Managing your time effectively can play a big role in your job search success. Developing good time management methods can be a big challenge for job seekers. When you lose your job, you suddenly lose a lot of the structure that was once a part of your day. It will be up to you to create that structure to ensure that you will reach your job search goals.

Tips on Time Management for Job Seekers

1. Set smart goals.

• Smart goal setting is closely tied in with managing your time well. When you determine the results you want to achieve you'll be better able to plan and accomplish the tasks that will lead you to those goals.
• Determine your own big picture goals and then create an action plan that will get you there.
• Create daily prioritized to do lists based on your action plan.
• Reward yourself for accomplishing your daily goals and tasks. Whether you enjoy a movie, a good book or a walk in the park, create rewards and savor them when you have met your targets.
• At the end of each day, plan and write down your activities for the next day; it will help you to keep your momentum going from day to day.

2. Beat procrastination.

• Break your tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. People often procrastinate because they feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of a task. Determine some productive tasks that you know you can manage and start there. Try to avoid thinking about the entire task at one time, and remember the Peruvian proverb "little by little, one walks far."
• Do not wait for the right mood to strike or the right time to appear before you start working on your job search tasks; it may never happen.
• Make yourself accountable to someone else. This strategy is particularly helpful for accomplishing those daunting tasks that you know you should do, but you find really difficult. Tell someone supportive that you intend to accomplish a specific task by a certain time and you will report to that person when you have finished the task. Ask that person to call you if you do not report back to them by the agreed upon time to determine whether you have finished the task. Peer pressure works.

3. Beware of the trap of self sabotage.

• Self sabotage is tricky. You need to be willing to really examine yourself and your deeper motives in order to beat self sabotage.
• If you are not following through on your job search tasks, consider whether you have any underlying fear that you may fail.
• You may even have a fear that you'll succeed, and that success may bring things into your life which don't fit with your deeper view of yourself.
• Determining the source of self sabotage requires some really honest soul searching, but if you're consistently not following through on tasks that will lead to achieving your career goals, do consider whether there is something inside you that you want more than you want your goal. That may be exactly what is preventing you from achieving your goal.

4. Create a schedule.

• Creating a daily schedule for yourself will help you to manage your time during your job search.
• Set your alarm, get up and get dressed just as you would if you were going to work. That routine helps you to maintain your confidence, manage your time and stay focused on your job search goals.
• Set office hours. These are the times when you will be working on your job search. Expect people to respect that time.
• Before you dive into your tasks for the day, prioritize them and determine when you will be best able to complete each task. For example, if you have children, try to complete tasks that require focus and concentration while your kids are at school or having a nap. Save simpler tasks that you can do with your children, such as mailing your resumes for later when they are home from school or after they wake up from their nap.
• Within your schedule, allow times to give yourself a break. While finding a job is a full time job, you need and deserve breaks in order to work effectively.

5. Use your community resources.

• Even if you have computer access at home, you may want to head out to your employment resource center or your library a couple of times a week and work on your job search there.
• If you can't seem to get focused at home, consider using your local employment resource center or library as your office away from home.
• You can think of it as your office, where you go to work on the task of job searching.
• There will be fewer personal distractions there and you may be more focused and able to stay on task.

It's important to treat your job search with the same focus and seriousness of purpose that you would bring to a job. You won't have anyone but yourself monitoring your progress, so managing your time effectively becomes your responsibility. If you create the structure you need, you will be bringing yourself many steps closer to reaching your job search goals.