Time Management Ninja. Craig Jarrow
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу Time Management Ninja - Craig Jarrow страница 5
![Time Management Ninja - Craig Jarrow Time Management Ninja - Craig Jarrow](/cover_pre682230.jpg)
5It Is Too Complex: Many people find that their system is just too complicated. How can a convoluted plan ever be sustainable? Suddenly, the more efficient option becomes forgoing the plan altogether.
5It Is Not Life-Oriented: If your system does not cover the needs of your day-to-day activities, you will quickly stop using it. Many people will try to use an incomplete system and subsequently give it up because it is “not working.” No kidding! Your system is supposed to help you. Not be a decorative statement.
5It Does Not Have Tools They Will Realistically Use: Often people try to jump on the latest craze without considering if the device is one that they will actually use. Why buy the newest smartphone if you could do better with a paper-based solution? If you want a system that will work for you, then it is vital to pick tools that you are good with and enjoy using. Otherwise, they will end up as paperweights on a desk or in the “miscellaneous” drawer (we all know everything in that drawer is junk). How else could you efficiently destroy time-wasting?
5It Is a Skill: Time management is a skill that you must practice with tenacity. Like mastering any musical instrument or skateboard move, it takes rehearsal and experience. The more you do it, the swifter of a time-saver you will become.
5The Myth of the Crisis: There is no one-time crisis. Every day, you are consistently wasting time. Our war is constant. It’s a state of being. Time-wasting doesn’t occur in the just one moment of “disaster” when you space out for thirty minutes. People tend to think they only need time management in a jam. But the truth is…you need it just as much when you are not in a crisis. Planning your time is a proactive action that prevents the problems in the first place. Having the weapons handy helps you keep up the stealthy time-saving habit.
Time management is really life management. You can’t turn it on and off and expect results (sounds like dieting, right?). Instead, keep your time management “on” at all times. Inevitably, you will find that the skills will naturally become a part of your healthy lifestyle.
How Much Time Can You Reclaim?
People are often surprised by just how much time they can get back in their day. Think of getting back thirty minutes. Maybe one hour? Go higher. I would say that the average person can give back two full hours to their schedule.
That is significant. I am positive you can think of countless important things you could do with those two hours. Here’s a list to get started:
5Workout
5Pursue a goal
5Meditate or journal
5Complete those procrastinated tasks on your list
5Catch up on cleaning or other chores
5Have fun! What have you been wanting to do but haven’t had time for?
These are just a few examples that I am sure pop to mind. However, it’s much bigger than that. It’s not just about getting two hours back.
Instead, it’s about getting two hours back each and every day.
Suddenly, you are talking about an extra fourteen (!) hours a week. Or sixty hours a month. Assuming you have an eight-hour workday, that is seven and a half workdays!
Or how about 730 hours per year! That is a mind-blowing 91 working days a year. What could you accomplish now? Suddenly the options become much more ambitious:
5Get a degree
5Write a book
5Learn a new language
5Start a business
When you consider how much time you can reclaim in your life, you will wonder what you have been doing until now!
You Need Four Productivity Weapons
To get more done with less effort, you need the right productivity weapons.
What tools or gadgets do you use to manage your time?
Do you use your phone as your primary device? Or do you carry a paper-based planner with you? Paper or technology solutions can be equally good. Whatever you choose, you must ensure that you have the right set of tools at your disposal.
You simply can’t fight a war against wasted time without the right weapons. You can try, but you will spend an unnecessary amount of time and effort that won’t help you produce your best results. That enemy—wasting time—is ruthless. Unforgiving. Combatting it takes skill and advanced weaponry. Weaponry that is sleek, effective, and defyingly simple.
You can try to be better with your time and work, but you just won’t reach your full potential unless you unsheathe the most brutal, yet simple, defense mechanisms.
There are four essential weapons that you need in your stronghold. They aren’t surprising, and you are likely familiar with each of them.
What is surprising, though, is that you are probably missing at least one of these. Know what that means? Missing even one of these means you are not going to be nearly as effective as you could be if you had all them. You have to go in full force.
Do you have each of the following?
Four Essential Weapons
You will need these with you at all times. Without all of them, you cannot manage your time effectively and constantly. You must be a constant threat to procrastination. Individually, each is a powerful instrument that will help you get your work done. Together, they are a complete set crafted with one purpose—get more done with less effort.
You already know the four essential time management weapons. After all, they are quite common. The tough question is, “Do you have each of these readily available at all times?”
Have these on your person at all times:
1.To-do List: A to-do list is crucial for tracking your tasks and obligations. Your to-do list should remember your tasks so that your mind is free to work on what is immediately in front of you.
2.Calendar: Your calendar should track your schedule and remind you when and where you need to be. While you are living in the now, your calendar can follow your appointments that are days, weeks, or even years in advance.
3.Address Book: Even in our technology-driven world, having people’s contact information is imperative so that we may be able to connect with others. Your address book captures those contact details so you will have them at your fingertips in the future.
4.Notebook: A good notebook records your most important information. The idea here is that you have one notebook to record your notes so that you are not writing things down in random places or on Post-it Notes that can get easily misplaced.
None of these instruments is new or groundbreaking. You’ve had some version of each at some time. Maybe they are scattered between your home