“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” -Tolstoy

Developing time management skills is a journey that may begin with this Guide, but needs practice and other guidance along the way. One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies/work in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc. Time management is the base of good study/work habits.

Why there is so much stress on Time Management? Is it so important?

Yes. Time is our most precious asset, and yet we let it slip away.

· To be able to have control over your life - manage your time, don't let it manage you!

· To be healthier and happier (less stress).

It seems that there is never enough time in a day. But, since we all get the same 24 hours, why is it that some people achieve so much more with their time than others? The answer lies in good Time management.

Are you struggling to find time to learn time management?

These days, time seems to be at a premium. We have devices that keep us constantly connected with work, with friends and family, and sometimes even with complete strangers. As a result, it's easy to get distracted. If you're like most of us, you have a lot to accomplish.

The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well. By using Time Management techniques given in this article, you can improve your ability to function effectively, even when the time is tight and the pressures are high.

It's important that you develop effective strategies for managing your time to balance the conflicting demands of time for study, leisure, earning money and job hunting. Time management skills are valuable in job hunting, but also in many other aspects of life: from revising for examinations to working in a vacation job. Sometimes it may seem that there isn't enough time to do everything that you need to. This can lead to a buildup of stress. When revising for examinations or during your final year when you have to combine the pressures of intensive study with finding time to apply for jobs good management of your time can be particularly important. Once we have identified ways in which we can improve the management of our time, we can begin to adjust our routines and patterns of behaviour to reduce any time-related stress in our lives.

Good time management requires an important shift in focus from activities to results. Being busy is not the same as being effective. Good time management lets you work SMARTER- not harder- so you get more done in less time.

What is “Time Management”?

“Time Management” refers to the way that you organize and plan your time as how long you spend on specific activities. It may seem counter-intuitive to dedicate your precious time to learn about time management because of its enormous benefits.

· Greater productivity and efficiency.

· A better professional reputation.

· Less stress.

· Increased opportunities for advancement.

· Greater opportunities to achieve important life and career goals.

Failing to manage your time effectively can have some very undesirable consequences:

· Missed deadlines.

· Inefficient work flow.

· Poor work quality.

· A poor professional reputation and a stalled career.

· Higher stress levels.

Spending a little time learning about time-management techniques will have huge benefits now and throughout your career.

Find out how you spend a typical 24-hour day:

Following the table given below, enter the hours for each activity, total being 24 hours. Don’t be discouraged if you have to go back and change the time spent on each activity.

Classes/work	Studying/preparation	Family commitments:
Sleeping:	Personal care/ grooming:	Meal preparation/ eating/clean-up:
Exercise/sports:	Socializing/ entertainment (with friends):	Relaxing/TV/ video games, etc. (alone):
Transportation (school, work, etc):	Work/internship:	Other:

Time management skills and techniques

Time management skills are your abilities to recognize and solve personal time management problems. The goal of these time management lessons is to show you what you can do to improve those skills.

With good time management skills one can control one’s time and life, stress and energy and can progress at work. One can easily balance work and personal/family lives. And all the time management skills can be learned. What is required in the first instance is the awareness of the common Time Management problems.

If you already know how you should be managing your time and still not doing it, don’t give up. What you are overlooking is the psychological side, i.e., the psychological obstacles behind your personality. These may be, depending on your personal situation/s, the reasons why you procrastinate, delegate, have difficulties in saying ‘no’ and in taking/making Time Management decisions.

Some of the important Time Management Skills are as given below:

1. Set the Goals.

To start managing time effectively, you need to set goals. When you know where you're going, you can then figure out what exactly needs to be done, in what order. Without proper goal setting, you'll fritter your time away on a confusion of conflicting priorities. Set yourself clearly defined specific goals. These goals should be realistic and achievable. You need to first examine your present situation to assess your goals and the proper action plan that needs to be taken to achieve the goals. Have a contingency or an alternative plan to achieve your goals. Break goals down into their components so that you can accomplish them one step at a time. Write these steps down, and try to be as specific as you can when you do this. Try to complete one task before you go on to the next.

People tend to neglect goal setting because it requires time and effort. What they fail to consider is that a little time and effort put in now saves an enormous amount of time, effort and frustration in the future.

