Learning better time management skills will help the manager efficiently to work through the stressful tasks that they encounter as managers. They have to deal with deadlines and other time constraints on a daily basis. Because of these time constraints, managers need to learn how to maximize their time at work by doing more important tasks.

Effective Time Management

Every field deals with different levels of time stress so; therefore, there are several methods of time management that can prove to be useful for these fields. Using effective time management practices will help to ensure quality use of time as well as efficiency. By working smarter rather than working harder, managers may realize how much time they are saving and consuming in an appropriate manner. One can really reduce its stress if it follows the some of the suggestion.

"To do"List for Time Management

The most basic way to start beating away at the problem of losing time is by getting into a routine of making "To-Do" lists and daily reminders. While managing time, it is always suggested that you should have only one list, not a multiple list on a separate scraps of paper. Moreover, put the "To-Do" at that place where you see after every hour or more than that so that it keeps reminding you about your important task.

Prioritize Significant Task

Another method of effective time management is to handles the daily tasks by prioritizing them. By doing this you will able to separate your tasks in accordance with their significance and relevancy and deal with them one at a time or you can delegate your work to your subordinates also.

Ability to Say "No"

The ability to say "no" to tasks and other affairs that are not really important when time is not on your side is an effective time management skill. By turning things down and staying committed to your task will save time because you will be able to complete this task in the time you have allotted.

Time Will No More Your Enemy

Managing time is important for managers for various reasons. Getting tasks done at right time is the first thing that a manager should understand to save his time for other useful tasks. Saving this time means saving time for the company. While time is an enemy for majority of people but those who know how to use time wisely they don't follow time but time follows them.

With today's busy lifestyle you will often feel that there simply isn't enough time to do everything you want to do. Most of us have busy work schedules and have families to look after so every minute of leisure time seems like a valuable commodity. However, there are some simple steps you can take to get more out of your day.

Whether you work in an office or run your own business, managing your time effectively can make you more productive and free up more time for the activities you enjoy. However, you will have to make some changes before you can do this effectively.

The first thing you have to do is accept that there is only so much time available in any day. We all have days where we are extremely productive and even achieve more than we thought possible. However, this is rarely sustainable and sooner or later you will burn out if you try to pack too much into each day.

So when you are planning your time for a day, you need to think about what you can realistically achieve with the time you have. One option is to allocate certain amounts of time for certain things. For example, you might want to dedicate nine hours to work, two hours to chores, three hours to your family and two hours to doing something that you enjoy on your own.

There is only a certain amount of time available to you and you can not change that. However, you can learn to use this time in the most effective way possible. First, I invite you to take some time to consider what is most important to you and what you are good at. These are the things that you need to be spending your time on.

If for example, you develop websites you will have different tasks such as graphic design, programming and writing content. Perhaps you have a flair for graphic design and programming and you are very productive with these tasks, but you struggle when it comes to writing content. In this case you need to delegate the writing work and concentrate on what you are good at. This is effective time management as it will boost productivity and ensure that you are spending your time on something you are good at and enjoy.

It may take a few weeks, but if you actively try to identify what is important to you, you will quickly learn how you really need to be spending your time. This will allow you to plan out your day effectively and give you a satisfying sense of control.

However, you could even take it one step further by choosing the best time of the day to do certain tasks. If you look at your working day closely you will find that there are certain times when you are suited to certain tasks.

For example, we are usually most alert in the morning so you may want to use the early hours of your day for the work that takes the most brain power. In the afternoon you may find that your energy is more suited to meetings or making phone calls, while you might like to wind up your day with basic housekeeping tasks like filing emails or updating your contacts. This will vary from person to person so experiment with it and you will be able to see when you are most suited to certain tasks. Once you have an idea you can plan your day accordingly to boost productivity.

How do you deal with the ever expanding demands on your time? What do you do on a regular basis to put your first things first?

People are often surprised when I tell them that I meditate daily. Maybe they don't think that I look like the meditation type? I am not sure. What does your average meditator look like? I do not walk through the halls chanting " om..." but I do work in a very demanding field where burn-out is epidemic. Meditation is teaching me to put things in perspective. I am learning to use meditation as a means to stay mindful. Mindful of what is important to me. It is easy to get caught up in making plans, worrying about what happened yesterday and what lies ahead today or tomorrow or next Thursday. Do you find that you want to manage your time? When I googled time management I got 114 million hits. Apparently managing our time is very important to us.

Stephen Covey, who has written numerous books on how to manage our business/personal lives, how to set and achieve goals, how to make the most of what we have... states that we cannot manage time. Everyone has the same amount of time in a day, the same number of days in the week... etc. So we cannot manage time but... we can make choices around how we use the time we do have.

What is time really? It is an ethereal mechanical measurement that we often feel dictates much of our life. There is pressure to perform, pressure to have a certain body of work done by a 'deadline', pressure to let time manage us. What if instead of measuring our accomplishments and our expectations by past present and future we simply lived the experiences.

