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These are some basic time management tips that Matthew sent to me via feedback form:

Quote:
Most people know the urgent verses important
matrix and ranking items into A-D categories etc. What is also very
effective is how these items are ordered. A huge percentage of time is
wasted switching between tasks e.g. from phone to net to paper. By
grouping similar tasks a hugh saving in time is achieved. I usually
plan all my phone calls for 8-9am, emails and computer stuff 9-12pm,
meetings 1-3pm, errands & outings 3-4:30pm and next days planning
4:30-5pm. On Saturdays I also find it helps to stand back and have a
fresh look at the coming week, eliminating and grouping tasks. In
production huge efficencies are achieved by making similar items in
lots. The same applies to time management. Just another way that seems
to work for me. Look forward to what you add next to your site.


I know time management is not what is going to save most procrastinators, but still for others these might be helpful, so if you have more, you can share in this thread.

"Before time management Comes Time Purpose"

Many people that I coach try to manage their time by managing their activities, responsibilities, etc. But they can not successfully prioritize because they are confused by what is important.

First I get them to develop some vision of how they want their life to be in the future. This allows them to move closer towards discovering some kind of emotionally felt purpose.

Once they can do this then they will be able to manage the current activities through prioritization of what is important to them.

It makes life and time management far easier to first determine Time Purpose. Once that's done, then move on to time management.

Nathan


How does this relate to just plain household order? Tips?
Household order is one of the major factors in procrastination. Big mess makes people procrastinate, and often people procrastinate about putting their household in order, thus it's becoming a neverending story, so to speak.
Have any of you been able to maintain a system?

Gmarie Wrote:
Have any of you been able to maintain a system?

If you ask about household order, well, my beloved handles that and I'm very very thankful for that.

If you ask about some kind of personal time management system, what works for me is my own approximation of getting things done system (by the book by David Allen). Basically, I got one program for tasks (I like outliners, thus at the moment it's Bonsai outliner for me) and one program for all the rest (tasks support documentation, various text snippets, all kinds of info) - whatever works for you.
Works well for me for a long time already, though occasionally I switch the software used.

For me, the old to do list works the best. I write down everything that needs attention and cross them off as I go. I utilize a variety of techniques depending upon what I am attempting to complete. My favorite is the procrastination list which allows me to maintain a running list of all that I am avoiding. My goal is to attend to two items each day. This allows me to continually move forward.
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