Keeping It Real – Setting Realistic Goals With Your Time Management

Keeping It Real – Setting Realistic Goals With Your Time Management

One of the best ways to not get discouraged with your time managing efforts is to be realistic about how you approach your list of things to do and schedule out time to accomplish them. This means understanding how long each task can reasonably be expected to take,

how much concentration is involved, and whether or not you can work on another task at the same time without impairing the quality of your efforts.

In some cases, it is relatively easy to combine necessary tasks and save time. For example, you may find that instead of making a trip to the supermarket and then moving on to a drugstore, you simply choose to buy groceries at a supermarket that has a pharmacy department. This effectively allows you to manage two tasks at one time, and still enjoy the same level of quality with each.

However, not all situations are as simplistic as combining a couple of errands. At some point, you will be faced with tasks that require your full concentration and cannot be balanced with other tasks at the same time. The trick is to know the difference between the two scenarios.

You can identify a task that will require your full and undivided attention by the following:

• The task requires attention to a great deal of detail. Projects of this type are usually best accomplished by themselves. For example, it is not a good idea to attempt to make client calls while you are posting payments to customer invoices. Because it is important to apply the right amount to the correct invoice number under the correct client account, you don’t need to be interrupted until the job is complete. Otherwise, your company receipts will be out of line, making it necessary to find time to isolate the origin of the problem and correct it at a later date.

• You are unfamiliar with the task. In general, it is not a good idea to attempt to multitask when learning to handle some new responsibility. In order to master the new task, all your focus should be on that task. This will help to keep the learning curve to a minimum and allow you to begin the process of integrating that new task into your daily agenda. Attempting to learn how to handle the task in a piecemeal fashion will only drag things out and put your further behind.

• The timing for the task is urgent. For example, your boss needs a report in time for his or her meeting right after lunch. Instead of working the report into your other and less important tasks, reorganize your schedule and make the report your priority. As soon as the report is done and turned in to your boss, you can get back to your other action items and continue on with your day.

Sometimes, the issue is not so much figuring out how to arrange your tasks to best advantage, but setting reasonable time aside to accomplish each one. To an extent, this can be forgiven when you are first taking on a new task. After all, you’ve never done it before and must rely on second hand information to estimate the time you will need to do a good job. But failing to set reasonable time limits for tasks you have done for some time can make a good day into a bad one in no time at all.

There are two different ways that people tend to get in trouble with assigning time values to specific tasks:

• They don’t allow enough time to complete the task properly. When this happens, one of two things is about to happen. First, the entire day may be thrown out of kilter because other tasks back up and create a bottleneck that cannot be addressed until you finish your current task. The other alternative is that you become frustrated and lose even more valuable time attempting to focus and get on with the task. Either way, your time management process will suffer.

• They allow too much time for the task to be completed. There is no real value in allowing a half hour to do a task that you know will take no more than five minutes to complete. While it is important to always build in some spare pockets of time into your schedule throughout the day, keep it within reason. You will still be able to deal with unexpected events that crop up at the last minute by setting aside ten to fifteen minutes for that five-minute task. At the same time, you will use each hour to better advantage and get more done. Whether running a household or on the job, that is important.

There is also the danger of trying to cram too many action items into a given time frame. Even the most efficient of time managers realize there are only so many hours in each day. Cutting corners in order to save time on various tasks may appear like efficient time management on the surface, but this approach can easily backfire. Tasks that are only half-done in order to move them out the door more quickly are much more likely to come right back. As a result, the time savings you created before is quickly gobbled up as you have to sit down and redo the task, this time without taking the short cuts.

While setting reasonable goals seems to come naturally to some people, others struggle with this part of effective time management. Here are a few suggestions that may help make it easier to evaluate each task and carve out an appreciable amount of time to devote to each item on your agenda.

A. Begin with a defined start and end time for your workday. What this does is immediately allow you to determine how many hours you can reasonably devote to getting things done today. When you have a job, this step is pretty much defined for you, since there is usually a specific time to be at work and a specific time to leave. However, even if the process takes place in a household, setting a start and end time will make it much easier to schedule your time realistically.

B. Take a look at each task and attempt to prioritize them to best advantage. Any tasks that must be done by a specific time of day should take priority during the scheduling. For example, if you have three tasks that must be done before lunch every day of the week, schedule them as early in the morning as possible. This will automatically provide you with some extra time later in the morning if there is an unanticipated snag with any of the three tasks. The chances of still making your lunchtime deadline will be much better.

C. Assign a time allotment for each task, based on all data that is at your disposal. For tasks that you’ve done before, you will have a personal knowledge of how long it takes to manage them effectively. However, for new tasks, you may have to depend on input from others to set up a realistic goal for completion. If the task is new to everyone, then you may have to set aside the amount of time you used in the past for a different but somewhat similar task. Demonstrate some flexibility with your time allotments, since different factors can influence how long it takes to manage different tasks, even ones you’ve done for years.

D. Ask for input, but don’t rely solely on what others have to say.

Since we’ve already established that proper time management involves being open to new methods and strategies, there is always the chance that a suggestion or idea from a third party will help you manage a task in a more efficient and timely manner. However, not every suggestion will be constructive, so don’t automatically assume it will work. By all means, take it, look it over, and maybe even give it a try. But if it doesn’t seem to have the potential to streamline the process and allow you to manage your time more

efficiently, don’t be backward about rejecting the suggestion and explaining why it is not practical. For all you know, doing so will prevent someone else from getting bogged down because they implemented a process that is really not all that efficient.

E. Never stop evaluating the schedule you create. Situations and conditions change over time. What worked very well five years ago may not be the best option today. But unless you are willing to look into new options, this may slip right past you. In fact, others may fail to notice as well, especially if your usual schedule is still somewhat effective and does not disrupt others. But without this constant process of re-evaluation, you stand to miss out on some great tools that would help you manage your time to better effect.

While many of your time management goals are focused on the successful and timely completion of action items, a realistic approach to setting goals involves a little more than just getting things done. Don’t forget to include these elements in your goal setting as well:

• Time to play as well as time to work. Without some rest and recreation, it is all too easy to begin viewing your daily activities as a repetitive grind that leaves you feeling dehumanized. While you want to get things done efficiently and on time, make sure you don’t do so at the expense of taking your lunch hour or getting away from work on time. Life is a lot more than simply having a finished agenda at the end of the day.

