There are no hard and fast rules about what tools you must own, if you are going to embark on a mission to improve your time management skills. The following simple tools, however, are inexpensive, and can help make the process of tracking, planning and organizing your time easier and less burdensome.
Time Monitor Journal- This resource comes in both the digital and traditional varieties. It is useful in helping you to monitor and record your own use of time, in order to identify key areas for change.
While a special journal is not needed, you may find that a ready made one saves you time in the long run, by doing the majority of the work for you prior to the actual recording of your activities.
Planner- Available in digital and traditional formats, planners are wonderful for recording goals, making notes, keeping track of appointments and more. A planner is a must have to help you stay organized and on target, when working toward your goals.
Select a planner that allows you enough room to keep track of a number of appointments and daily goals, but that is small enough so that you are able to carry it with you at all times.
Organizer- These can be useful for planning a specific project, or managing a number of projects all at the same time. Digital and traditional versions of project organizers are available that can help you stay on top of the job.
Time Management - About Time Boxing
Time boxing is a system of time management which breaks down a long and complex task into smaller pieces. Each piece of the task must be accomplished by a specific deadline. In time boxing deadlines are not flexible, but everything else in the project is.
In time boxing a large task is broken down into several sections. Each section has specific guidelines for its completion. When the boxes are first “laid out”, along with their deadlines, the project may be very detailed. As each deadline approaches, if the tasks first pinpointed in the time box are not near to completion, certain aspects of those tasks may be scraped.
One example of this type of time management system might be to consider a script for a motion picture. The scenes are laid out in boxes, with 5 or 6 scenes to be completed at each deadline. As the deadline approaches one of scenes may be dropped, in order to finish the completion of that section of the project on time.
Time boxing does not work in every instance. The key element to this system of time management is the deadline. In some cases if the deadline is not met, the entire project is scraped as a result.
The system works best when a strict budget must be adhered to, thus preventing the extending of deadlines, in order to finish the work.
