The audio recording was about to finish when Mike Litman asked Bob Proctor what his advice to the listeners was. He answered,”You cannot manage your time, manage your activities!” That was something I’ve never heard anywhere before.

This was a rather odd comment because he was talking about the law of attraction the whole time. So I figured it has to be something of huge significance to be mentioned at such an inappropriate juncture. Don’t you think?

Well, I wasn’t really convinced until I watched this uplifting movie. Click on the image below to watch the movie now:

So I realised I didn’t really spend my $86,400 that well yesterday and the day before that. Fine, maybe even the day before that - since I’ve been watching TV shows all day (that’s a slippery slope, my friend!)

So, since that $86,400 is so important to all of us and some of my friends are undergoing exams at their respective Universities (and catching the Procrastination Bug) I’ve decided to do some research, and I’ve got a very comprehensive but non-exhaustive list of tips to manage your time better.

Time Management : The Big Picture

“You can’t manage time, it just is. So “time management” is a mislabeled problem, which has little chance of being an effective approach. What you really manage is your activity during time, and defining outcomes and physical actions required is the core process required to manage what you do.”

- David Allen

Now with that in mind, we’re going to tackle this problem from the inside out. We’re going to agree that we really can’t manage our time, only our activities. Let’s start:

1. Create Your Day. The best choice you can make in managing your time is taking 10 minutes to plan it before you’re even given the gift. As you and I have seen in the video, your 86,400 seconds is equivalent to $86,400 so isn’t it only natural to plan how you’re going to spend it? Just like how you don’t go about spending your money and then realising you’ve overspent for the month, you don’t spend your time doing what you feel like doing and then realising the day’s gone by without you doing anything productive.

But How Do I Go About Creating My Day?

2. Take Care of the Big Things First. When I say Big Things, I mean the things in your life that are important to your purpose. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Just ask yourself this question,”What is one thing I don’t want to do today but if I did it, it would move my life forward?” In other words, do the things that are crucial to your success first. I’ve found that it’s easier to get things done this way because I know that it will bring me the biggest rewards and pleasure.
   
   Disclaimer: Sometimes there are days when I can’t seem to get myself to do it, so I start with the small achievable things on my list first to get myself going. Once the momentum is built up, I would immediately switch to doing the things that are really important.

Ok I Have My List, Now What?

3. Do it, Delegate It or Dump It? An important thing to remember is that you might not have to do everything yourself. I find a lot of comfort in that simply because it just means more time to myself. Now, simply decide if the things on your list :
   
   1) Really needs to be done? Will it make a difference to my life if I didn’t do it? If it doesn’t, dump it!

   2) Really needs to be done by me? Can I ask someone else to help me do it while I tend to the bigger things? If you can, delegate it!

Done! Now What Do I Do?

4. Stick To It. Keep your schedule with you all the time and make sure you stick to it. No use planning the day and still going off track. That’s it!

Time Management : The Nitty Grittys

Now that we have an overview of what we should do, let’s go through the actual process of doing something productively - in the least time possible.

1. Win The First Inch. There is magic in taking the first step. I normally take the smallest step first. I’ve tried this strategy many times and it’s worked like a charm. One thing that I have found to be an obstacle is trying to be perfect on the first step. I’ve learnt time and again that the real piece of art comes with the second draft, not the first. So, you don’t have to be perfect - don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Just win the first inch and you’ll find that you have momentum to finish the race and maybe even go the extra mile. If you want to watch an inspiring video on how life’s a game of inches, watch Al Pacino’s outstanding performance here.
2. Begin With The End In Mind. Maybe you already know what I’m talking about in the above tip. But don’t you just hate it when you know the first step is going to help you on your journey of a thousand miles but your body just doesn’t want to budge out of that chair?! Not to worry my friend, I’ve been there too many times and here’s my solution. Write down whatever you want to accomplish in front of you. Make it outstandingly HUGE and put it in front of you so the moment you want to procrastinate, it will be there in your face! Quite ruthless, I know…
3. Set A Time Limit. So, you’ve decided to start doing something. If you’re like me, you want to place a mark of excellence on it so people know it’s from you. So what do we do? We give ourselves a long time to do it. EKKKKK! Wrong answer! Let me introduce you to:
   
   Parkinson’s Law. I originally typed this as Parkinson’s Theory but I just found out it’s a Law. That means it’s just like gravity and attraction - you can’t escape it. So let’s make it work for us instead, shall we? Parkinson’s Law states that “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” The British Historian concluded this from analyzing why large organisations become bloated and lethargic.

   Now doesn’t that sound familiar? Law of the Harvest.. ring a bell? Basically, the idea behind this is that we will complete an activity in a certain time frame if we set our minds to it. Enough said.

4. Take A Break, Have A Kit-Kat. Or your choice of guilty pleasure. ;) But seriously, the moment your mind starts to wander to what you want to have for dinner, or how great it would be if you didn’t have to do what you’re doing at the moment, it’s time to take a break. It’s common sense that your productivity is going to fall when your mind’s on other things anyway. Don’t be too hard on yourself - give yourself a treat for the work you’ve already completed!
5. Focus On The Results, Not The Process. This might seem similar to the second tip, but the difference lies in that you do this to remind yourself of what you’ll get in the end. We all know the process can be a real pain in the arse sometimes but thinking of that is not going to serve you. And of course, you know why : “What you think about, you bring about.” So let’s use that to our advantage again. You remember the HUGE goal you’re supposed to have in front of you? Take 10 seconds to visualise having achieved that goal and let the feelings really sink into you. Now, resume your activity with a new spirit!
6. Rinse And Repeat. Congratulations you’ve done it! Let’s move on to the next task. Wait! Have you taken your break yet?

Bonus Tips: Better Time Management In 30 Seconds

• Take Note Of The Time Suckers. There are going to be some activities you do that takes up all the time and yields little results. Maybe you don’t like doing it or maybe you’re just not good at it. Write it down and this new-found awareness can be converted into more time if you find ways to be more productive in this area.
  
  There are also going to be activities that takes up time and yield no results. For me, it’s checking E-mails. I don’t know why I used to check my E-mail by the hour but I’ve reduced it to twice a day, and it has given me more time to do other things
• Be Accountable To Someone You know a couple of entries back when I did the Happiness Project video? Did you know that I spent hours and hours “thinking” about it and doing nothing else? I decided to put a stop to it by telling my friend Alex to hold me accountable. I got it done in 3 hours. That’s amazing considering how long he has been asking for it - almost two weeks!

Talk back to me:

I would really love to know what you think of this post. Do you have other tips to add to this list?

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