2. Keeping a to-do List and Prioritize.

Make a list of the things that you want to do on daily and weekly basis. A daily list of things that need to be done should be an essential part of planning. You should have a reminder system to tell you ‘when you need to do what’: don’t try to remember everything, it may lead to disaster. At the simplest, use a diary to write down the list. Carry a pen and paper or organizer wherever you go. Prioritizing, is what needs to be done is important. Without it, you may work hard but won’t be achieving the required results.

Someone who works hard and well organized but spends all the time on unimportant tasks may be efficient but not effective. To be effective, you need to decide what tasks are important and urgent and focus on them. Prioritize tasks on list into important / not important and urgent/non-urgent. Update your list regularly, crossing off completed tasks and adding new tasks that need to be done. Regularly review your progress towards your goals and revise plans as appropriate to take account of unforeseen changes. There are many advantages of using a to-do-list. Following are some of them:

· Focuses your mind on important objectives

· You are less likely to forget to do tasks

· Writing a list helps order your thoughts

· It helps show the bigger picture

· You don't need to hold everything in your head.

· It saves time

· It helps you decide on priorities: the most important and the most urgent

· You are less likely to become sidetracked

· You get the reward of ticking off your achievements

· You feel more in control

· You have a record of what you've done

· You always have something to work on

3. Avoiding Procrastination

“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” Benjamin Franklin.

"I'll get to it later" attitude shows your downfall. After too many ‘laters’ the work piles up so high that any task seems impossible. Procrastination is as tempting as it is deadly. Then you need to figure out why. Perhaps you are afraid of failing? It is very important that you manage your fear of doing things you don’t want to do and realize that the fear is often far worse than any possible negative result. Try to take immediate decisions whenever required. The best time to do something is NOW. Once you know why you procrastinate then you can plan to get out of such habit. Reward yourself for getting tasks done in time.

"Don't talk the talk, instead walk the walk". Some people constantly talk about the things they are going to do but then keep procrastinating. Take action if you wish to get results.

4. Perseverance

When things are not working out, you need to have patience and be firm and learn how to take a positive attitude towards frustration and failure. You learn through mistakes and that leads you towards the right solution. It is said that the people who have achieved the most have made the most mistakes! Try to be aware that satisfaction comes as much from pursuing goals as from achieving them. Being assertive helps here.

5. Organize your Time

Identify those areas where you are wasting time and try to reduce them. A good way to do this is to log everything that you do for a week in detail and then check your record to see how you use or misuse your time. What is important is, understanding the factors that affect the time that time you have available for work. You not only have to schedule priority tasks, you have to leave room for contingencies. You should know to handle the interruptions or distractions too.

6. Use a Time Log and Scheduling

By using a time log you can stop wastage of time. First, make a chart for next seven days divided into half an hour intervals starting from the time you get up till you go to bed. At the end of the week check your time log and ask yourself these questions:

At what time of the day do I do my most efficient work?

Are there any time periods that I could use more productively?

Some are most alert in the morning hours where as others concentrate best during noon or evening. Hence, schedule your most important tasks during such times of the day and week. A time log can be particularly useful at times of pressure.

Efficient time management allows one to handle emergencies that are bound to occur in day to day activities without compromising on the routine work. Once a person gets accustomed to leading a regular flow in life, he/she will learn to stay away from other distractions. As goes the saying ‘Time and Tide wait for none’, no matter how much one manages things around can’t retrieve them again, hence it is better to stay focused than complaining later about the loss or lack of time. Managing the time well increases the flow of activities and productivity. Time is a scarce resource and no matter how rich or poor one is, each individual gets the same amount of time in a day. Utilizing time with the aid of skills and tools will enable one to achieve desired results. One is sure to become productive as with reduced wasted time and energy will enhance the creativity and will guide through in doing right work at right time.

REFERENCES:

David Allen, “Getting Things Done, the Art of Stress free productivity”

Stephen R. Covey, “First Things First”

Stephen R. Covey, “7 Habits of highly effective people”

http://www.mindtools.com

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/time.htm

http://www.time-management-guide.com