A time for everything--even a post on time

Never have enough time to do what you want to do? The guys at Manager Tools have some useful things to say about time management. Though geared for business managers, I found their insights not only commonsensical in a Platonic recollection sort of way but practical for myself too. They advise following a four-step assessment of what you do and then an evaluation of what your priorities are in theory and practice:

1. Make a list of what you have done in the past three weeks from memory alone. Don’t look at a calendar, PDA, etc.

2. Capture your key priorities. Rule: You can’t have more than ten. Ask: Which five are the most important? Distinguish between tasks and priorities. (The gurus said that Peter Drucker claimed that a good manager would only be good at one thing and have that one thing as his priority!)

3. Analyze where you spend your time. You need a calendar and a reporting measurement device. Analyze in 15-minute increments. Then assign % to the five most important priorities.

4. Schedule your primary responsibility or goal. This is the most important step. It needs to be at least 2 slots/week of 1 hour and half.

Another more in-depth device is "Getting Things Done." Umm...Maybe I'll have to make reading that a priority.

(HT: Ed and Barlowfarms)