So far in this mini-series we have discussed a variety of issues related to personal achievement through creating a wish/want list and applying your mind to think about those goals to determine the steps you should/could take to start moving towards their achievement. I was contemplating todays article to determine the next course of action for those who are reading and participating in this discussion and I decided to focus on the importance of time and time management.

You see, time is a measuring tool, just like a ruler. In fact, just as there are 12 inches on a ruler there are 12 months in a year. This is important if you want to wisely analyze your time to achieve certain goals and objectives within certain time parameters. First, you should understand that everybody has 24 hours per day in their time bank and you will spend those 24 hours whether you like it or not. You cant save time or make timeall you can do is spend time. How you spend it is what determines personal accomplishment. You can waste timeor you can use it wisely. Nobody knows for sure how much time we have stored up in our time account here on planet earth (except God) and we should be very aware of our time and how we are spending it. The key is to get your mind around your goals and objectives and then create a way to analyze and measure the application of your time.

I have a simple way of setting over all goals I take a ruler, a pencil and a piece of blank paper and I draw a straight line across the top of the page so that each month gets an equal amount of space. Then I segment that line with the title of each month written in the appropriate area under the time line. Then I start to think I write down everything I know about the next year, birthdays, holidays, etc and I mark them on the time line. This gets my mind moving in the right direction and helps me see roadblocks over the next 12 months. Then I ask myself questions: What do I want at the end of this time-line-year? I write it all downeverything these are the big goals then I ask my self what do I have to do to achieve this over the next 12 months? What do I have to do the next 6 months? What do I have to do in the next 90 days? What actions do I have to take in the next 30 days? What are the actions this week? What do I have to do today and each day of the week? Only in this way (or some similar method) can a person begin to account for the application and use of time from their time bank.

This whole time line/goals and objective analysis is a critical first step to getting your mind wrapped around task analysis. How will you know what to do if you dont know what you want to do? You may be a sharp thinkerbut you would be surprised at the number of people who dont study time and set goals and objectives. Many people just flounder from one circumstance to another not really sure of where they are going or how they are going to get there. Time lining and goal setting wont guarantee success but it sure beats the alternatives! It all goes back to chaos or control. Which do you choose? And then there is today today is nothing more then one square of the 365 day-path you will walk this year. Like box cars on a train, each day will pass by whether you like it or not, whether you use it wisely or not and one thing is for sureonly you will know whether you are wasting time or spending it wisely.

My most productive days are realized when I make a checklist of the tasks I want to accomplish the night before. That is, at night, I always write down everything I want to accomplish the next dayI analyze my time and how I will apply it the next day in the morning, afternoon and night. By doing this, I can accomplish more by noon than most accomplish all day. And whatever I dont finish, I carry over to the next days things to do list and I keep records of each day. I play a gameI put a little hand written box in front of each task and when that task is accomplished, I check it off. I love checking off boxes! Why? Because its one less thing I have to do! Work is workand setting goals and objectives creates work but there is a sense of satisfaction when you analyze your time and plan your day tasks and get them done and at the end of the day, the month, the year, you can say to yourself job well done.

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Copyright 2006 James W. Hart, IV All Rights reserved