Beating the Clock

Time and tide wait for no man. There is only one aspect in which the king and the beggar are completely equal and that is the number of hours they have in a day. Many of us have mixed feelings about the clock. When we are on holiday and have plenty of time, the clock tells us when it is time to move on to the next enjoyable activity. During a normal workday, when we are racing to complete the multiple tasks within the limited time that is available to us, we anxiously look at the clock once in a while to ensure that we are on track.

Effective time management is essential to become successful in every aspect of life. Time management essentially consists of planning, prioritizing tasks, scheduling and organizing to complete tasks within deadlines.

Planning is the foundation of effective time management. Writing down a complete list of the tasks to be done is the first step. Sometimes, only when you sit down to think about the things that need to be done do you realize that you there are a few minor but urgent tasks that need to be completed.

In fact, you should ideally begin every day by setting aside at least 10 minutes for planning what needs to be completed within that day. Prioritizing is the next step. Planning tasks and then not prioritizing them can be compared to shooting blindly and then calling anything you hit the target. There are always some tasks that are more urgent than others and these need to be completed first before you move on to other tasks which might be less urgent. Once you have decided on which tasks need to be done first, and you know the time within which these tasks need to be completed, you need to allocate the time and this is called scheduling.

Time management is more a matter of control than anything else. You can either let your schedule run you or you can run your schedule. We all prefer to be in control and when it comes to effective time management, it is important to plan ahead.

However intelligent or hard working you might be, lack of effective time management can block your road to success. Time and tide wait for no man, but with effective time management, you can definitely turn the tide in your favor.