Time Management & Personal Development

Today I received an email from a good friend of mine with the subject: "I need help!". In her email, she expressed her struggle of lacking drive, motivation, time and energy to pursue her interests and clear the clutter in her life. She said that she'd love to know the secret of time management.

Time is so precious isn't it? While the choice is yours in how to spend your day, the best way to maximize your time is by organisizing it. The followings are some of the steps / secrets of time management that I find useful:

Make a To-Do List: I often find that making a list of things and prioritize every item helps me organise my time, as in consolidate similar tasks (eg: checking emails and responding to instant messaging).

Be careful not to get distracted: Very often a schedule gets thrown off track by distraction. Be aware of that, and when that happens, stop what you are doing and get back on schedule (this one I need to learn as I often get side-tracked by facebook and unimpoartnat online chats).

Tick off items as you complete them: Every time you finish doing something, cross it off your to-do list. I like to do this, as it often gives me a sense of accomplishment throughout the day, and it keeps me on track on my priorities :)

I also believe that goal-setting / new year resolutions can help us in terms of building motivation, drive and energy to pursue our dreams and interests. Decide what you want, define it clearly and write it down. Put the list of your goals where you'll see them. Review them on a regular basis. That way, your activities are geared toward accomplishing what you really want in life, rather than letting the days go by without purpose.

I learned that to create powerful results in your life, you must create a powerful emotional state. If you are feeling tired or down, exercise, move your body, go to the gym or do whatever you need to get your blood flowing; when you change your physiological state, you change your emotional state.

These are my personal experiences. If you have any other tips, please put them on the comment so that we can all learn from it.