Wouldn't it be nice if we each had an extra hour or two every day? That would feel great, but we're all limited to 24.
That's why time is our most valuable commodity. We can't buy or rent more of it.
The only way to make time work for us is to manage it well. We must spend it wisely each and every day, because we can't save it up. Once it's gone, it's gone.
Experts say that managing time means we must manage ourselves in relation to it. We should monitor what we do and how we do it, so we're protecting our time.
These tips can help:
_ Keep your to-do list in front of you all day. Write down five or six things you need to accomplish. If you write down more, you're likely not going to do them.
_ Tackle your single biggest issue before noon. This might be handing over your taxes to your accountant or enrolling in a class you need. If you do all the small things first, you'll never have time to get your main concern of the day taken care of.
_ Make some good decisions every single day. Use small bits of time to make up your mind on an action you need to take. Spend five minutes scheduling a dental appointment or open up a savings account online for your child's college fund.
_ Figure out how to delegate or hire help. This way, you multiply your efforts. Ask your teenage son to run an errand this weekend or bite the bullet and call a service to paint your porch. You can accomplish more, if you stop trying to do everything by yourself.
"My time seems to flow much better, if I feel energetic," says a physical fitness trainer we'll call Aaron. "Believe me, there are days I don't want to go to the gym. But, if I do, I can feel my body creating more energy."
Aaron also says he's noticed his energy is lower if he is worried about something.
"Many of my clients feel stressed before they start working out," says Aaron. "They'll mention financial problems or problems with their kids. I tell them, 'Keep a journal, start writing down actions you can take to reverse the stress. Don't let worry pile up on you.'"
Most of us know it takes twice as much time, hence twice the energy, to accomplish something if we're worried.
"If someone starts affirming they will accomplish something, they usually will," says a counselor at a New York health and wellness center. We'll call him Kevin.
"Results will start to happen if you believe it's possible to reach a goal," says Kevin. "I jokingly tell my clients they will lose weight and get fit when they focus and focus hard. They'll stop wasting time."
A medical assistant we'll call Peggy says her New Year's goal is always the same. "I vow to lose weight and get in shape," she told us. Peggy says she finally admitted how many weeks and months she'd already wasted on failing to focus.
"Cranking up my determination since January has helped," Peggy told us. "I've lost 12 pounds and one dress size."
Peggy says that managing time to get things done is not really about the clock. "It's about managing your mental and physical energy," she emphasizes. "Focusing like a laser beam and powering through something is often the real time-saver."