But, how do we do that? How do we move from our heads into our heart/soul/spirit? To be in-spirit (or to be inspired) is to take something in, not just into your brain/mind/ego, but into your inner being, into your spirit. To go within, to be in-spirit, to let go of ego and BE. I was inspired by a blog entry I read that was written by Gregg Krech. Gregg and Linda Anderson run a retreat centre in Vermont, The ToDo Institute (pronounced toe-doe) where "By blending Japanese approaches to mental health, they provide an approach to living well that bridges the gap between the spiritual, the psychological and the practical."

Gregg's blog entry is about awakening, how he has changed his focus upon waking each morning. Instead of waking up and starting right off the bat to plan his day, rather than jump right into considering all of the many tasks that lay before him he has taken to spending the first few minutes being mindful - in the moment. He takes a moment to be thankful for having a warm bed to sleep in, he takes a second to stretch and be thankful for the body parts that move at his subconscious will, he breaths, he enjoys the first sounds of nature beginning to stir outside, the song of an early bird, the whispering of the wind, the lightening of the sky.

That is what meditation does for me. It gives me the opportunity to stop in a perpetual-motion-kind-of-day , to take stock, to slow my life down to something as simple as breathing in and breathing out. It allows me to slow to a speed where I can luxuriate in the scent of a freshly cut flower. I can bathe in the warmth of the sun coming in the window. I can savor the taste of warm sweet tea. With each breath in a renewed energy fills me up, with each breath out a letting go of tension, concerns as well as a soft outflowing of my gifts to share with the world.

Time management is highly prized by most people - and finding time is even preferred over earning more money, recent studies report. But if you don't use your time effectively, you simply lose the time you have found.

This is where task templates will help you. Task templates are simple, flexible systems for managing your time and shaping your schedule. Once you start using them, you'll wonder how you ever got by without them!

Task templates FAQS:

Q: How will task templates help me?

A: Task templates combine personal effectiveness with stress management by helping you avoid:

1. Bottlenecks
2. Late charges
3. Missed appointments
4. Under-preparing for key encounters
5. Reinventing the wheel for recurrent events

Task templates capitalize on what your mind does best, which is creating patterns. Those patterns highlight where you want to go and what you want to avoid in a given period of time. Your brain isn't hardwired to recall, shuffle and re-prioritize multiple items in your head. But the task templates you create will put everything in front of you quickly and clearly written out. This frees up your mind to assess your options, prioritize and launch into action. And that frees up your time.

Q: Which activities are task templates best suited for?

A: Any repetitive activity with multiple steps can be streamlined with task templates.

Use them as a framework for your activities. By creating task templates, you develop a simple outline for your projects that you can refer to time after time. For example, they can help you with:

1. Tax preparation
2. Holiday planning
3. Spring cleaning
4. Packing for trips
5. Financial reports

Q: How do I get started?

A: Follow this template and see how much time you save.

1. List activities or projects where a template would be helpful to you, using the examples above for a guide.
2. Select one project you'd like to work with first.
3. Jot down each activity associated with this project. If applicable, also include all supplies you will need.
4. Order them chronologically.
5. Place all the task templates you create in a loose-leaf notebook or in a dedicated file on your desktop. That will keep them easily accessible.
6. Put the template you are currently using in the appropriate workspace. If it's helpful, print out several copies to post in multiple locations.
7. Review your task templates to see if important areas have been overlooked. Revise accordingly.

Task templates are infinitely flexible systems. The more you utilize them:

* The more constructive uses you'll imagine.
* The more confidence you'll place in them.
* The more confidence you'll have in yourself.

Each and every one of us has experienced stress. There are many different types of stress that an individual can experience - even good stress - however, this little "six letter word" is often viewed in a negative light. Practically any and every single thing that we experience in life can be viewed as stressful. Seeing that stress can induce many negative physiological responses in the body, it is essential that we learn methods to effectively manage it. In this article, you will learn some effective stress management techniques that you can experiment with in just five minutes daily!

We are all familiar with the concept of routine. Many times, we speak of the fact that life is unpredictable. However, when we really think about it, there is some form of routine when it comes to our lives. We usually wake up and follow a certain pattern when it comes to preparing for our day. When employing the use of stress management techniques, it is important to ensure that we make them part of our everyday life. We must make sure that these techniques are just as routine as brushing our teeth and showering.

The first effective stress management technique that you can use on a daily basis is the ability to manage your time as appropriate. If you are able to carefully outline your day in such a way that allows you to work, spend time with your family, handle your basic responsibilities, visit with friends, and take time for yourself, you will start to experience less stress on a daily basis. Managing your time will help you to spend more time with those that you love, increase your productivity, and ultimately increase your performance in all areas of your life.

There are many ways that you make the best use of your time. The following outlines some valuable techniques that you can use for time management purposes:

- The first thing that you should do when delegating your time is to set some time to the side for yourself.

