slight” or “incremental” changes to your old Time Management habits. Here's your first habit. You refer daily to a calendar. Sometimes 2, 4, or 6 of them. Modify your habit so that only One Master Calendar runs your life and contains only information on where you physically need “TO-BE” at a specific time and place. Also, do not put down all those “to-do's” on the calendar ---- ONLY “BE THERE'S”. Now for your second habit. You write down “to-do's” On what? …. Sticky notes, legal pads, scraps of paper, … anything you can find. Modify your habit so you use a SERIES of 31 To-Do's. Why? Because 90% of the things you need to do, you will do within the next 30 days. Have a to-do list for each day that goes out 30 days. Keep a “DON'T FORGET” list for the things that are beyond thirty day, and plug them in to the appropriate date when they get into your 30-day window. Finally, your third habit. You take notes during meetings, conversations, and phone calls. What do you do with those notes? You either put them in a FILE or atop one of the many PILES on your desk or workplace. These piles are STRESSORS, DISTRACTORS, even mounds of VISUAL REMINDERS that you've collected to remind you of stuff. Modify this habit, by setting up a filing system (Ex: Desk Drawer handing A-Z file) that allows you to file this information alphabetically by the person's name, organization, or topic. You will naturally tend to file information by one of these three ways. By very slightly modifying the habits you are already doing --- using calendars, writing down to-do's, and taking notes, you improve your ability to plan, keep commitments, track details, prioritize, retrieve information, reduce stress, and manage your life. Eddie Williams is a Consultant for Weber Associates in Atlanta, GA. Weber Associates offers workshops, presentations, and keynote speeches on such topics as, personal productivity, stress management, conflict resolution, team building, or just pure motivation. These allow organizations to “make progress on purpose.”