Face the fact that some days will be filled with unexpected factors that no one could possibly have foreseen. No matter how well refined your time management is, there are times when it will have to be revised at the last moment. Accept this as the way things go sometime and do not see it as a failure on your part to effectively manage your time. Instead, see it as an opportunity to accept a challenge and come out on top at the end of the day.

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So How Do I Stop Obsessing And Get Back On Track?

So How Do I Stop Obsessing And Get Back On Track?

Your first step in overcoming obsession is to realize you have a problem. Without admitting that you have lost your sense of perspective, there is no hope of ever recovering it. Understanding what your obsession is doing to yourself and those around you can serve as the motivation to make changes and begin the road back to using time management in a positive way.

In order to get yourself back on track, take the following actions:

A. Step Back and Attempt To See Yourself Through The Eyes of Others

This can be very hard to do, but it will make a huge difference in how quickly you regain your equilibrium. Look at how you’ve been applying time management basics for the last week, month, or six months, however long you suspect that a problem has been forming. Pretend someone other than yourself was taking those same actions or approaches. Do they make sense? Were they productive or counter- productive over time? Did they lead to a sense of fulfillment or only create more issues to deal with? Some of what you see may come as a shock. That’s okay, because at this point in time a little shock is a good thing.

B. Get a Grip on the Multitasking

While there are certainly times when doing two or more things simultaneously is in the best interests of using your time wisely, that is not always the case. Identify some instances when you had to redo tasks because they were not done as well as they should have been. Were you attempting to juggle too many tasks at the time, resulting in the inferior outcome? If so, now consider how much time you would have saved by prioritizing those tasks rather than multitasking. You are likely to find that handling one task, then moving on to the second one would have actually used only a little more time than the multitasking, and quite a bit less than having to go back and redo one or both tasks.

C. Stop The Guilt

Remind yourself that you do a good job and that you do get things done properly and on time. That means you deserve the chance to shift gears and read a book, have a walk, or go for a swim. Your time is not being wasted when you engage in these kinds of activities, or any others that allow you to blow the cobwebs out of your head and reinvigorate your body and mind.

You are simply preparing yourself to manage your time effectively tomorrow as you take care of necessary tasks at the right time and in the right order. There is no reason to feel guilty about lingering over dinner, watching television or having a nap, as long as your tasks are on schedule or even completed for the day. Just remember that when tomorrow comes, you will be refreshed and ready to take on anything the day should bring.

Just as it is hard to get into the swing of developing productive time management attitudes and practices, it is likely to take some time to divest yourself of any bad habits that have crept in over time. Don’t expect to make a complete recovery in a day or two. But just as when you are first learning how to manage your time well, reward yourself when you are able to move a little closer to a balanced perspective and minimize your obsessive behavior a little more.

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Can Time Management Become An Obsession?

Can Time Management Become An Obsession?

While time management is a very good thing, there are situations where people tend to take the whole idea of using time wisely to the extreme. When this happens, the essential goal of managing your time gets lost in all the busy-ness and drive to cram too much into too little time. As a result, the process of time management ceases to be a help and becomes a severe hindrance instead.

There are several early warning signs that you are beginning to abuse time management rather than use it to best advantage:

A. You Multitask A Lot – All The Time Actually

In today’s world, it is not unusual for people to handle more than one task at a time. This is perfectly all right, as long as the tasks in question can be conducted concurrently without causing a great deal of stress. For example, it is possible to participate on a conference call while also sending instant messages to the moderator of the conference. The two activities actually work together without any real difficulty.

However, many people attempt to conduct two or more labor-intensive tasks at the same time. This can lead to a great deal of inner conflict and possibly have a negative impact on the quality applied to all the tasks involved. In other words, instead of ending up with one task done well, you have two tasks that may be completed but are barely acceptable.

Some people find themselves unable to stop multitasking even when it is not necessary. The idea behind this approach is that the multitasking will make it easier to finish all the action items currently on the agenda and enjoy some well-earned downtime. Unfortunately, people who have become obsessed with multitasking in order to manage their time never get around to having any downtime. Instead, they finish one set of projects and immediately start looking for another set to do at once.

Multitasking as part of time management is fine, provided the tool is used with wisdom and discretion. When it becomes an end in and of itself rather than a means to reach a goal, it is time to step back and re-evaluate the situation.

B. You Feel Guilty If You Are Not Doing Something

Guilt can be an effective tool when it comes to keeping us on track. However, guilty feelings when there is nothing to feel guilty about is another matter altogether. When guilt creeps into the time management process, it is usually an indicator that the individual has begun to believe on some level that unless they are not actively engaged in some task, they are not managing their time well.

While it is important to take care of necessary tasks in a timely manner, human beings also need some time to simply relax and recharge. From this perspective, failing to include time for rest and recreation is actually a breach of good time management policies. By denying your mind and your body of what it needs to be healthy, you are actually defeating the purpose of time management, and setting yourself up for a fall at some future point.

C. You Become Hyper-Critical Of Others Who Do Not Do As You Do

One of the ways many people validate their actions is by comparing them with what other people do. After all, if others are employing the same approaches and methodologies to time management that we are, that means we are on the right track. However, when people do things differently from us and we immediately assume they are wrong and we are right, something has gone terribly awry with our sense of time management.

Every person brings different talents and abilities to a given task. This means there may in fact be more than one right approach when tackling the same tasks or projects. People who have a balanced view of time management realize this and may even welcome the opportunity to learn something new. However, people who assume their way is the only right way will immediately be on the defensive and find fault with as many aspects of the alternative method as possible.

Again, this negative point of view is not in keeping with true time management principles. Not only does this mindset make it impossible to be exposed to new ways of managing tasks and possibly saving time, it also can create a great deal of stress and friction for everyone  concerned. As a result, everyone’s ability to manage time effectively is impaired and no one progresses as quickly as they would if all parties would attempt to learn from one another.

The bottom line is that you can become so obsessed with time management that you actually begin to undo any good you’ve created and put yourself in a position where you are more likely to fail. When this happens, you may be worse off than when you didn’t attempt any type of structured time management at all.

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Refining the Process of Time Management

Refining the Process of Time Management

Some people look upon time management the same way they would a crossword puzzle, a short story, or a math problem. Puzzles, stories, and math problems have a defined beginning, a middle, and an end that is clearly identified. While the process of time management certainly does have a beginning, there is no real end to the process. It is ongoing, much like the way that a river continues to flow when there are no dams or other impediments to stop its flow.