- If you are having a difficult time delegating your time appropriately, you should create a time-tracking system that will accurately reflect exactly how you are spending your hours each day.

- You should prioritize the things that you need to do each day based on the important to the least important. By doing this, you can ensure that everything is being completed as it should be.

- You may benefit from using time management tools, like a planner or computer software.

- It is important that you keep a careful eye on your commitments and that you learn to say "no" if it becomes necessary.

- Remember, ultimately, your time is your own and you should treat it as one of your most valuable assets.

The next thing that you should do in order to effectively manage stress is to make sure that your lifestyle reflects activities and things that are not stressful. It is important to achieve some sort of balance in your life. You should be able to appropriately define your goals and purpose in life. If you are unsure of what this is, create goals and purpose! It is also important to ensure that you are consuming foods that are healthy, getting the right amount of exercise, and are sleeping well. All of these methods will help you to manage and alleviate stress that you may encounter.

Each and every single one of us benefit in numerous ways by having the support of our friends and family members. It is important that we each have a well-rounded group of people that we can lean on, and learn from. Every person has a basic need to feel valued and loved. If each of us has this, then we can effectively manage the stress that we experience in our lives. Just remember to nurture these important relationships and they will continue to nurture us.

One of the biggest obstacles to business success is allowing yourself to feel at the mercy of time.

It's too easy to say "I don't have time" but you choose how to spend your time and you can spend it wisely or badly.

Here are 7 ways in which you can take control of your time.

1. Stop inputting and start outputting

It's easy to be busy taking in new information and ideas but it's only taking action on them that gets results. If you're inputting information, you're not outputting real work and making money. If you're an info junkie, perhaps you need to go on an info diet.

2. Always remember why you are doing it

If you have set a clear vision for your business and distinct milestones on your way to achieving it, you'll find it much easier to manage your time.

If you are spending time on something that doesn't contribute towards getting your goals, you have to challenge yourself about why you are doing it.

3. Plan your day and stick to your plan

A minute spent planning can easily save you an hour later on. You should set aside particular times every day, week and month for planning. During this time, reflect on past achievements and future goals.

The best way to schedule is to split large tasks into smaller steps. It feels wonderful when you are able to tick it off at the end of the day and works as a great motivator.

4. Prioritize your time

Prioritization is figuring out which tasks are most important at a particular time and focus your attention, time and energy on them.

This means recognizing the difference between 'important' tasks (those that help us achieve our goals) and 'urgent' ones (which demand immediate attention but may not be related to our goals). Another important distinction is recognizing the difference between 'productive' time (which generates income) and 'unproductive' time (which makes no money).

5. Say No ' to yourself as well as to others

The truth is, no matter how efficient you are, you can't do everything. So, one of the most useful things you can do is go through your 'to-do' list and decide what you don't really need to do.

The management guru Peter Drucker said: "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently something which shouldn't be done at all." Before you get into doing the things on your to-do list, consider whether they'd be better on your 'not-to-do' list.

Learning to say no is a vital time management skill. People much prefer to be told 'no' right away, rather than being let down later.

6. Develop systems and processes

If you have your work organized into clear processes, it makes it much easier to delegate. And, even if you're doing the work yourself, writing down the steps involved helps you use your time more efficiently. Productivity expert William Edwards Denning said: "If you can't describe what you're doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing."

7. Take care of yourself

If you are going to get things done and also to enjoy the lifestyle you want, you have to allocate time to doing things that you enjoy and taking care of yourself physically. Eat well, drink water, get plenty of sleep, relax, and take time off.

Have you ever been stuck on getting something done? Perhaps you got distracted, finished something else instead of your intended goal, or just plain did not do it because of something holding you back

When you want to get something done, reorganize your thinking and activity pattern to get your mind and body in a better position to succeed.

Here are some tips that will help you complete your goal:

1. Move around - Go open or shut the windows, climb the steps or do some stretching exercises. This will get the blood flowing and the mind will start to quiet down after some movement. Make the bed or refill the pet water bowl.

2. Drink water - As the cells begin to dehydrate the body gets fatigued The body will be more equipped to think and function when fully hydrated and joints lubricated.

3. Get a snack - Eat a healthy snack like fresh fruit, almonds, grapefruit, watermelon, broccoli, or mangos. Foods that are alkaline versus acidifying will put the body more in balance. Stay away from refined sugars, coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol.

4. Relaxation techniques - deep breath, do some guided imagery or a brief meditation. Shoulder shrugs will help ease tension in the head and neck area.

5. Be in the here and now - stay in the moment. The more you can do this the quicker you will get the job done. Put a sign up in front of you if you have to.

6. Stay alert - essential oils (citrus oils such as lemon and grapefruit) have been known to improve mental accuracy and concentration.

7. Set a time line - give yourself a deadline to complete the task. Make it realistic and do not let up until it is completed. You can set a timer to help keep you on task.

Do not get distracted! If you feel yourself heading in the opposite direction, stop yourself, acknowledge that you got distracted, tell yourself 'NO' and get back on track. The more that you can do this "self-talk" the better your concentration will be and the less you will be distracted.

