Top 10 Keys to Improving Your Efficiency
How many times have you "committed" to "firm" goals at the start of the year and then failed to meet them by the end? In today's fast-paced society, finding constant time to improve our abilities for a better future may be one of our most difficult problems. Take comfort, though; there are ways to recover control of your time and hope for a brighter future. Empower yourself to reach your previously unattainable goals. The following are ten strategies for becoming more time-efficient and goal-oriented.
1. Create a life plan or purpose statement. In your lifetime, what do you want to achieve? Prioritize your most essential goals and assign a specific time frame for completion, such as 90 days, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. Create a plan for measuring incremental milestones along the way to attaining your overall goals, so you can track your progress over time.
2. Think about your goals for your career, family, and personal growth. Expand your horizons. How many times have we all considered pursuing our particular interests, such as starting a new pastime, learning a second language, reading the "classics," or being healthier? Consider visiting that unique area, hiking that mysterious route, learning to scuba dive, or sailing to that exotic destination in our minds. Make sure these goals are given the same weight as the more "sensible" ones, such as job progression, time management, or money objectives. Remember that "someday" never happens; only well-defined goals with fair and honest time frames and a genuine commitment are ever achieved.
3. Use a time management system to organize your most crucial work hours. Make time to manage our everyday "emergencies" and set aside time to do required chores such as phone calls, email, meetings, marketing, unexpected disruptions, and administrative duties. To routinely make time for exercise, it must be on your daily schedule.
4. Schedule your week ahead of time. Use either Friday afternoon or Monday morning to organize the upcoming week. After the week, review what was not completed and include it on the following week's to-do list. If you continually find that several items have not been finished, you should evaluate your planning and make adjustments.
5. Create a daily to-do list. Make a list of the tasks that need to be completed and prioritize their priority.
6. Manage interruptions. Keep track of how many interruptions you had in one work week, how long each one takes to resolve, and whether they were external or self-imposed. You might be surprised by how much time, energy, and money interruptions can cost you.
7. Every day, review your schedule and goals. After taking the time to prepare your week and write your goals, DO NOT store them away out of sight and pray that everything gets done. Keep these materials in an easily accessible location and evaluate them regularly.
8. Make your goals measurable. You need to be able to monitor your progress to maintain motivation. After identifying your personal goals, the ability to incrementally monitor your progress is the most critical aspect of lifestyle change. How will you know if you're on the right track toward your goals? Large goals must be broken down into smaller, measurable components so that you can track your progress and stay motivated.
9. Find a buddy to aid with accountability. Often, telling another person what we're working on and why it's important to us can provide us with support and accountability as we work toward our goals.
10. Set goals and activities that are achievable. Make certain that the tasks and goals you set out to achieve are attainable; do not set yourself up for failure.
It takes time and effort to become more time-efficient and goal-oriented, but you can make more time in your life and raise your chances of achieving your objectives and full potential.