Time Management - The Ultimate Oxymoron

Get a grip. Is it possible to manage time? Can you make the clock run faster? Can you make it run slower. You have no control over time. Each of us begins the day with 86,400 seconds. It's your personal inventory. You use the time or you lose the time. There are simply no alternatives. Each week has 168 hours, no more no less. While managing time is out, managing yourself is in. Remember, as Henry Ford once said, "Don't complain, don't explain."

Here are ten techniques for achieving more in less time.

1. Get up 30 minutes earlier every day. Do the math and see how much extra time it gives you over the span of one year.

2. Take a course in self-management or one in priority management.

3. Commit to keeping a time log for one entire week. Record every activity and the time you give it. Your time time busters will become very apparent.

4. Throughout the day routinely and quietly ask yourself, "Am I making the very best use of my time right now?"

5. Never do a task if there is a more important one to be done. Never! Foregoing priorities gets you off track more than anything else.

6. Build flex time into every day's schedule to allow for the unexpected. To do this is wise, not to do this is foolhardy.

7. Buy a timer. Time all phone calls, meetings, and projects. There is nothing more precious than your time. Don't you squander it and don't permit others to steal your time.

8. Set aside one hour every week getting rid of things (personally and professionally) you don't need and can live with out. It's called simplifying. Most of us have too much stuff that we can live without.

9. Take a few moments to write your own epitaph. Really do it. After you write it, look at it, and ask yourself "Is this the life I'm leading?" It's never too late to make changes in your life. I take that back, it's probably too late when someone else starts writing your epitaph.

10. Learn to say NO! Try saying it firmly and softly at least once a day to any unreasonable requests. In my new book, "57 Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life," I devoted an entire chapter on The Art Of Saying No. It's on page 73. Use this link to get your copy. http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/javanof.asp?MerchantID=39581&ProductID=1568139

There is a reason why you need more time. It's because you're attempting too much. Plan your life and plan your days. If you want more balance in your life . . . schedule it.

Jim Meisenheimer is the No-Brainer Sales Training Guru. His sales techniques and selling skills focus on practical ideas that get immediate results. You can discover all his secrets by contacting him at (800) 266-1268 or e-mail: [email protected]

Use this link to sign-up for Jim's FREE No-Brainer Selling Tips Newsletter and to get your copy of my Special Report titled, "The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do." http://www.meisenheimer.com