Once you have created a solid beginning to your time management mindset and approaches, you will continue to refine them for the rest of your life. That is, you will do so if you do not make the mistake of assuming you have learned all there is to know about the subject.

Just as time continues to flow, the process of time management continues to evolve. Part of the reasons for this is that the world continues to change. As new situations arise or old situations are changed in some manner, methodologies and approaches that worked very well a few years ago may not be so effective today. Hence, the need to create, learn and implement new ways of applying the basic principles of time management.

Not everyone who claims to be an excellent time manager grasps this basic understanding. They continue trying to fit new situations and settings into the same old mold they’ve used successfully in the past. Often, the result is much like attempting to shove a square peg into a round hole. It simply doesn’t fit and slows progress down to a crawl.

In order to keep evolving in your understanding and use of time management, you must prevent yourself from getting too attached to any one way of doing things. There must always be a sense of openness to new ideas, new strategies and new ways to handle different tasks. Without this openness, there is a good chance that some very productive approaches will slip past, leaving you unprepared to deal with a number of situations.

If you are serious about continually refining your grasp of time management, you must:

• Keep an open mind. New situations are sometimes handled effectively with proven approaches. At other times, they call for brand new methodologies that must be learned. If you are flexible enough to consider these alternative solutions, you just might find a new way of saving time that will help you with other tasks on your list as well as this new one that just cropped up.

• Know your stuff, but remain teachable. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you know everything. True, you may know a lot. But there is always someone who knows something you don’t. If you are serious about expanding the scope of your knowledge, be willing to listen and learn, even if the source appears to be an unlikely one.

• Give new ideas a test drive. It’s not enough to be willing to consider new ideas or even learn the basics of them. You need to be willing to try them out before you decide your old way is better. Take the example of typing a letter. When word processing software became widely available, it was met with a considerable amount of opposition from typists who were able to type a business letter at an impressive speed and with no errors. If they could produce a professional letter using a typewriter, what good was using a desktop computer? Fortunately, people soon found that using the word processing software was much more efficient than the old reliable typewriter and after a brief period of transition, excellent typists quickly came to love the resources that were suddenly at their disposal. What would have happened if they had rejected the new technology out of hand?

There is always the potential to learn something new that will make it easier to organize your tasks and put your time to better use. Embrace this fact rather than fight it, and you are very likely to find that the process of time management becomes all the easier.

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What Happens When We Don’t Manage Our Time Effectively?

What Happens When We Don’t Manage Our Time Effectively?

When we make a choice, either consciously or by default, to not take hold of our time and use it to best advantage, life can get pretty rough. You will most certainly miss out on a lot of good things, many of which will never come your way again. Even everyday tasks will become overwhelming and seemingly impossible to keep up with.

It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about things around the house, your friends, or conditions at work. If you don’t manage your time well, you will lose a lot.

Here are some examples of how failing to manage your time properly can have a negative impact on your home:

1. There’s no food in the kitchen. Because you never got around to going to the supermarket, you are now down to a couple boxes of salt, half a loaf of stale bread, and a mostly empty tub of butter. Fixing a quick lunch is not going to be a pleasant activity to day.

2. Of course, you can just call for delivery. That is, you could if you had ever gotten around to making a payment on your credit card. However, since your payment is now several days late, your credit card provider has suspended your charging privileges. So much for ordering pizza today.

3. There is the option of paying cash or writing a check. Unfortunately, your last paycheck is setting on the dresser, right next to your car keys, never cashed or deposited into your checking account. You’ve not gotten around to depositing it in the bank yet, so if you write a check, it is likely to bounce, and all the money you have left in the house is that big glass jar full of pennies that is under the kitchen sink. Try paying for pizza with that.

4. Things would be a little less dire if you had signed up for direct deposit at work. Unfortunately, you still have the authorization form on your desk and haven’t got around to turning it into the payroll department.

Get the picture? Home goes to seed because you never get around to doing the little things that keep a household running. Before too long,  things begin to fall apart, creating a lot of stress and inconvenience that could have been avoided if you had simply managed your time a little better.

Home is not the only place that bad time management can rear its ugly head. Consider these examples from the workplace:

1. You’re ten minutes late to work again. That’s because you didn’t get around to setting the alarm clock last night and overslept. If that wasn’t bad enough, you can’t even slip in undetected. The boss has already been looking for you this morning.

2. There is a reason your boss wants to see you. Your weekly report is already two days overdue. What your boss doesn’t know is that you are only half way through the task, since you seem to get sidetracked by something else every time you attempt to finish up the report. Things look pretty bleak as far as getting it done today, since you are already behind with today’s tasks, thanks to being late once again.

3. Poor performance and a growing reputation for tardiness is not winning you any fans at work. Some of your coworkers used to take pity on you, and would pitch in to help when you got buried under a pile of assignments. These days, they just shake their heads and walk away. Some of them are starting to wonder why you aren’t let go, so someone who will take the job seriously can step in and straighten out your mess.

4. Want a raise or a promotion? Forget it. Your boss is not about to recommend you for a raise when you are habitually late to work and can’t handle your present assignments. In fact, you’ve just been given your second disciplinary warning in a month. With the next one, you’ll be suspended for a few days. If that doesn’t help, you will soon be looking for another job.

People sometimes think that the process of time management focuses on tasks that are somewhat complicated and have a series of steps that must be completed. While there is no doubt that time management principles apply to detail and labor intensive tasks, they also apply to the everyday mundane tasks as well. This is where many people trip up and get themselves into a lot of trouble.

If you don’t get anything else from these examples, take away this one simple fact. Poor time management creates a snowball effect that eventually causes you and others around you a lot of grief. Life is a lot easier when you master the little things and keep the boat on an even keel.

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Why Do I Need to Manage My Time Effectively Anyway?

Why Do I Need to Manage My Time Effectively Anyway?

We all know people that seem to drift through life, never worried about anything and never seeming to accomplish anything. At some point, a friend or relative swoops in and takes up their slack. Or they simply role with the punches, do no more than they have to do to get by, and let everything else take care of itself.

Is that the way you want to be? If so, stop reading and take a nap. There is only one good reason to take control of your time and manage it to best advantage: you want to get things done and make life better for yourself.

Is that a selfish thing? You bet it is! But just think of all the benefits that come out of this type of selfish behavior. Because you proactively manage your time, you benefit from creating more spare time to spend doing the things you love. If you have family or close friends, that means more time to be around people who make you laugh and who care about you. It can also mean you acquire a reputation for being an efficient employee who gets the job done. As a result, you have a better chance of getting a raise, a promotion, or an offer for a better job with more benefits.

