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Time Management

Submitted by Lorene Bartos, UNL Extension Educator

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Do the months seem to be flying by? Does it seem like there are fewer hours in the day? This is the time of year we think about all the things needing to be done or would like to have done. Time demands are different for each person and family. Let's take a look at what consumes most of a family's time. Major time demands include personal time, jobs, family time, home/yard/car time, friend and community time. Many families are very involved in sports activities year round. To effectively manage one's time and achieve the goals one has set, follow these suggested tips:

Set Goals — Choose goals which are specific, measurable, realistic and achievable. Goals can give creative people a much needed sense of direction.

Spend Time Planning and Organizing — Take time to think and plan—organize in a way that make sense to you.

Prioritize — Prioritize time to concentrate your work on items with the greatest reward.

Use a TO DO List — Some people thrive on a daily TO DO list, other combine it with a calendar or schedule, while others keep a running list. Some have mental lists while others write them down.

Be Flexible — Allow time for interruptions and directions. It is suggested to plan 50 percent of your time and leave the other 50 percent to handle interruptions and emergencies.

Consider Your Biological Prime Time — Are you a "morning person" or "night owl”? When do you accomplish the most? Knowing your best time and using it to accomplish your tasks will help your effective time management.

Do the Right Things Right — Doing the right thing is effectiveness; doing things right is efficiency. Focus first on effectiveness and then concentrate on efficiency.

Eliminate the Urgent — Urgent tasks have short-term consequences. Work at reducing the urgent things you must do so you'll have time for the priorities.

Practice the Art of Intelligent Neglect — Eliminate the trivial tasks or those not having long-term consequences.

Avoid Being a Perfectionist — Perfectionism, paying unnecessary attention to detail, can be a form of procrastination.

Conquer Procrastination — When you avoid a task, sometimes it helps to break it into smaller tasks and/or set a time limit to complete the task.

Learn To Say "NO" — A small word but hard to say. Focus on your goals and saying "NO" to the unimportant things in life will get easier."

Reward Yourself — Celebrate your achievements of goals. Promise yourself a reward for a job completed and them make sure you indulge in the reward.

Now is the time to take a look at how you are doing and handling tasks and other things needing to be done in the days and months ahead. Involve the whole family. You will find everyone will work together. Your time will be used wisely and you can enjoy a job done with a fun reward.