Time Management - Ways to Control Your Time

What is Time Management? Hmmm. Sounds like a simple question. Everyone has 24 hours each day, but why is it that some people are able to accomplish more in the same 24 hours? Is it because they are smarter than most? Or is it because they work harder?

Neither. The secret to getting more done without necessarily working harder than others is proper time management. Let the truth be told, even some geniuses struggle with managing their time and end up being less productive than those with great time management skills.

Time management allows you to get more done with less stress. It reduces the stress that accompanies the feeling of having to finish multiple jobs at the same time. If you truly are desperate in trying to juggle all your responsibilities without having to sacrifice too much, then here are some tips and techniques to help you on your way.

1. Keep good notes - Have a handy dandy notebook with you so you can keep track of tasks and what you need to do throughout your day.

As the world becomes increasingly technology-based, more and more

PDA'S & SMARTPHONES

are becoming available at reasonable prices. These electronic organizers assist you in scheduling appointments and tasks and help you stay organized.

They are also good productivity tools. You never know when a good idea could hit you. So, if you are constantly armed with a pen and paper - or an

ORGANIZER & CALENDAR

for that matter - you are in a better position to capture the idea and put it in motion. This is especially true when the idea you just came up with could make your work easier to accomplish and more efficient.

The fatal mistake most people make is thinking that they can delegate all organization and note-taking to memory. Unfortunately, just like you have forgotten what you dreamt about last night, you are bound to forget whatever idea you whipped up a few days ago.

2. Modularize - The best way to deal with one situation or multiple situations is to divide and conquer. If you feel that a situation is too large to handle, then it probably is. Instead of buckling under the pressure, the best thing to do is to break the situation into more manageable parts and deal with them one at a time.

One of the main reasons people are unable to handle large projects is their inability to divide the situation into modules that can be easily accomplished. After making the situation more manageable, you can then allocate resources such as schedules, finance, and efforts towards accomplishing the project.

3. Delegate - Another way to manage your time wisely would be to delegate some jobs to other people and making sure that everyone can work in sync. This will take a lot of communication, skill, and effort - but ultimately, it is the only way to accomplish anything that may be too large for one person.

4. Prioritize - Time management relies upon good prioritizing. Good prioritization depends upon your understanding of your resource limits such as time, effort, and money. Timely allocation of these resources to the areas that require them is of paramount importance when managing your time.

Time management is no easy task. It may even eat into quite a bit of your working time. However, you should realize that even though you spend much time planning and managing your use of time, it will prove to be well-worth the effort as good time management is possibly the best way to successfully tackle any project.

How Much is Your Time Worth?

How much is your time worth? Not sure?

Ask any part-time employee and they will tell you: whatever their wage is. Hourly workers know the value of their time. Successful salespeople that work on commission know the value of their time. Even salaried workers, especially the successful ones, know the value of their time.

But what about you? It's a different story for the online business owner! You probably work more than eight hours during the day (or night) and then think about your business even when you are not sitting at your computer working on it. If it's a passion of yours (and many online entrepreneurs turn their hobbies and passions into a business), then you've got an even greater challenge in figuring out the value of your time.

Maybe you don't know the value of your time. In fact many people don't, so you’re not alone. But it's a calculation that will help you manage your time, so it's worth the five to ten minutes that you spend trying to figure it out.

The best thing to do is just do a basic calculation: income divided into total hours worked. Granted, it's not a perfect calculation because it doesn't account for the hours that you spend thinking and it doesn't account for your expenses...but you are also busy enough that a rule-of-thumb idea from a quick calculation is just as effective and takes less time.

It's probably a good idea to make this calculation for a week's worth of time or even a month's worth of time. That way, you will help to smooth out the fluctuations that occur in your daily schedule and in your customer's buying patterns. This calculation might require you to actually monitor your time for a week or a month. It's a good exercise to do, regardless of whether you end up trying to discover the value of your time.

For many entrepreneurs that are just starting out, the value of their time is only a few dollars at best. Don't feel too bad if that is also the case for you.

Once you have figured out that number, you have a baseline. Now what do you do with that?

You now have something to work with. You have a goal to shoot for. Currently earning 25 cents an hour? (Don't laugh. Many entrepreneurs earn that when they are just starting out. (It will get better!) If you are earning that much, make it a goal to earn 50 cents an hour, then a dollar, then five dollars. Keep track of your current "hourly worth" in your business planner and use it to constantly remind yourself to build it up over time. That is the American Dream! And you are living it!

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