So go ahead and be a little selfish about the way you manage your time. You benefit, your loved ones benefit, and your employer benefits. That means there is not much of a down side for anyone.

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GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK

Far too often, someone trying to maximize their time and organize their schedule will make the mistake of thinking that every moment needs to be scheduled and that every minute of recreation is a waste. In reality, people need rest and relaxation on a regular basis. Being able to shut out complicated matters from the mind and allow it to have some "brain candy" every now and again can mean less stress.

Hobbies can also indulge one's imagination and creativity and even sharpen memory skills and problems solving abilities. When you do crossword puzzles or read, you are strengthening those connections in the brain that allow for clear thinking.

Taking a break can mean strengthening bonds between friends and family as well. Being able to laugh over drinks with friends or go to the zoo with the children means feeling closer to those people. Time spent with a spouse or parents or siblings or close friends is important for everyone involved.

Being unbalanced with recreation and wastes of time is bad for your schedule in both ways; too much recreation and you get nothing done, but no recreation and you create stress and tension for yourself. You can also make other people feel bad if you constantly turn them down for recreation opportunities, and this includes your spouse, children, and family.

TIME IS LIMITED

To really motivate you to make the most of your time, you can also remember that time is limited for everyone. This isn't meant to be morbid or depressing; this is simply a reality that needs to be considered. When you waste a minute or a day, you'll never get it back.

It's also good to remember that time will continue to move forward no matter how you spend it. Soon enough it will be a year from now, and then five years from now. And will you have accomplished something in that time or not? Will you still be right where you are today or will you be closer to achieving your goals?

Understanding that time is limited will mean that you'll make the most of it, no matter what. When something that is not a priority for you begins to eat up your time, you'll see that time as being too precious and valuable to waste that way. You won't let someone steal it from you anymore than you would allow someone to steal money from your wallet.

Maximizing your time will take practice and it might be a bit uncomfortable at first as you learn how to say "no" to people and start putting yourself first. But it's a skill that can and will be learned. It's something you must consider in order to be sure you're making the most of it.

And the time to start doing that is now! Right now, today. After all, today's time is part of that "bank" of time you have and should be thought of as being just as valuable as any other time you'll get.

So what have you done today to maximize your time? Going over these points is a good start, but unless you start applying them, you'll never get past that good start. So don't put it off; do everything you can today to start maximizing your time and making the most of your schedule, and by doing so you'll get the most out of your life!

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THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW!

So how can you apply all these tips and tricks we've outlined in order to maximize your time and achieve your goals? There is no clear-cut answer that will work for everyone, but there are some additional points you can consider in order to get you on your way. Think of the following:

SMALL STEPS

Trying to maximize your time and change bad habits all at once is rarely effective. Typically you need to take small steps to apply everything we've outlined so far. How to do this?

• Pick one thing you need to work on. This might be delegating, prioritizing, tuning out from distractions, or something else. Work on it this week and the next. Get

• into the habit of applying the tips we've outlined for that particular issue. When you are more skilled with that, move on to another point.

• When working on a project remember the tips we've outlined regarding taking small steps for that as well. Work on something for 15 minutes every day or every other day. Set aside one hour on the weekend rather than thinking you'll spend your entire Saturday cleaning out the garage or organizing your finances.

• Be patient with yourself. As you make progress, realize that you won't change everything at once. Be glad when you conquer one small step or overcome one obstacle.

REMEMBER YOUR GOALS

Another good reason to write down your goals is so that you can keep them in front of you constantly. Think of the things you want to accomplish by organizing your time and making the most out of it. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to clean and organize your house from top to bottom? Do you want that advanced degree or better career? Do you just want to be more organized with your life overall?

Remembering the things you want to do with your time will help to impel you to keep up with the changes necessary to maximize your schedule. Think seriously about how you'll feel when you finally have a workable schedule and can then pursue those goals. Imagine all the benefits of achieving the things you want to achieve - having lost weight, having cleaned your house or gotten control of your debt, having gotten that degree, and so on.

When things get difficult and you get tempted to give up on your plans for maximizing your time, and that television is calling, think seriously about your goals. Think about what you're trying to accomplish and the benefits you'll see.

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

As you move along with maximizing your time to achieve your goals, it's good to keep track of your progress. This means you can be encouraged to continue along, as you see how you've made changes and how those changes have impacted you.

When you look back and see progress you've made then you know you're on the right track. You know that you're being effective and are accomplishing your goals and maximizing your time. Knowing that you're on the right track can help you to stay on that track.

As said, it's good to reward yourself along the way. Mark milestones in your calendar and be sure to acknowledge and celebrate them. This can be with something as simple as a long hot bath or it can mean a new outfit, a new power tool, a long romantic weekend, or just an hour to yourself as you contemplate your own progress.

When you reward yourself and acknowledge your progress you really drive home the point that taking control of your time and your schedule is a good thing. It means good things for you and your family. There are reasons why you're doing this and those reasons are ones that should be celebrated.

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YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

One reason it's so important to understand that your time is your own is because we all need to take responsibility for how we spend that time. It's too easy to think that you're not getting anything done because your friends interrupt on the phone, the children are a top priority, you need to handle everything on your own, and so on.

But in reality, you make a choice to talk to your friend on the phone when he or she calls, don't you? You've made a choice to devote every waking minute to your children rather than prioritizing and sharing responsibilities. You make a choice to take on all jobs and responsibilities yourself, rather than delegating.

It's true that often someone else can be very good at making a person feel bad if they don't give up their time, but in this area too it's good to take responsibility for your own feelings. You can't allow someone else to use guilt or manipulation to force you to give up your time, not unless you've made a choice to do so.

When you start to take responsibility for your own time, realizing that it's yours to do with as you please, you understand better how to maximize your time. You better understand that you are making a choice when you allow someone else to take that time away from you.

MAKING CHOICES

Choosing how you spend your time is like choosing how you spend your money. Your money is yours to do with as you please. You may again be arguing, saying that your money must go to the mortgage or rent, car payment, utilities, and so on. But as with your time, you're making a choice to spend your money on these things. You're choosing to live in a home or apartment and have chosen on with the payment it has. You choose to have a car and utilities rather than to be homeless and trying to live off the land.

And when someone asks you for money, what is your response? Chances are you think carefully about how much you give away and to whom. You probably don't just pull out your wallet and spread around your money to anyone and everyone that asks.

