Time Management - Lesson Two: Priortize Your Log

If you were jotting down all the activities you did for at least three days, as suggested in Lesson #1, you should now sit down with a coffee or beverage of your choice and see how you have really been spending your time.

As you go through your log (remember you were noting the time at each change of activity)put a number 1 beside the things you did that were 'Must Do's.' What's a must do? Well you have to wash your face, brush your teeth, bathe or shower, that's a given, so pick out all the grooming type things you did each day. There may be other things you decide are must do's so put a #1 beside those as well. These are daily duties that only you can perform.

Now, look over the log and see how many items fit into a category called, 'Household Chores.' This would include anything you did that contributed to keeping the home running, such as: washing the floor, cleaning the windows, vacumning etc. Put a #2 beside those.

Found all those 2's? Now look through your list and find everything you could label as: Obligations. These are things that you do because someone else wants you to do them or you have committed yourself to doing them for whatever reason. They would include: meetings, volunteer activities, school helping or visiting, errands, your day job or part-time work outside of the home. Put a #3 next to these.

---

Now go throught the log and put a #4 beside all the 'Relaxation and Social' activities. This would include, outings with friends, calls to and from friends, reading, bowling etc.

If there are other activites left over, put them all into a #5 category and sort through them to see if they fit into any of the above.

Once you have put each activity into a category, and assigned a number to them, take a look to see if the categories are balanced. Are they fairly equal in the number of activities listed? Are there many more #1's than #4's or is it the other way around?

Take a sip of coffee and ponder your list, go over your categories and take note of how you've been spending your time. It's time to make choices and that's the hard part for most people.

---

Within each category, break down the activities the same way. Assign numbers from the most important (#1)to the least important or things that can be delegated (#5.)

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic