Time Management Skill

"Success is a daily habit"

Time management skill - introduction

What have you done today to move you closer to your dreams? Are you expecting to wake up one morning and suddenly do everything to achieve your dream in just that one day?

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Success is a daily habit. It’s the little things you do everyday that will get you to your destination.


Time management skill - put first things first

Stephen Covey, in his inspiring and life changing book “the 7 habits of highly effective people” asks the question: “what one thing could you do (you are not doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal life?”

It does not have to be a huge thing. Neither does it have to be something that requires a huge investment of time, energy or resources on your part. It just has to be something that you can do consistently.

You will discover that you will eventually be doing more of that one thing than you could have thought possible when you started. Over time, it will make a huge difference. Stephen Covey further adds that “it’s usually not the dramatic, the visible, the once-in-a-lifetime, up-by-the-bootstraps effort that brings enduring success. Empowerment comes from learning how to use this great endowment in the decisions we make everyday.”

He called this habit “putting first things first.” I like that name because often we do not put first things first. We put things which matter most at the mercy of things which matter least.

We subordinate our dreams for our jobs, our bosses, our friends, our parents and a whole lot of other people and activities. We should instead place our hopes and dreams as the most important thing everyday.

Time management skill - the time management matrix

One guide that will help you decide whether something should take up your time or not is the time management matrix. In this matrix, which may be drawn as a quadrant, there are basically four groups of activities. There are those things that are urgent and not important; those that are urgent and important; those that are not urgent and not important and those that are not urgent and important.

Most people spend their time doing things that are neither urgent nor important. One thing that immediately comes to mind is the person that spends every bit of his free time at the bar hanging out with the guys and just having a good time. I would not be very mistaken to say that such a person is not only drinking their income away, but also their dreams.

Television is another not urgent and not important activity which, unfortunately, most of us spend a lot of our most productive time on. It is amazing how television sets in most homes are perpetually on and people are fixed on them like zombies, watching everything that is dished out to them! TVs have invaded our lives and crippled our dreams.

Time management skill - do the important things

What we need to do is concentrate on the things that are most important. The hard part is that these are usually the things that are not urgent. Yet they are things that will make the biggest difference to our lives.

Why not turn off the television set tonight and read an inspiring book? Why not take a quiet moment to sit down and write down what you want to do with the rest of your life? Why not spend some time with your kids rather than with the guys at the bar? Why not take a few minutes to read the Bible or Quran today?

Time management skill - it ain't always fun

As you can see, the important things are usually not the most fun or exciting things to do. However, they must be done. There is a price to be paid for attaining greatness and at times that means doing things we don’t necessarily enjoy or want to do.

But you must do those things because you realize that your future depends on it. Think about this: if you only had to do the things that are fun and exciting at work would you get anything done? No. But you do it anyway, for the sake of that paycheck at the month-end. Why then, won’t you do the things that matter most for your own life?

Time management skill - conclusion

If you have not done anything today to get you closer to your dreams you are not a dreamer, you are a wisher. Wake up and do something about it or watch the dreamers take hold of their dreams, one little step each day.

In the words of Jim Rohn, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habits is what keeps you going,” Develop the habit of putting first things first today. Work on your dreams each and every day.

You are all you can be. Go on and be it!
....'til another day! *God Loves Me*

Invest In Yourself

Invest in yourself – introduction

Are you busy looking for success everywhere except the one place you can truly find it? Does life seem like a futile chasing after the rainbow?

One possible reason for this could be that you are not looking for success in the right place. It is not in the environment around us or the circumstances we face that we find success, but in ourselves.

The simple fact is that if you are successful within, in your mind, you will be successful on the outside as well. It may seem too simple thing, but it is something we often forget when the pressures of life surround and overwhelm us. When it comes to making everyday choices it usually does not occur to us.

Like I have said before, your mind is your greatest asset. Like any asset, it needs to be built up and improved continually. Abraham Lincoln said he didn't “think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” He realized the basic truth that continuous improvement is necessary if one is to be truly successful.

Invest in yourself – knowledge is a huge asset

Knowledge is a powerful asset. It makes the difference between living in abundance and living in lack. The only difference between the managing director in a company and the maid in the same company is their knowledge. The MD knows something the maid doesn't. That is why he earns a hundred times more than she does.

It is what you know that will bring you success. It’s what you don’t know that will cause you to fail. Why then, do some get it so wrong? For example many people look for promotions without acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge they need to be promoted. Many business people are struggling because they just won’t take the time to learn about accounting, marketing and all that goes with doing business. That’s like trying to drive a car without first putting in the fuel.


Invest in yourself – the three percent rule

“Here is a rule that will guarantee your success – and possibly make you rich: Invest 3 percent of your income back into yourself.” That’s great advice from Brian Tracy. Investing in yourself can double or triple your income. It will work for you whether you are employed or in business.

James Attucher of the Financial Times agrees with this advice when he says “The only real way I know to triple your money is to invest in yourself.” He goes on to say that you should invest in your own ideas and your own business. But apart from that you should also invest in your mind.

Invest in yourself – ways to invest in you

There are many ways to invest in yourself. One way is to make it a habit to buy books regularly. Not just any books, of-course, but books that will challenge you and from which you can learn something. Biographies of other successful people, “how-to” books, self-improvement books and professional books such as accounting or public speaking books are examples.

Investing your time and money in learning things such as goal-setting, how to manage your time, how to be more confident and less doubtful, how to be a better speaker, how to adjust your thinking, create new habits and squash bad ones, how to take care of your health, how to focus and so can greatly improve your results in life.

These days books are not the only way to get knowledge, though. We have video, the internet, seminars and workshops on various subjects and even mentoring and coaching programmes. Even watching the right movies can sometimes teach you a thing or two. My favorite business programme, for example, is The Apprentice. It teaches a lot about entrepreneurship in an entertaining manner. Who would have thought that reality T.V could be so educational?

Invest in yourself – the value of self-education

The point is that you determine how and what you learn as well as how fast you learn. Self-education is important beyond the classroom. In the real world self-education matters a whole lot more than formal education. There are plenty of people with a formal education that are still struggling. Isaac Asimov fully supported this in saying that “Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.” A formal education is good, but only as a foundation. The sad part is that many are stuck at the foundation level. They don’t realize that in order to complete the building they need to invest in some self-education.

Therefore, do not be like them, who were referred to by James Allen as being “anxious to improve their own lives, but are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.” Dreamers realize that there is no better way to improve your life than to improve your mind. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.

Knowledge, then, is a powerful asset, and one which you should always be seeking to improve and build upon in the pursuit of your dreams. The Proverbs declare that “through wisdom is an house built; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

Invest in yourself – conclusion

Become addicted to continuous improvement and increase in your knowledge consistently and constantly. With time, you will inevitably become the person that you desire to be. Then you will no longer have to chase after success. Success will follow you. Your mind will become magnetized to attract success.

You are all you can be. Go on and be it.

.....'til another day. *God Loves Me*