Procrastination, in other words, can be over come by staying focused. Keep telling yourself that you can "do it later" as things keep popping up in your mind. Handle any emergencies that come up and get right back to the task. If you are typing on the keyboard do not lift your hands up. Keep your fingers on the keys. If you are writing do not lift up the pen. Your mind will supply you with the next thing. You can go back and edit it later.

Are you trying to find your life under a blizzard of sticky notes? If someone visited your home or office and began to look around would they find a sticky note in, on , or around almost every area and everything? Perhaps a good time management technique for you is to evaluate your use of one of the most used modern inventions, the sticky note.

Sticky notes are a great tool for the right applications. Unfortunately many times you use them for the wrong application, and eventually it begins to cause you problems. Sticky notes are great for marking a page and making references you don’t want permanently left on the page. They can be a great tool to use when you have a lot of steps and you aren’t sure of the order, and you can keep rearranging the notes until you’re satisfied you have them in the right order. There are many other great uses for sticky notes, but just as many ineffective uses.

One reason sticky notes may not be a good time management technique for you is that you tend to randomly have them everywhere. Your sticky notes will work much better for you if you group them by category, and then prioritize them within the category. The down side to sticky notes is they may not be as portable or transportable as you need. The next time you reach for a sticky note ask yourself if it’s the best tool for your needs. Have you ever thrown one away only to have to dig through the garbage trying to find it later?

A solid time management technique is to do things only once. Would one “To Do” list or project list or action notebook work better than a blizzard of sticky notes here, there, and everywhere around your home and office? When you get pare things down to, for example, one action notebook that you can take with you and check things off as they are done you may find that you not only make your life less complicated but more efficient too.

Achieve more by doing less" said Dr Wayne Dyer. It sounds nonsensical at first but there is a powerful truth behind this statement and it is a key time management and success strategy whether successful people use it consciously or not.

There are several ways to achieving more by doing less and becoming super-productive. Let's take a brief look at three ways this goal can be achieved.

1. Do things in a calm, relaxed manner

Have you ever noticed how frenetic some people are in doing their activities? When you work in a calm, relaxed manner you achieve more in less time.

I once watched former 400m athlete, Roger Black, take part in a celebrity chef competition. His kitchen looked liked a disaster zone. There were ingredients scattered everywhere. He was preparing food on every surface imaginable. Sweat was pouring from his brow. He looked tense and stressed and barely finished in the allotted time.

In contrast, in another competition, a chef who in the past had found the time limit somewhat a constraint, decided to create a simple yet at the same time sophisticated starter. This meant he had more time to concentrate on preparing his main course and dessert. He appeared busy, yet unhurried. He was in control. As Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen fame said to his protégés:

"You control the kitchen or the kitchen controls you."

The dishes prepared by this chef were visually stunning and from the expressions and comments of the judges they tasted great. He was crowned "Master Chef".

There is another lesson that can be learned from this in relation to the "doing less" theme:

"Focus on the key elements of your project - the elements that will have the greatest impact on your business success."

2. Systemise

Create systems for the things you do on a regular basis. Systems may take time to install and implement but, in the long run, they will save you time, energy and money. Businesses often get up and running and then decide to adopt various systems to smooth operations. Deciding upon the systems you need upfront can be very beneficial to your bottom line. Plus, if you hire staff they will have a set of procedures to follow. This will have the added advantage of standardising what you do and make it easier to test the effectiveness of your strategies.

In some cases you will be able to use ready-made systems. However, for unique or highly specialised projects you may need something that is customised. Again, the initial outlay may be costly but, in the long term, you will recoup your investment through being able to optimise your business more efficiently. The systems you implement can then improve your business's profit margins and cash flow while reducing your work load.

3. Go with the flow

If you swim against the current you will get nowhere fast and expend a lot of energy in the process. When life feels like a constant uphill struggle it is an indication that you are probably either doing the wrong thing or doing the right thing in the wrong way. At times like this it's important to stop, reassess where you are and where you are heading. If you suspect that you are working towards the wrong goal examine your motives for doing what you are doing. Your answer may help you to discover a far easier way to achieve your goal.

If you set out on a journey and discover you are going the wrong way you wouldn't continue along the same route and expect to arrive at your planned destination. In the same way, if you discover that what you are doing isn't working, it's time to make a course correction. It may be a small issue that is affecting your progress. However, unless you review and evaluate your progress you will continue to go headlong in the wrong direction and you will continually feel as if you are doing battle. You will lose the ability to feel the joy that should be associated with your life's work.

Yes, if you're not enjoying your work, if you're not having fun, it is a clear sign that all is not well and that you're going against your flow.

Imagine a life where you thoroughly enjoy your work and where you regularly take time off to replenish your spirit and have fun doing other activities. Just think how healthy you would feel plus your creativity and productivity would soar!

