The most valuable asset anyone has is time. Most people believe their most valuable asset is money, but this is not true. If you run out of money there are ways to get more of it, but if you run out of time you cannot get more time. We have very little time and once its gone, it is gone forever.

Your ability to achieve health, happiness, and success all depends on how you spend your time. To manage your time well you must learn to use your minutes and hours more effectively. In other words you must be able to get the maximum quantity and quality from all the things you do in exchange for the time you invest.

Time management includes planning, scheduling, using a calendar, a to do list, a day planner or organizer, controlling interruptions, the phone, email, other people intrusions, being able to say no, staying focused, setting goals and making plans to reach them.

Managing your time begins with you making a list of your goals in order of priority. For your goals to be effective they must always be written down and on a list. You then organize each day around your list of goals. Your list should be organized by listing the things that are of high priority at the top and going down to those of less priority.

Your time is a constant trade off. If you do something new, you will have to stop doing something old. In order to get into another project you will have to get out of a current project. In order to pick something up, you will have to put something down. This is why it is very important that before you make a new commitment of your time, you must clearly decide what activities you are going to discontinue. For example, if you want to spend more time with your family, you must decide what current activities are preventing you from doing so now and discontinue them.

One of the key principles of time management is that work time pushes out personal time. This means that the time you spend working will push out the time you spend with your family. So if you want to spend more time with your family you need to concentrate on working when you are at work so that you can concentrate on your family when you are at home.

Managing your work time better begins with having everything at hand before you begin. Make sure your desk or workspace is clear so that you only have one task in front of you. If you have to, put everything on the floor or on the table behind you. Gather all the information, reports, details, papers, and work materials that you need to complete the job. Be sure that you have all your writing materials, computer disks, access codes, email addresses, and everything else you need to start and continue working until the job is done.

You should always set up your work area so that it is comfortable, attractive, and conducive to working for long periods. Especially make sure that you have a comfortable chair that supports your back and allows your feet to sit flat on the floor. The cleaner and neater your work area is before you begin, the easier it will be for you to get started and keep going.

When you sit down, with everything in front of you ready to go, assume the body language of high performance. Sit up straight, sit forward and away from the chair. Then, pick up the first item and say to yourself, Lets get to work! and plunge in. If you want to manage your work time better you must have the mindset that once youve started, you dont stop until the job is finished.

Everything you do that requires your time represents a choice. The choice is yours. Do you use your time wisely or not? However you choose to use your time always remember, the time once used is gone forever. Your choices as to how you use your time will determine in large part your quality of life today and in the future.

When your desk or office is clean and organized you will feel effective and ready to get going every time you sit down to work. When you manage your work time effectively then you can make quality time for your family and personal life. Once you learn to manage you work and personal time well it will open up a whole new world of happiness, success and prosperity.

Copyright2006 by Joe Love and JLM and Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.