February 2008 Issue
Time-Saving Tools for Busy Lives
Amazing, isn’t it? Every day, you’re given 24 hours. Some days, you
feel like you’ve lived every hour. Other days, the time seems to slip through
your fingers like grains of sand.
Schedules, timetables and deadlines are the framework of modern life. But being organized doesn’t necessarily mean living by a lot of rigid rules. It means making choices — your choices — about what’s important to you and then arranging your time and space to focus on those choices.
Take a moment to reflect on the pace of your life. Does it feel like you are rushing from task to task and worrying about how you will ever get everything done? When you start to feel overwhelmed, it’s time to pick up your organizational tools and create some time and space in your own life. Here are five easy tools to get you started.
Make it easy for employers to see what you can do for them by going a couple of steps further:
The daily planner
Many busy people find that they cannot get along without the help of their daily
planner. A useful daily planner:
-
is both a calendar and a notebook
-
should be small enough to carry with you
-
should be big enough to hold your to-do list, appointments and plans
-
has a section for phone numbers and addresses
The daily planner keeps all your vital information together. By glancing at your daily planner each evening, you can plan the following day. You could also write out your goals in your daily planner at the beginning of each month to help you stay in touch with what’s most important to you.
The to-do list
Time management experts say that list-making is one of the most useful kinds
of tools because it helps you visualize your plans. Once you have made your list,
try to sort the tasks according to how important each one is. You can assign
ratings or underline the most important items on your list. If you manage to
get only those things done, you have still made the best use of the time available
to you.
The done list
Reward yourself for all your hard work. At the end of each day, take a moment
to write out or just think about your “done” list. Include all of
the items on your to-do list that you’ve completed as well as other important
things you did. If you’re a worrier, your done list can show you how much
you have actually accomplished.
For more tips on career, learning and employment topics, visit the Alberta Learning Information Service (ALIS) website at www.alis.gov.ab.ca and click on the ALIS Tip Sheets. The ALIS site is provided through a partnership of Alberta Human Resources and Employment, Alberta Education and Alberta Advanced Education.