Time management training helps you to see how you use your time now. If you’re like most people you really don’t know how you are spending your time now. You let time slip away and at the end of the day you just don’t know where it went.

Taking one week and tracking how you really spend your time is an eye opening time management training technique. Most people find it very hard to do this, but they also find great value in the exercise. Track your time each day in 30 minute increments just noting how you are spending your time each interval. You have to do this as you go. Trying to write down how you spent each interval at the end of the day just won’t work. It doesn’t even work waiting a few hours. You simply won’t be able to recall how you really spent that time.

The value of this time management training technique comes from the big picture. At the end of the week group your activities into big categories like: phone calls, appointments, projects, etc. Then total up how much time was spent in each category. Most people are shocked to learn how much of their time is literally wasted on unimportant things.

The power of this time management training technique comes for taking what you know to create what you want. Now that you know how you are spending your time currently you can change your future by planning how you will use your time. Currently you plan your time for how things are and as long as you continue to do that things will remain unchanged for you. If you want to use your time differently you have to start by planning how you want to use your time actually making appointments or blocking out time in your calendar and then stick as closely to your plan as possible.

You can’t ever change the unexpected, but you can change how you respond to the unexpected. With your newly laid plans for how you will spend your time you are prepared to deal with the unexpected. When the unexpected happens, and it will, you can look at your calendar evaluate the importance of the unexpected and determine either when you will schedule it in or if it truly has to be dealt with now how you will rearrange your calendar to compensate.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are.

"Achieve more by doing less" said Dr Wayne Dyer. It sounds nonsensical at first but there is a powerful truth behind this statement and it is a key time management and success strategy whether successful people use it consciously or not.

There are several ways to achieving more by doing less and becoming super-productive. Let's take a brief look at three ways this goal can be achieved.

1. Do things in a calm, relaxed manner

Have you ever noticed how frenetic some people are in doing their activities? When you work in a calm, relaxed manner you achieve more in less time.

I once watched former 400m athlete, Roger Black, take part in a celebrity chef competition. His kitchen looked liked a disaster zone. There were ingredients scattered everywhere. He was preparing food on every surface imaginable. Sweat was pouring from his brow. He looked tense and stressed and barely finished in the allotted time.

In contrast, in another competition, a chef who in the past had found the time limit somewhat a constraint, decided to create a simple yet at the same time sophisticated starter. This meant he had more time to concentrate on preparing his main course and dessert. He appeared busy, yet unhurried. He was in control. As Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen fame said to his protégés:

"You control the kitchen or the kitchen controls you."

The dishes prepared by this chef were visually stunning and from the expressions and comments of the judges they tasted great. He was crowned "Master Chef".

There is another lesson that can be learned from this in relation to the "doing less" theme:

"Focus on the key elements of your project - the elements that will have the greatest impact on your business success."

2. Systemise

Create systems for the things you do on a regular basis. Systems may take time to install and implement but, in the long run, they will save you time, energy and money. Businesses often get up and running and then decide to adopt various systems to smooth operations. Deciding upon the systems you need upfront can be very beneficial to your bottom line. Plus, if you hire staff they will have a set of procedures to follow. This will have the added advantage of standardising what you do and make it easier to test the effectiveness of your strategies.

In some cases you will be able to use ready-made systems. However, for unique or highly specialised projects you may need something that is customised. Again, the initial outlay may be costly but, in the long term, you will recoup your investment through being able to optimise your business more efficiently. The systems you implement can then improve your business's profit margins and cash flow while reducing your work load.

3. Go with the flow

If you swim against the current you will get nowhere fast and expend a lot of energy in the process. When life feels like a constant uphill struggle it is an indication that you are probably either doing the wrong thing or doing the right thing in the wrong way. At times like this it's important to stop, reassess where you are and where you are heading. If you suspect that you are working towards the wrong goal examine your motives for doing what you are doing. Your answer may help you to discover a far easier way to achieve your goal.

If you set out on a journey and discover you are going the wrong way you wouldn't continue along the same route and expect to arrive at your planned destination. In the same way, if you discover that what you are doing isn't working, it's time to make a course correction. It may be a small issue that is affecting your progress. However, unless you review and evaluate your progress you will continue to go headlong in the wrong direction and you will continually feel as if you are doing battle. You will lose the ability to feel the joy that should be associated with your life's work.

Yes, if you're not enjoying your work, if you're not having fun, it is a clear sign that all is not well and that you're going against your flow.

Imagine a life where you thoroughly enjoy your work and where you regularly take time off to replenish your spirit and have fun doing other activities. Just think how healthy you would feel plus your creativity and productivity would soar!

Most people say that they work to earn money. The world-renowned philosopher, Bob Proctor, says you should go to work for satisfaction and that you earn money through multiple streams of income. There is also a saying that:

"The more time off you take - the more money you're likely to make".

It's a question of discovering how to work on your business rather than in it. So re-examine the way you work to see how you can "achieve more by doing less".

