Realistic time management and organization plans can improve productivity and the quality of life. However, these skills can be difficult to develop and maintain. The key elements of time management are goals, organization, delegation, and relaxation. The author addresses each of these components and provides suggestions for successful time management.
INTRODUCTION
We have all been there: busy with our jobs and taking care of our families, we have to-do lists a mile long. If we are lucky, when we stumble into bed at night, we might have crossed off a handful of tasks. We have trouble sleeping as we think about all of the things we failed to do. For some reason, in the middle of the night, the size of these tasks is exaggerated. When we get up the next day, we are sleep deprived and racked with guilt, ready to begin yet another day of being behind. This vicious cycle goes on day after day, month after month, year after year. In this age of 24/7 connectivity, if we take a “vacation,” we continue to do work, and if we don’t, we feel guilty. The fatigue, disorganization, and sense of loss of control usually leads to reduced productivity and quality
of our efforts, both professional and personal. The stress and anxiety take up valuable time and energy. Anxiety eats brainpower. How do we break this cycle? Learning to manage our time, instead of allowing time to manage us, is the key.
There are many time management and organization books and other resources. Unfortunately, many make the reader feel guilty, because it is difficult to complete all of the suggested tasks. Morgenstern [2] stressed that you must take small steps and do things that feel comfortable to you. If you feel guilty and try to adhere to someone else’s style, you are likely to become frustrated. If you find
something that works for you, you will feel good about whatever you are able to accomplish and forge ahead. For example, most authors stress the need for filing. This is great if you 1) have a simple filing scheme and 2) have someone to do the filing for you. Otherwise, filing is a time-consuming task that is difficult to maintain over time. From Morgenstern, I learned that my method of
“organized piles” is perfectly acceptable as long as I can find items easily. Instead of feeling like a filing failure, I feel successful in my maintenance of orderly heaps.
1. Margulis AR. The road to success: a career manual: how to advance to the
top. London: Elsevier; 2007.
