Diamond Author
Effective Time Management Strategies
Can be so liberating and so emotionally comforting that if you lack them you really feel like you're missing something. You know deep in your heart that there is a different kind of life. As a matter of fact, you see it in some people around you.
You're Green With Envy
As your strategist friends get much more done than you do and look better at the same time. (Frazzled does have a way of wearing on the looks, doesn't it?)
To make matters worse, they are actually able to spend quality time with their family, to cook decent meals, and (now this is the proverbial salt in the wound) somehow have time for themselves.
If You Have Just a Smidgen of Talent
At identifying situations where a strategy is needed, and then actually taking the initiative to create one, you not only feel, but actually gain, a real sense of power--not to mention a real sense of popularity in your circle of friends. Oh yeah, you are the envy and are highly esteemed.
Your Opinion Is Sought After
From friends of friends. This is because you have a developed a reputation of being a person who gets most, if not all, of what you need to get done done and even a lot of what you want to do done.
Your House Is the Envy of Your Friends
As it's clean, your kids have clean clothes (put up at that), and your family is well-fed (as opposed to just fed). Your bills are paid on time, your car is maintained, as is your yard and things that come up don't throw you into a frenzy.
Gee, you even have time for the occasional vacation. Yeah, nothing to envy there!
On the Flip Side
Are the firefighters. These are people who don't really strategize-probably because they are too busy putting out fires. Instead of controlling time, time controls them as they rush from emergency to emergency.
Instead of Realizing
That soccer practice is tonight (like it is every single Monday night) and planning something quick and easy (maybe in the crock pot?) they think about dinner approximately 4 minutes and 23 seconds before they pull into McDonalds for junk food their kid is going to throw up as soon as he starts running.
Smart, huh? They may know they need to do better but just never seem to get around to it (it's probably that putting out fires thing again).
One of the Worst Self-Created Roles
In life is that of a fallen strategist. They used to be pretty good at creating effective time management strategies, but lately...well...not so good. They probably feel a bigger loss and resulting sense of failure than someone who is always pining to be that way, but never quite developed the ability.
They, on the other hand, have been on both sides of the proverbial fence and know without a doubt that the grass really is greener on the other side. They've had the clean house, well-fed kids, and time for a relaxing bubble bath life-and gave it up.
Yep-Using the Firefighting Analogy-
Just let that lifestyle go up in flames. They quit strategizing for the new situations that came up and, probably slowly and imperceptibly, their life became the mess it was before they took the time to learn effective time management strategies.
Slowly but surely firefighters can become strategists. This is possible, I promise. Will it take work? Yeah. Will it be a quick fix? Maybe.
The Trick
Is to get a handle on your small day-to-day must-do activities then the bigger normally-ruin-your-whole-day stuff won't be so bad.
About this Author
So how do you get a handle on the all-important to-do list? If you'll visit me at http://www.theremustbeabetterway.net or http://www.squidoo.com/timemanagementstrategies I'll share with you a glimpse into my own personal life and some of the time management strategies, as well as tools, that I use.
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