Time management training helps you to see how you use your time now. If you’re like most people you really don’t know how you are spending your time now. You let time slip away and at the end of the day you just don’t know where it went.

Taking one week and tracking how you really spend your time is an eye opening time management training technique. Most people find it very hard to do this, but they also find great value in the exercise. Track your time each day in 30 minute increments just noting how you are spending your time each interval. You have to do this as you go. Trying to write down how you spent each interval at the end of the day just won’t work. It doesn’t even work waiting a few hours. You simply won’t be able to recall how you really spent that time.

The value of this time management training technique comes from the big picture. At the end of the week group your activities into big categories like: phone calls, appointments, projects, etc. Then total up how much time was spent in each category. Most people are shocked to learn how much of their time is literally wasted on unimportant things.

The power of this time management training technique comes for taking what you know to create what you want. Now that you know how you are spending your time currently you can change your future by planning how you will use your time. Currently you plan your time for how things are and as long as you continue to do that things will remain unchanged for you. If you want to use your time differently you have to start by planning how you want to use your time actually making appointments or blocking out time in your calendar and then stick as closely to your plan as possible.

You can’t ever change the unexpected, but you can change how you respond to the unexpected. With your newly laid plans for how you will spend your time you are prepared to deal with the unexpected. When the unexpected happens, and it will, you can look at your calendar evaluate the importance of the unexpected and determine either when you will schedule it in or if it truly has to be dealt with now how you will rearrange your calendar to compensate.

Time management is a challenge for most of us. We make lists of things we need to get done and keep written and electronic plan books to make sure we don't miss a meeting or an appointment. By the end of the week we still have several things on our list that we did not get to and several more important things have been added. We may have had to reschedule an appointment because of something that came up and conflicted with our time.

There is an easier and better way. It is a process that I learned years ago when I was attending a program on personal development. It was referred to then as rocks, pebbles, sand and I still think of it that way. Let me explain further.

The speaker made a visual presentation that was very powerful and has stayed with me all this time. He brought out a large, wide-mouthed jar and filled it with rocks that were three or four inched in diameter. He asked the audience if the jar was full. We all agreed that it was. He then brought out a container filled with small pebbles. He poured the pebbles into the jar until it could hold no more. We now were sure that the jar was full. He smiled, and then brought out a bag of sand. As we laughed and looked on, this man then filled in all of the open spaces with the fine-grained sand and even he agreed with us that the jar was finally full. He continued his speech and suddenly, out of nowhere, a man came up to the stage with a pitcher of water.

The speaker now poured the water over the mixture of rocks, pebbles and sand. When no more water could go into the jar without it running over the sides we saw that the jar was now more than full; it was completely full.

He went on to speak about this for more than an hour. He explained that the rocks represented the one or two things that are the most important to us in our lives. These things may include family, faith, work, school or anything that you make time for no matter what. He then brought out a large desk calendar and showed that he had used a red marker to indicate the time he set aside for his rocks, which were his wife and daughter and his church. He said that he blocked off the time he spent with his rocks before he made any other appointments.

Then he brought out another calendar that had the red times along with some blue ones. These were his pebbles, and included his business and his close friends. Because he had owned his business for several years now, it was no longer a rock to him. It had become a pebble and was given less time and a lower priority in his life.

The last calendar he showed us had red, blue and green markings. The green items were his sand; the things he liked to do and needed to do, but the things that were also given the very least importance in terms of his time. He pointed out a dentist appointment, a book he wanted to finish reading, and a movie he intended to watch. The water represented anything else that came up at the last minute, like going to dinner with people he didn’t know very well or looking for a new pair of shoes.

You may have heard it mentioned that time management is really about managing ones self.

That truth becomes all the more apparent when your ingrained habits seem to chew away at the time you have available each day.

Most of us deal with a few “bad habits,” but sometimes our habits move beyond “bad” into “destructive and limiting.” Does this describe some of your habits? And do those habits make managing your life almost impossible?

When it comes to bad habits, there are several that can completely stall your efforts at effective time management, but here are two common ones to start with:

1. Procrastination. This is a habit that can range from mildly annoying to downright debilitating. While some people procrastinate only occasionally, others have gotten locked into a rut of inaction that will eventually create severe problems in their lives.

2. How often do you procrastinate? Do you consistently avoid doing the things that would make your life easier? Is your favorite phrase, “I’ll do it later”? If so, you are likely causing more problems for yourself because you can’t realistically do everything later.” As a result, more and more things aren’t done getting done, right?

In order to overcome this habit, you’ll need to develop a stronger will to do certain things immediately instead of setting them aside until later. You’ll find that many tasks you’re tempted to put off until later really wouldn’t take that much time if you’d just get them over with quickly.

When you do decide to set a task aside for later, just be sure you schedule time for it so it doesn’t remain in the “later” category forevermore!