Your time is much the same. When someone tries to interrupt or wants you to give up your priorities for theirs, you need to think about this carefully. Again, this isn't to say that you never give your time to someone else but you should do so because you've made a careful choice. You've measured their needs for your time versus your wants for your time and have decided on what to do; you haven't just given your time away blindly.

If you begin to think of your time as being much like your money, you may realize the value it has. You may realize that indeed it is yours to do with as you please. The decisions you make regarding your time should be made carefully and considerately.

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WHY YOU DON’T DELEGATE

If you still have a difficult time thinking of ways to delegate, whether at home or in the office, you may want to consider why this is. Many people hesitate to ask for help or to assign work to others for a variety of reasons. Let's look at some common ones and consider if any of them may apply to you.

• You assume that no one can do a job as well as you do, or you nitpick the work of others.

• You may feel that if you don't do things yourself, others will look down on you.

• You're simply used to taking on all chores and responsibilities by yourself and have a hard time asking for help or giving up work to another person.

• You are often made to feel guilty if you don't take on extra responsibilities and chores.

• You enjoy the rush and pressure of trying to do too much.

While it may be uncomfortable, especially at first, for you to start delegating tasks, it's going to be necessary to learn this habit and skill in order to maximize your time. When you begin to hesitate to pass along responsibility, consider a few points:

• Children need to learn responsibility and how to care for themselves and the home. It's better for them to have chores around the house than not, so giving them age appropriate work is good for them as well as for you.

• If both parents work outside the home, why would one do the majority of the housework, child raising, and so on? This can be damaging to one's health if someone were to get overworked and frazzled.

• Allowing someone else to have responsibility can build their self- esteem and self-confidence. They can also feel appreciated and part of a team, such as at the office.

• If you're overly critical of the work of others and assume you're the only one that can handle certain responsibilities, might this be a reflection of an ego out of control? Why is your way better or "right"?

• When you assume that others will look down on you if you don't take on everything yourself, might this be untrue? How do you know what others are thinking? And is their thinking more important than the goals and plans you have for yourself and the ways you want to maximize your time?

Delegating may be something of a skill but it is one you can learn. Often it gets easier along the way. Keep reminding yourself that you have better things to do with your time than trying to do everything in front of you, and that you will accomplish more if you think of quality projects you want to care for, not just the quantity of projects.

YOUR TIME IS YOURS

With all this information we've shared so far, what would you say is the most important point when it comes to maximizing your time?

No doubt the idea that time is limited is important. When you understand this, you realize how you should never fritter it away. It becomes most valuable and something you need to guard and protect.

Or perhaps you're realizing how you should never let another person's priorities take precedence over your own. When you do, you're allowing them to steal your time just as you would allow someone to steal your money. As you learn to make your own priorities a, well, a priority, you learn how to set your schedule and your calendar so that your time is used wisely.

There are many good points we've made so far about time and how to spend it. We've also covered many points regarding how you should view time and the things you do to fill it.

But one very important point to consider above and beyond all others is that your time is your own. It's belongs to you, not to your boss, your family, your friends or anyone else.

You might immediately argue with this, saying that when you're at work, your time does belong to your boss. Or that you do need to spend time to care for your children. This is all true to a certain extent; your boss does have the right to tell you how you'll spend at work and having children, a

relationship, a home, and friends and family will all mean demands on your time.

But the bottom line is that you choose to dedicate your time to these things. You choose to have a job with a boss that tells you what to do. Those hours during the day are yours and you can easily sit at home and refuse to work, but you choose to devote them to a job. Those hours you spend with your children are yours, but you've chosen to give them away to your children - and rightly so.

Realizing that your time is your own to keep or give away as you please should help you to understand all the finer points of maximizing your time. When someone interrupts and you step away from your project, you have now chosen to give away your time to them. That's your time to do with as you please, so it's up to you to make that decision. When someone else's concerns take priority over yours, you've chosen to give away that time that is yours to their needs.

Of course there are times when this is a good thing; no one is saying that you should suddenly become selfish and do only what you want, when you want, all the time. If you decide to have children then it could be said that you owe them a debt of time since they need attention from you, both physically and emotionally. So does your partner and your friends as well.

And certainly giving away your time to others has its own advantages. You give your boss eight or nine hours every day in exchange for that paycheck you get every week. This in turn means you have a home in which to live, food to eat, and so on. Your time has become a tradeoff with benefits to you, not just the other person.

This is true in personal relationships as well. If you tradeoff your time to give some to friends, you have strong bonds with them in return. They'll be there for you when you need someone to talk with or when you want to go out and have a few laughs. You give time to your partner and in return have a loving relationship. Giving your time in these ways will benefit you.

But again, you're making a choice. There are many people out there that choose a different course of action. They're indifferent to the time needed to invest in a relationship or the time children need in order to grow and mature properly. Often this selfishness of refusing to give up one's time has very poor results for everyone.

It is important however to strike a balance in what you give away when it comes to time and what you keep for yourself. No one can force you to give your time away; the only thing anyone can do is put a choice in front of you, and then you need to make that choice for yourself. Your job puts a choice in front of you for either earning a living or sponging off someone else, so you choose to go into work every day. Having children means a choice of dedicating some time with them in exchange for a strong family life or seeing your children be neglected and no doubt developing behavior problems because of this. Your time is yours and every minute of every day you choose how you'll spend it.

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HOW TO SET PRIORITIES

So how do you set priorities? Obviously you cannot just stop working or give up on taking care of the children or your home in order to maximize

your time. There will always be priorities in your schedule that are set by someone else or that simply need to be cared for because of their nature.

The key here is how a person spends their time when it comes to circumstances over which they have a choice. You have a choice as to how much recreation you have every week. You have a choice as to whether or not you'll volunteer for your child's school project or sit on the phone for an hour while your friend drones on and on.

YOUR PRIORITIES

One thing to remember about priorities is that you may let other people set those for you, and you may be allowing their priorities to overshadow yours. When you take on a volunteer project for your child's school, this is a priority for your child, his or her teacher, and the school. But is it your priority? When you take up a volunteer project through church or a civic organization, is this something really important to you or is it more important to these other people?

This can happen too with recreation. Is going out with friends really something you enjoy and get the most out of, or is it more of a priority for them? Are you going because you've always gone or feel obligated? When a friend or your mom calls and talks on the phone for an hour, how important is this conversation to you? Are you perhaps allowing what's important to someone else to become important to you, more so than your real goals?

