Best Time Management Practices Used By Successful People

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How do successful people spend their time? One of our contributors shares the best time management practices used by successful people.

What is a successful person?

I believe it is someone who achieves the goals that they have set for themselves and enjoys the process. Those goals do not need to be work-related or financial. They could be about health or relationships or hobbies.

How do we find the opportunity to work on some of our important goals and activities when they are not pressing – like those around spending time with family members, building wealth, or caring for kids?

You’ll find that those who do succeed make use of some of these best time management practices. Read them, but most importantly, apply these practices in your life!

Know What You Want

This means you have a very clear picture of what you want to achieve in your life. Successful people have usually mapped out their goals for each area of life: career, financial, relationships, hobbies, spiritual etc.

Furthermore, they know what it will take to achieve them, what tasks need to be completed and how long it will take.

When Bunker Hunt, the Texas oil billionaire, was asked for his most important advice for success, he replied that it was simple, “you decide what you really want and what you are willing to do to achieve it.”

It’s The Outcome That Is Important

You don’t use time management to be busier; you use it to arrange the time you need to achieve your goals. Successful people don’t simply want to do get more done; they want to do more of what they want to do.

The Big Picture View

If you are caught in the rush, panic and swirl of a mismanaged life, you tend to spend all of your time fighting fires and end up doing things that probably don’t help you long-term or contribute to the satisfaction of your life.

If you have goals and you have a system to manage your time, you can have a birds-eye view of your life.

Quick Decisions on New Tasks

They don’t get stuck in “analysis paralysis” and the unexpected doesn’t derail them.

Firstly, if you know your priorities and goals then you know what activities are in line with these. If some unexpected event comes your way, you can quickly decide if you should do it or not (use the time management matrix to determine whether it is worth doing an activity). If it fits in with your desired outcomes, take it on (Remember that the goals we are talking about are across all life areas, not only work).

Secondly, if you have a schedule, you know where certain types of activities fit in. If a new task comes your way, you easily know where it could slot it. No wasted time making decisions on tasks.

Henry Ford was known for making decisions quickly and absolutely. In fact, he was even considered obstinate because of this. However, without this trait he would never have developed the famous Ford Model “T” which ultimately brought him fame and fortune.

Successful people have reasons for being successful and one of them is the way in which they manage their time. This is an easy habit for you to adopt.

Give it a try and start to see yourself achieving what you want.

Best Time Management Practices Used By Successful People – Contributed by Juliet du Preez