One of the luxuries of working at home is having your own schedule. However, if you don't manage your time and set rules for yourself, then it's too easy to be distracted. You need to treat your work like any other job. Set work hours. For this to work, you need to tune out everything else during this time. Don't chat on IM (unless it's work related), make social phone calls, do the laundry, etc. I know how easy it is to start chatting on MSN or browsing the web with the excuse of research. Those things can wait. Make sure that your friends and family are aware of your schedule. If they stop by for a visit, turn them away. Tell them you're working and to call next time or come during a different time of day. Be firm, this is your career on the line. If it's not important to you then it won't be important to them.

Set guidelines for interruptions. There will be emergencies or family situations that demand attention. Don't let yourself be interrupted for anything less important. Come up with a signal that the rest of the household can use to let you know they need your attention. Create a special knock, or have an object they can set on your desk. If you're married and have children, let your spouse get the child a snack or entertain him for a while. Get the household's help with the laundry or with meals. Your time will be more efficient if you focus completely on your work.

Also important is leaving your work alone when it's not work time. Put it out of your mind, spend some time with family, or get other things done. If you have a phone number for your job, set it so an answering machine picks up the calls. Unless you're a doctor, it's highly unlikely that your client's calls can't wait. Don't let them take advantage of you by being available 24/7.

With specific work hours, you can then go on to create a calendar and set business goals. A calendar will help you to manage clients and projects, avoiding the overbooking or taking on more than you can handle. Start a spreadsheet and keep track of exactly how long it takes you to do anything business related. Include time for business calls, writing articles, meeting with clients, whatever it is that you do. You can then look it over and see exactly how much time you're spending on work and go on to calculate how much you make an hour. Make every minute count.

Set business goals to improve those areas that aren't holding their weight. Are you spending too much time on the phone when you're more productive in person? Make adjustments. Do you have work hours that are wasted? Take on another project or client, make more money for your time.

Notebooks have emerged as a bare essential for the business executives who carry their work along with themselves. Notebooks which are also known as laptops can facilitate the work process thereby saving substantial and valuable time. In short, it is used as tool of time management.

Owning a notebook is a dream of many, but since it is very expensive nobody buys it unless it is indispensable to them. However, some people having shoe-string budget look for a good notebook. They are the ones who need detailed and comprehensive information on notebooks and laptops before they settle for one.

Basically, buying a notebook or laptop largely depends upon the personal choice, specific requirement and social status of a person. Besides, different manufacturers are introducing notebooks of different look with a wide-range of features. However, some notebooks are launched in the market to cater to a particular segment of buyers keeping in mind of their specific needs. Accordingly, these laptops differ in flavor, class and quality.

Let`s take a look at the various types of notebooks that are available in the market today. Keeping various factors in consideration the notebooks can be broadly divided into four major categories, such as:

Budget laptops - Typically, these laptops cost around US$ 1000 to $ 1200.

Mid-range laptops - Notebooks of this category can be found with a price-tag of about US$1200 to $1600.

Ultra-portable laptops - These light-weight laptops ranges from US$1600 to $2200.

Laptops for the people with a class apart. With all the standard and advanced features in these notebooks, they cost above US$2200.

Performance test of laptops:

Notebooks can be tested on the basis of certain benchmarks such as Multimedia content creation 2003 and Business Winston 2002. These tests determine the performance ability of different notebooks with regard to regular productivity applications and multimedia content application.

Similarly, 3D Mark05 and 3D Mark06 are used as standards to measure the gaming and graphic potential of different notebooks.

Likewise, PC Mark05 is taken as a yardstick to test various components of notebooks such as hard-disk general usage, multithreading, web-page rendering, file decryption and 3D pixel shader.

Moreover, the battery back-up and wireless connectivity can be tested using Battery Mark02 and QCheck as the benchmark.

Finally, Vista Compatibility Check can be undertaken to test if the notebooks have Vista-readiness. Under this test, the performance of the laptops is assessed on the basis of Vista drivers and Vista upgradeability.

Features:

When it comes to features, the list seems endless. Some expensive notebooks have the most advanced features such as built-in webcams, fingerprint readers, TPM and so on. So far as the features go, they can be divided into five different categories, such as:

Physical - Screen size and weight of the notebook

Connectivity - Bluetooth version 1/2, infrared, MMC reader, S-Video, DVI port, FireWire. The number and type of USB ports and PCMCIA slots.

Components - Type of optical drives, whether the notebook has a DVD combo, a CD-RW or a multi-recorder DVD-RW. The hard-drive capacity and any additional component such as wireless optical mouse or an MMC adapter.

Software - Software have always been an essential part of the package. These include recovery CDs, driver CDs, OSes, etc.

Protection - All types of protection available in a notebook, be it a finger-print reader, BIOS level HDD protection, touch-pad lock, TPM, or even rescue option available at the time of boot up.

Pricing and Warranty:

All notebooks ranging from $1200 to $4500 offer warranty of 1 year and some laptops have the option of additional extendable warranty.

Do you find yourself complaining that you never have enough time? Are other people and things keeping you from getting things done? Perhaps you are a time management strategy victim. Perhaps your own negativity and passiveness are the real source of your time management issues.