If you can keep these thoughts in mind when you set your priorities and keep your calendar, you'll realize how your own important tasks and goals need to come first and how to set the work of others on the back burner.

SCHEDULE AND CALENDAR

A good schedule is going to be necessary in order to set priorities and stick with them. Go over your calendar and see where your priorities have fallen; if you have no time in your calendar to work toward what is important to you, but find that you're always doing for other people, then you've lost sight of your own priorities.

When something is a priority for you, it makes its way onto your calendar whether you realize it or not. Every morning when you go to work, your job has become a priority on your calendar. When you shower, make dinner, go grocery shopping, and do all these things without even considering them, they have time and space on your calendar even if you don't necessarily write them down.

Letting your own priorities slip will mean that you now need to work them into your calendar and your schedule, even writing them down if necessary. On Tuesday night you'll be in school getting your advanced degree no matter what, every weekend you're going for a job on Saturday afternoon no matter what, and so on.

Scheduling means omitting some things that should not be a priority for you and adding in those things that should be. Once you realize your own priorities and realize how you've let other people and their concerns take precedence over yours, then this will be much easier for you.

LEARNING TO DELEGATE

How often do you delegate tasks in order to get done the things you want to get done? There may be many things that cannot and should not be delegated. Your children need attention from you as does your spouse or partner. When at work there are things that you simply must do yourself as you have no other options. You might not be able to afford to pay someone to clean your house, care for your lawn, do your laundry, and so on.

But often delegating can be done in many ways that you wouldn't imagine. And if you delegate some tasks this means opening up your schedule so that you can work toward those goals you have.

Let's take a look at some ways you can delegate tasks at home and on the job so that you can maximize your time.

IN THE FAMILY

It's a sad fact that even career women today still wind up doing the majority share of the housework, child raising, and chores caring for the home. Whatever the reason for this, it's good for the entire family to consider how things can and should be delegated so that chores are shared more equally.

Here are some examples of how this can happen:

• If both adults in the home work, why must mom always make dinner?

Assign nights when your husband or partner will prepare dinner

completely. Or trade off - one will make dinner if the other gets the children their breakfast in the morning and prepares their lunches for the day.

• You can also trade off other chores. One cooks but the other does dishes. One does laundry each week and the other cleans the house.

• Trade days when you run errands or take the children to school.

• As children get older, they can and should be helping out around the house as well. Younger children can set and clear the table, bring their dirty clothes to the laundry room, and pick up their own toys. Older children can do yard work, housework, cooking, making their own lunch, laundry, and chores such as these.

It may take a few family meetings, a chore chart, or other methods to get everyone on board but it can and should be done. Not only will delegating tasks in the home free up your time, it will also teach everyone responsibility and keep any one person from being overwhelmed as well.

AT HOME

As the family pitches in and you delegate responsibility to others, there may be additional ways you can delegate chores and jobs. While you might not be able to afford a full-time household staff, there are more affordable ways to get help and to delegate at home.

• Neighborhood children can help with yard work, walking a dog, or even house cleaning. You may even know someone from your church or religious organization that would be very affordable when it comes to this type of help.

• If there is a college nearby, even a community college, you may be able to advertise the help you need around the home and the price

• you're willing to pay. Often college students are willing to do small chores or babysitting for an affordable price.

• If you're caring for an aging parent or disabled spouse or child, you may be able to have a visiting nurse or home health aide visit on a regular basis. This may be reimbursed through your insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

• Other family members should also be pitching in when it comes to aging spouses or family that needs care. Your own siblings, aunts and uncles, and other relatives can and should help with these situations.

If you put your mind to it you may find that there are many ways you can get help around the house and delegate certain chores and tasks without spending a fortune on professional help. However, you may also want to consider if the price you pay for a professional is worth the time you save as well. A cleaning company, a professional lawn care service, or someone to tutor your child and assist with homework can be worth the few dollars you pay if it means getting your time back in exchange.

AT WORK

Can you delegate chores and tasks at work? Sometimes the answer is legitimately no; there are reasons why you must do certain jobs on your own. Others may not be qualified and these things may just be your job to do. But chances are you can find ways to delegate tasks at work so that you are using your time effectively there as well.

For example, can you have someone from the clerical staff help you with minor typing or filing? Can someone return basic phone calls for you? Is it possible to teach someone, such as the receptionist, some basic

responsibilities of your paperwork so that he or she can handle these things for you?

There might also be times when you do have staff on hand that can assist with different responsibilities but you're hesitant to have them do this. You may not trust their work or just don't know how to speak up. In any event, delegating at work will mean getting the most out of the time you do have so that projects are completely properly and effectively.

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SETTING GOALS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME

As mentioned, one reason that many fail to maximize their time is that they just don't know how. Time should be used to accomplish things, but what? And how? Without clear goals in mind it's easy to simply fritter away time and then wonder why you're not where you want to be in life.

Chances are you know what you want and know where you want to be, but have never really solidified or cemented these desires into real dreams and goals. That wishful thinking and daydreaming will do nothing to get you there! Making those goals concrete and figuring how to work toward them will mean making the best use of your time in order to achieve everything you want.

SETTING GOALS

So what are your goals? You probably want to break them down into personal and professional goals, if you work or have a career. These goals can also be large or small, immediate and long-term.

Here are some suggestions for considering your goals, both personal and professional:

§ Losing weight, even if it's just ten pounds; exercising more, or stopping smoking.

§ Adopting a child.

§ Getting an advanced degree.

§ Getting a promotion or a better job.

• Running your own business.

• Starting an online business or website.

• Buying a vacation home.

• Saving "X" amount of money for retirement.

• Organizing your finances, your dresser drawers, your basement, and so on.

• Investigating a consolidation loan to handle your credit card and other debt.

• Selling your home and buying a new one.

Think about your own goals; give them a real voice. Write them down one by one; leave none of them out, even the small goals. If necessary, walk through your home as this may remind you of different goals you have.

Your office may remind of you the career goals you have, or remind you that you would like to try to sell things online.

GOALS WITHIN GOALS

As with most projects and jobs, it's easy to get overwhelmed with reaching goals because they require so much work and effort. Often you cannot just make one change or do one thing and suddenly you've reached your goal. Typically there are other steps to the process that need to be considered.

You may call these goals within goals, and you need to note them as well. Every step that should be taken needs to be considered; this is how you can make a plan for how to reach your goals.

