Better Time Management Uses A “Do It Now” Technique         (Listen to it here.)

Here’s a relevant quote by Susan L. Taylor:

We don’t have an eternity to realize our dreams,
only the time we are here.

Well, that’s a sobering thought, but that’s the reason you’re here today, to learn how to manage the time you’ve got. Recently, I talked about putting your To-Do List together. You know, with the priorities and all.

Now, here’s a little change I want to add. For better time management, I want you to add a Do It Now category to that list. Put it right at the top. This relates to a task that takes very little time. Would you like me to put a number to it? Okay. If a task will take less than 5 minutes, you’re going to do it now!

There’s one condition to this. Can you guess? I want you to quickly add this to your To Do List—at the top under the heading Do It Now. I know this takes a teeny bit of time, but there’s a reason. When you finish your Do It Now tasks, you can bask in your success. You can pat yourself on the back and tell yourself, “I am no longer a procrastinator!” Now there’s some good self-talk!

After this becomes a habit, you can drop writing down each task. Research shows that it takes approximately 21 days of doing something before it becomes ingrained as a habit. So, give it the 3-week challenge. If the self-talk congratulations are a welcome new positive attitude habit, then by all means, keep doing it. With a positive attitude, I think gold and silver will start landing on your doorstep. But we’re not concerned about that—we’re concerned about time.

My Women in Business Tip of the Week gives you an added time bonus. Now here it is.

Women in Business Tip of the Week:

I can give you a hint of the time bonus with just one word: Delegate. If you want specific information on delegation, go to the WomensMedia.com site and do a search for “delegation.” Your push from me this week is to carefully look over your To Do List and find one—merely one—task that you can delegate to someone else. It doesn’t even have to be someone in your own business. You could delegate a task to an outside vendor or service. If there’s cost involved, think about how much your time is worth to you. And remember the quote—you don’t have an eternity.

All you have to do is find one task. Pull out that To Do List, and find it and you’ll be on the road to better time management!

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Women in Business.

Further Reading:

Website, WomensMedia, by Sally Allen, Organizing: Time Management Learn 3 Must-Do Principles to Effective Time Management

Podcast (always about 5 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, A Busy Working Woman Needs To Prioritize Her To-Do List —Take These 5 Steps For A To-Do List That Keeps Your Priorities In Mind or read it here.

Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Organizing Your Desk For Time Management Results —Spending Time On Organization Is Time Well Spent! or listen to it here.

Website, WomensMedia, by Ramona Creel, 10 Ways to Delegate More Effectively

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Tags: time, management,, women,, business