Blaming others and responding to every distraction or crisis that hits your radar screen are the easy things to do. But when you choose to respond that way you're allowing other people and other things to control your time and your destiny. You're allowing hap-in-stance to determine how you will invest your time, and keeping yourself from the achievements that would make you successful. The only way to stop being a victim is to take control of your time by taking responsibility for how you will use your time at every moment of every day.

It's impossible to make good time management strategy decisions when you are unclear about what you're trying to accomplish. Develop a clear direction for where you're headed and include a plan of action. That way you can make daily decisions related to the most important actions for you to take each and every day. You can make better decisions about how you will allocate the resources you have and the ones you need to acquire.

Multi-tasking is a myth. Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you multi-task your brain is switching between tasks, and neither is getting the attention required to do whatever you're doing well. Focus your attention on the actions you can take now to make the best use of your time Face it time is an investment of a non-renewable resource. When you don't get the most value from your time you've missed it and can never get it back. Sometimes when you miss an opportunity there isn't a second chance ever.

The adage goes "if you can't measure it you can't manage it". It's true. If you don't track and measure your outcomes you aren't focusing on what you're trying to achieve. You can have some success working that way, but if you want to ramp things up and be really successful you have to know that you're doing the right things at the right time each and every day. Take advantage of the Time Management Analysis and start improving your time management strategies today.

Scheduling is best practiced when it is done regularly; for instance, at the beginning of the week or month. When you schedule your activities you may want to follow some steps which would serve as helpful pointers to help you get organized:

Begin your planner by specifying the schedule and the amount of time you will allot for the task. Of course this will vary with the kind of and requirements for the task and with the objectives and goals you have set.

After that, you need to identify the necessary actions and steps that you think you will need for the successful completion of the task. This enumeration of actions and steps will serve as an outlined guide for you so that when you are already working on the task you will not literally get lost and confused on what you will do next. In addition, this outline of steps and actions will help you work conveniently.

One good feature of schedule preparation is its quality of being flexible. Once you are done outlining the steps and actions, go over your to-do-list and make the necessary adjustments if you think they are necessary. You can add more time for one task or chip off a small amount from it. You can change the date you have identified and so on, to fit your needs.

More importantly, do not forget to schedule in the bigger, inevitable and most important tasks first. They should be placed in the top order of your to-do-list and the less important tasks should follow. This set-up will help you experience less stress as you work on the tasks because you will start in the right manner. As you work on the most important down to the less important tasks you will notice an increase in satisfaction, pride and fulfillment as you go down the ladder; that is, as you accomplish the things in your well-prepared list.

However, do not forget to allot some time for interruptions and emergency. You will not be told when emergency cases or intermissions will turn up so you better indicate some space in your schedule. Thus, the best thing that you can do is to prepare for it especially if you have an unpredictable work where unpredictable circumstances show up. By indicating some time for such restraints, you and your schedule are being adjustable to meet the needs of the time and respond to them as they show up. You call this kind of time in your schedule as "contingency time."

Then, after indicating the contingency time what remains is the working time, the time that you have specified to work on the tasks and meet your priorities and goals.

Scheduling is best practiced when it is done regularly; for instance, at the beginning of the week or month. When you schedule your activities you may want to follow some steps which would serve as helpful pointers to help you get organized:

Begin your planner by specifying the schedule and the amount of time you will allot for the task. Of course this will vary with the kind of and requirements for the task and with the objectives and goals you have set.

After that, you need to identify the necessary actions and steps that you think you will need for the successful completion of the task. This enumeration of actions and steps will serve as an outlined guide for you so that when you are already working on the task you will not literally get lost and confused on what you will do next. In addition, this outline of steps and actions will help you work conveniently.

One good feature of schedule preparation is its quality of being flexible. Once you are done outlining the steps and actions, go over your to-do-list and make the necessary adjustments if you think they are necessary. You can add more time for one task or chip off a small amount from it. You can change the date you have identified and so on, to fit your needs.

More importantly, do not forget to schedule in the bigger, inevitable and most important tasks first. They should be placed in the top order of your to-do-list and the less important tasks should follow. This set-up will help you experience less stress as you work on the tasks because you will start in the right manner. As you work on the most important down to the less important tasks you will notice an increase in satisfaction, pride and fulfillment as you go down the ladder; that is, as you accomplish the things in your well-prepared list.

However, do not forget to allot some time for interruptions and emergency. You will not be told when emergency cases or intermissions will turn up so you better indicate some space in your schedule. Thus, the best thing that you can do is to prepare for it especially if you have an unpredictable work where unpredictable circumstances show up. By indicating some time for such restraints, you and your schedule are being adjustable to meet the needs of the time and respond to them as they show up. You call this kind of time in your schedule as "contingency time."

Then, after indicating the contingency time what remains is the working time, the time that you have specified to work on the tasks and meet your priorities and goals.