As an example, suppose you want to exercise more. This will mean reviewing your schedule and removing unnecessary distractions from your time. Rather than being on the company bowling league every Tuesday, you'll use that night to hit the gym. Your weekly poker game will become a monthly game so you can exercise more during those other nights.

Manageable steps.

Goals within goals are also those manageable steps we've discussed which help a person to not be overwhelmed. This is necessary with goals because of course they often mean a lot of work, whether they're small goals or large ones. Losing weight means learning to cook healthier meals, making a grocery list every week, setting aside time to pack a healthy lunch, and actually getting off the couch and on the treadmill. Each of these can and should be broken down into manageable steps so that you don't get overwhelmed and just give up on your goals.

SCHEDULE AND PLANNING

To maximize your time to reach your goals, you'll need to use some scheduling and planning. This is where many people fail to reach their goals; they know what they want and may know what is needed to achieve it, but actually going out and doing those things is something completely different.

Putting the steps to your goals in logical order will help with your scheduling and planning. To get that advanced degree, of course you need to investigate what classes you'll need to take and when they're scheduled, and if you can afford them before you rearrange your schedule to get to class. To run an online business, you need to investigate the products you wish to sell and learn how online selling really works before you just put up a website and assume you'll get orders.

When your goals are in logical steps, then it's time to schedule and plan for them. This may mean some sacrifice on your part as you give up other plans in your schedule in order to work in those things you want to work at.

As you schedule and plan, think about what you can do this week, this month, in the next few months, and so on. What can you accomplish this week to work toward your goal? What will you do next week? What will you accomplish before this month is over?

You'll also need to make concrete plans when you schedule in the steps of your goal. Rather than saying "this week" you'll meet with a college counselor about classes needed for your degree, choose a specific day or night. Write these things in your calendar as you would any other obligation you have.

TRACK PROGRESS

To keep yourself reaching toward your goals, it's good to track your progress as you go. You can mark off items from lists, see the end results from things you have already done, and reward yourself along the way.

As you set manageable goals within goals, make up a rewards system or a way to track your progress. As you reach one milestone, give yourself a small treat or reward. Remind yourself of how far you've come.

If you look behind you and see your own progress, you won't be so discouraged about what is in front of you when it comes to what you still need to accomplish. Continue to remind yourself that everything is accomplished in small steps and that you'll continue to achieve as you go along. In this way you won't be tempted to give in to discouragement as you see those goals still somewhat far off.

Celebrate each milestone of your goal along the way. If you do this you'll stay on track and make the most use of your time.

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SETTING PRIORITIES FOR YOUR SCHEDULE

What are your priorities in your schedule? If you aren't sure or assume you have none, you may want to think again. Most people have priorities but they don't realize it. If you would never leave the house without a shower, you are making hygiene a priority. If you never fail to get your children their breakfast and make their lunches before they go to school, then caring for them is a priority. When you go to work every day, your job is a priority.

Often we take care of things that are a priority without even realizing it or considering them as such. We just do them automatically because we know they need to get done; this means they're a priority.

While work and children and hygiene and household chores and things such as these obviously should be a priority, it's amazing how often someone will allow something else to become a priority when perhaps it should instead take a backseat.

Let's look at some common examples of this so you can understand what happens when priorities get confused.

RECREATION

Everyone needs recreation and relaxation; without it, people get nervous, anxious, stressed, and overly tired. Recreation can also stimulate the imagination and strengthen bonds between people as they spend time together.

Talking about priorities does not mean that you should never indulge in recreation or just rest. However, there is a problem when it becomes more of a priority than working toward your goals, or when you indulge in it so often that you're left with little time to do other things.

And recreation doesn't need to necessarily mean going to the bar or going out to play tennis with friends. It can also mean watching television, surfing the internet, reading, engaging in hobbies, walking around the mall, working on cars, talking to friends on the phone, and so on. When these things begin to interfere with your specific plans or goals, or when they monopolize

your time or are being done far too often, then they've taken a priority with you.

TIME WASTERS AND DISTRACTIONS

Along with recreation, we may allow things that waste our time and that do nothing but distract us to become a priority. For instance, when shopping for something new for the home we may research a few options and decide what is best. But then we have the urge to research every single option we have and to research these things well past the point of necessity. We may think that this should be a priority because we want to know all our choices, but chances are we're just wasting time with useless information.

Other distractions might be hobbies and pursuits that have no real purpose and which we have no need for in the first place. We decide one day that we love interior decorating and start learning all about it, with no real intent of pursuing it as a career. This priority has now wasted valuable time that could have been used to research something that really matters and that would really contribute to our life overall.

OTHER PEOPLE

When do other people become a priority and when should they be put off? There's no easy answer to that as there are times when other people should take priority over what we want to do. A sick child or family member, a friend going through a crisis, and even volunteer work may be a priority and with good reason.

Typically however we allow others to become a priority over ourselves when there really is no reason for that to happen. Children need attention and to be cared for but they also need to respect an adult's time as well and can often entertain themselves. As they get older of course they should be taking care of many of their own needs such as making food or doing laundry.

When thinking of other people and how their needs take priority over our plans for our schedule, it's good to consider if we're really responding to a friend in crisis or just to someone's need for attention. Your friend is bored and so he or she calls you up. If you can schedule in recreation then there's nothing wrong with that but just dropping everything you're doing because they ask means they're taking a top priority.

Other people may take a priority whenever they ask something of you. Your church needs a volunteer and you automatically sign up. Your boss wants to know if someone can take on an extra project and you say yes without even really thinking about it. Whatever anyone else asks, you just automatically do without a second thought.

People can become a priority when we allow their demands to come first, when there is no real reason to do this. They may also become a priority if we allow them to interrupt, to distract us, to tell us that our goals will never be reached, or to discourage us in any way. Their thinking and their needs take priority over our own and this is not the way to maximize one's time.

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SCHEDULE TIME

One way you can avoid interruptions is by scheduling time when you are not to be interrupted. This can be something you tell others and something you tell yourself as well! If you set aside an hour to review some financial records for whatever reason, make it clear that family is not to interrupt you during this time. Turn off your cell phone and shut the door to your room. And don't allow yourself to wander away from your project as well.

You can prepare for this scheduled time by making sure everything is taken care of first. The children are fed and have supervision or other plans. You have a snack with you or have eaten. You don't have any other pressing projects that need tending so you can put those off for your scheduled time.

