Time Management – it’s all in the planning
Did you know that you have 86,400 seconds per day? My question to you is: how effectively do you
use your time?



Today I am sharing some tips on how to better manage your time and some obstacles to be aware
of.

1. Diary

Effective time management cannot be achieved without a diary. You can decide on the medium. I
am still old school and prefer my hand-written diary. Most people prefer electronic devices.
On a Sunday evening, I plan my week ahead:
1.1 Plan my meals from Mondays to Thursdays.
1.2 I will add the required ingredients to my shopping list.
1.3 I will add all the birthdays, get-togethers and school outings and activities for that week to my
shopping list.
1.4 I have a clear understanding of all the upcoming events and meetings for the week ahead.
On a Monday, I will go to the shops and get all the things on my shopping list. By doing this, I have
everything I need for my meals, all birthday presents are bought and cards written and snacks are
ready for school outings.
On Fridays, I will go to the shops to get the weekend groceries. So you see, I only go to the shops
twice a week, saving time and money.
My diary is always with me. It is then easy to check my availability before I commit to something.

2. Learn to say NO

Just say no, without giving a reason. In most instances people will ask you to do something in order
to achieve their own goals. If you don’t have the capacity, then say no, not maybe. Look at your
deliverables and your time available. Be aware of always saying yes, especially if it is not contributing
to your goals.

3. Unplug

According to my Google search, we spend 4 hours a day on our smartphones. The time that we
spend on social media is to look into the lives of others. By doing this we waste valuable time and we
don’t spend time with the people that matter. We must learn to unplug during the day from
technology. I have turned off the notifications on my phone. This has helped a lot not to run to my
phone every time I hear the notification.

4. To-do- list

Writing down your tasks is critical. In conjunction with your diary, you create a to-do- list. Items on
here must be either urgent or important. Urgent: things that must happen. Important: things that
help with achieving your goals. Look for things that you can delegate.

In the morning, identify 5 items on your to-do- list and deal with it. At the end of the day, you will
have a sense of achievement.

5. Procrastination

Such a big word for no action. We all do this. However, it should never impact the quality and
timeliness of your deliverables. Be aware of why you procrastinate. Sometimes a task is too
overwhelming. If this is the case, you will need to break down the task into smaller, achievable
sections.
If you just don’t feel like doing it, then give yourself an ultimatum. Do it first thing in the morning,
before you have your morning coffee, or go for your morning run. Usually when we done, we cannot
understand why we procrastinated.

6. Multitasking

This is a myth. Rather focus on one thing at a time. Give it all your attention. You will end up
spending less time and deliver with quality. Move on to the next thing when done.

7. 24 hours per day

Try this exercise. Print out a daily calendar with 24, 1-hour timeslots. Colour in the hours that you
are sleeping, the hours at work, hours driving kids around, etc. You will see that there are open time
slots and that you don’t use all your time effectively.

8. Being busy

Be very careful to fall into this trap. Lately, people thrive on the fact that they are busy. There is a
huge difference between being busy and being productive.
In closing…. We have enough hours in the day. If you plan effectively and use your time wisely, you
will have time for the things that matter. Remember to always include me-time in your diary.


Happy planning & Happy organizing!!