Three Time Management Tools to Help You Become a Master of Your TimeHome » Techniques » Time Management ToolsOne of our contributors shares with you the three tools that she uses to help her manage her time I am a fan of organizational and time management tools. Over the years, I’ve Franklin Planned, Got It Done, and UnCalendared, built and rebuilt dozens of homemade planners. I even used the Side-Tracked Home Executives box to do my housework for a while. All of these have merit, and all taught me something. But now I’ve realized that my system needs to work specifically for me. I think I’ve finally got one that does. It consists of three tools that I can’t live without, all of them readily available. A NotebookI use a Moleskine notebook because they are sturdy with a bookmark, an elastic closure, and a pocket. I like pockets because it gives me a place to stick those odd pieces of paper I collect with phone numbers, email addresses, and other things I’ll take care of later.My notebook goes with me everywhere and serves two purposes. As a professional writer, I need a place to jot down ideas for future projects. I start at the front of the notebook and write these down. Working from the back of the notebook, I take notes on meetings, jot down grocery lists, scribble in to dos that crop up unexpectedly, and keep track of expenses. When the front and the back of the notebook meet, I buy a new one. Takeaway Lesson: One of the simplest time management tools you can use is a notebook. Use it to create a prioritized to-do list to help you get all your important priorities done in your day Two CalendarsI use iCal on my Mac because I like to color code. The calendar allows me to show just purple items, blue items, or green items.This has the benefit of letting me see how balanced my life is. If my calendar is all green and yellow, I’m neglecting my personal life. If it’s all blue in the coming weeks, I’ve got some marketing to do. The other one is a Google calendar. Anything the rest of the family should know about goes on this calendar. My spouse indicates business trips, evening meetings, and anything that affects me. I do the same. It makes the household run much smoother. Google calendars have the advantage of being accessible from my cell phone. Since the bulk of my work involves email, my phone has to have a browser or I’d never be able to leave the house. Takeaway Lesson: Use Google Calendar. Google Calendar is one of the useful free time management tools provided by Google. A Master To Do ListI use Circus Ponies Notebook. I use a Mac so my choices are somewhat limited, but this is a good one. One note for the PC does much the same thing.My daybook is set up like a day planner with a page for each day. I can collapse and expand items so I can keep everything in my planner but collapse areas I’m not working on. I know it’s all there, but I’m not overwhelmed by the volume of things I have to do. I have main headings like This last was a discipline I started. I hate to make phone calls, deal with problems, or go to the mall and those things go into the Doing the Hard Thing category, and I try to do at least one of them everyday. Making it a goal motivates me to actually do it. Each night I copy the undone items on my list to the next day and prioritize them. Finally, I add in anything specific to that day such as appointments or bills to be paid. Then I can sleep well knowing it’s all ready and waiting for me the next day. Takeaway Lesson: Don’t keep all your activities in your head, create your very own Master List and put all your to-do’s on paper Time Management Tools: Three Tools to Help Manage Your Time- contributed by Susan L. Return from time management tools to time management techniques |