The Importance of Time Management

This morning, I was taking my cat, Sassy, to the groomer. This is not a pleasant task as she earns her name daily but especially when riding in the car, she wails constantly! So the minutes seem like hours. While I was stopped at a red light, it seemed like that light would never turn green! I don't recall it being so long. Although I wasn't actually running late, I was anxious to get the trip over with so it felt like I was running late.Have you ever noticed that when you are "running late":
Every light turns red
Someone in front of you drives below the speed limit
You get behind a school bus
There is an accident ahead
You realize you are nearly out of gasIt seems like the whole world is rallied against you. Why does this happen? It is simply the Law of Attraction! You are focused on being late! Next time, try repeating over and over "No worries, I am right on time." Or, you could learn to manage your time better so you never feel like you are running late!I am one of those people who hates to be late. But there are people in this world who are ALWAYS late. Have you ever heard the saying, "she is going to be late for her own funeral?" It is simply a matter of time management.What is important for effective time management?
Prioritize
Plan the entire day as much as possible
Focus on when you need to start something, not when you need to end
Contingency planning
Recognize and eliminate time wasters
Handle each item only once if possible
Eliminate clutter and be organizedYou need to know each day what your priorities are so you make sure the most important things get done. My main priority today is getting my cat groomed (since I have an appointment) and everything else needs to work around that. My second priority is getting a workout in. My third is writing articles so I can be a finisher in the contest I am in. My fourth is getting laundry done.Once you know your priorities you need to plan your day. You will not necessarily do your priority 1 item first because that might not be efficient or it might not even work. I did not need to be at the groomer's office until 8-8:15, so I got a workout and breakfast in before that. When you plan the entire day, you can save time by recognizing how to group activities together. For example, my hairdresser and my wholesale club are both about 12 miles away. Why go to BJs at 9 AM when they first open if I have a hair appointment at 11:30?Don't forget to allow time for the things you do every day that seem mundane. How often do you hear people say that they never eat breakfast, or they don't exercise, because they don't have time? Everyone has the same amount of time each day! It is simply a matter of priorities and time management.One thing some people do, is they keep in their head the time they need to arrive. The time you need to be on your way is what counts. You have to work backwards, allow for different traffic patterns like rush hour and school bus times, and add in a fudge factor. Of course sometimes, something like an accident will still make you late but you would be even later without proper planning! I almost was running late today for that very reason. I had 8:15 on my mind instead of 7:45. I realized this and decided not to put on makeup. I did not think it was important to the people at the groomer's office. Breakfast was more important to me at the time!What are time wasters? Anything that does not add value to your day in some way. One big time waster I eliminated was reading junk email. I was thinking there might be something important in there, but finally realized it was just a time waster! Another one was reading magazines; I get more value from self development books. Just start looking at each activity with a critical eye and ask what you get out of it.One time waster is handling things more than once. This has always been taught relative to paper but it applies just as much to electronic messages. Learn to recognize what can be deleted or thrown away immediately, what you can read and then discard, and what needs to be filed away for later reference.Finally, clutter is a HUGE time waster and not just for the obvious reason. Of course it will take longer to find what you need if you are digging through clutter. But there is also a mental factor at work. When you see clutter, or even if you just know where it is (like the basement, the garage) it tends to fluster you. You feel like you are not on top of things, like things are getting away from you. And that drains your energy! Eliminating time wasters will give you more time to get organized. If you have LOTS of clutter, make it a priority to set aside the time to get rid of it, even if it's a little bit at a time. Handling items only once will help you keep clutter under control. There is no substitute for good filing systems, both paper and online!Now I just need to get back to the groomer at 1 PM and make my 3 PM conference call. Got it under control!