When you schedule time in which you should remain uninterrupted you know that you have no reason to do anything other than tend to the work at hand. There is no reason to entertain your children or to wander away for something to eat. Unless it's a dire emergency, that time should be treated as sacred.

You might need to get tough with yourself during this scheduled time as well. When you feel an urge to get up and do the dishes or tend to another chore, tell yourself that this isn't the time to do that. Your time right now is scheduled just as if you were at work or the doctor's office or were sitting in church. You don't handle other tasks when you're doing these things, so don't try to handle something else when you're scheduled to take care of chores or responsibilities.

TUNE OUT

Another way to avoid needless interruption is to tune out. This means no television, MP3 player, food, and anything else when you're working on a particular project. Close the blinds if you tend to stare out the window. Keep the pets out of the room in which you're working.

While some background music may work in some situations, even having that can mean constantly changing the channel or skipping songs. You then realize the battery on your MP3 player is low and it needs to be plugged in … and while you're up you may as well get a soda from the fridge … and while you're in the kitchen you should probably do these dishes … and so on. If you find that you cannot keep background music on without being interrupted, give that up as well.

You may also need to be brutally honest with yourself in this regard. How often do you keep the cell phone on or have the television running because you want to be interrupted from your project? When something is boring or tedious or otherwise annoying it's easy to allow an interruption so that we don't need to keep working on that boring project. And then we don't need to take the blame ourselves for not keeping up with it! After all, it was mom that called on the phone or the interesting news story that distracted us, so it's not really our fault, right?

Tuning out is necessary in order to avoid interruption and to get the job at hand done. Remember this when you're tempted to keep the television running or want to listen to music or do something else while trying to concentrate on one particular task.

COMMUNICATE

Another way to handle interruptions is to communicate clearly with those that may be interrupting you. For many, it's difficult to tell your children or friends or someone else that you cannot be interrupted right now. But you need to learn how to do this so you don't allow interruptions to take over your schedule.

Usually it's good to let someone know that you cannot be interrupted right now, but can make time for them later. If your children interrupt when you're working, tell them that you'll talk to them after dinner. If your mother calls while you're trying to get that attic cleaned out, tell her that you'll call back in two hours.

If you make an appointment with someone to take care of something then they won't be put off or hurt by the fact that you're not dropping everything right at the moment. This will also keep the immediate interruption from becoming a large interruption. It's much easier to quickly put off someone and return to your task at hand than it is to take the time they need for their concerns, and then try to return to your work.

In some cases, you can even tell someone why you need to put them off. Try saying, "Unfortunately I'm right in the middle of a project right now and can't step away. Can I get back with you before the end of the day?" When

someone knows you're putting them off for a good reason, they are less likely to be upset or offended.

Remember that an interruption will turn into a major distraction only if you allow it to. If there is nothing critical about your interruption and it can be put off, get into the habit of doing just that.

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LIMITING YOUR INTERRUPTIONS

Interruptions are just a fact of the world in which we live. Very often someone else's business or concerns cannot wait until we are done and ready for them. Add to that are the interruptions by those who do not know we're busy and things that are not purposely meant to interrupt us at all. The ringing phone, a knock at the door, a growling stomach - all these interruptions must be accommodated.

But far too often there are interruptions that we allow to happen and to pull us away from our work or task at hand. And we may use that interruption as an excuse to put off what we were doing.

How do you stop interruptions? How can you get things done uninterrupted without being rude or neglecting other responsibilities and people as well? Consider a few quick points.

LIST YOUR INTERRUPTIONS

What are common interruptions for you? There are some that are too trivial to list; a ringing phone, a knock at the door, and things like these are often too numerous to actually put on a list. But the reason you want to think about your common interruptions is that very often people allow certain interruptions to happen time and again. There are some which you can control and address, and some which are just inevitable. If you think about what you allow to interrupt you consistently, you can then face and address these effectively.

Ask yourself if any of these situations are common interruptions for you:

§ Children who want attention.

§ Computer games, browsing the internet.

§ Friends and family that call on the phone to chat.

§ A growling stomach.

§ The urge to start a different project or take care of something other than the task at hand.

§ Television programs.

§ One's own boredom.

Think for a moment about how these types of interruptions disrupt your train of thought and distract you from working effectively. Now think about how none of them are really important enough to be allowed to interrupt you! Often children interrupt when it's not necessary, or we eat out of boredom rather than because we're really hungry.

Consider carefully the things you consistently allow to interrupt your own work. Think of how many are unnecessary as well! So how to address these?

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REMEMBER YOUR GOALS

To overcome procrastination, you should also remember your goals. Why are you doing this particular thing? What do you hope to accomplish? What will the end result look like?

Concentrating on the end product will mean you're taking your mind off the unpleasant task at hand. If your mind can focus on the end result it will not be so focused on the distraction of what you're doing now.

You can help yourself by making a list or writing out those goals or end results. For some, you can even cut out pictures in magazines or use other visual aids. If you're procrastinating when it comes to diet and exercise, find pictures of those with great physiques and keep them handy. If you procrastinate when it comes to cleaning out your basement or attic, find pictures of nicely organized rooms and have them in front of you constantly.

You can even purchase small items that remind you of your goals. Suppose you're procrastinating about organizing your finances but you know you must to save for retirement, when you plan on spending your days fishing. Buy a nice fishing rod and put it in a corner of your office so you remember why you're working on your checkbook.

When you keep yourself focused on what's ahead of you and not what's in front of you, then you can be better able to overcome the procrastination that's keeping you from properly managing and maximizing your time.

JUST DO IT

This phrase isn't just a Nike slogan; it's also a good piece of advice when you're procrastinating. Very often people wait until they "want" to do something or "feel like" doing something before they even begin. But this means just more procrastination! Chances are you'll never "want" to go back to school or "feel like" cleaning out the attic or getting on the treadmill, which means you may never do these things.

So instead, don't wait until your feelings are in order before you begin. Don't wait until you feel impelled or motivated. Instead, just get up and do it. Shut out your mind if you must, use music to get you going, daydream about something else if appropriate. Do whatever you need to do to get yourself off the couch and working toward your goal. Just don't wait for something else to get you moving!

Using these excuses of not feeling like doing something or not wanting to do something can mean putting that thing off indefinitely, so keep this in mind as well. What makes you think you'll feel like doing it tomorrow or will be motivated to do something next week? Chances are that just won't happen, so don't wait for it to happen. Just get up and start doing!

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