Time can be a merciless tyrant when you let it get the upper hand. But things go much better when you’re the one in charge
Here are some ideas from GenuLines on how to become master your time.
Time Management: Key to a Better Life
Time management is pretty much about focus. The Pareto Principle is also known as the ’80:20 Rule.’
It tells us that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or focused generate only 20% of the desired output. But 80% of the desired output can result from only 20% of a well time- managed effort.
(The ratio ’80:20′ is only arbitrary. It’s used to put emphasis on time management’s effect on gains or losses.)
Some look at time management as a list of rules. They can involve scheduling of appointments, goal settings, and thorough planning. It can also include creating to-do lists and prioritizing.
But There’s More
There are more skills involved in time management than the core basics. You also need to see the big picture.
Your efforts are meaningless if you have the wrong goals. Other personal growth must-haves are decision making, clear vision, and critical thinking.
Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big and no matter how small, everything counts.
Take into consideration what you learn, advice you consider, and skills you develop. And make life-style balance the desired result in your personal time management.
This is a part of personal time management that many of us overlook.
Stress?
For some people, time management seems stressful. They think it means that they must not ‘waste time’ by doing anything they don’t enjoy.
But that’s not it at all. In fact, it can be closer to the opposite.
Time management is making time for the things that matter to you, not about being busy.
There are six areas of life that personal time management can improve. These are- physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.
The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress, and fatigue.
The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.
The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations. Add to that being an active contributor to society.
Time Management and Choices
The career aspect involves school and work. The emotional aspect involves recognizing appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.
The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.
Some of these areas lend themselves well to basic time management skills like to-do lists. But determining which area isn’t getting enough attention is important too.
Each one creates the whole you.
One permanent improvement step to consider is reviewing your goals. This is the case whether it be immediate or long-term goals.
A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you. This is not a to-do list but a list of your goals.
You can add to it as you like. Remember, you have goals in all aspects of your life.
In fact, everything you do moves you toward one of those goals. Even if it is a goal you did not know that you had.
Get Physical
Another aspect of time management is recognizing your physical abilities and needs. For example, everybody has peak times of day when their concentration is at its best.
For most people, this is around the middle of the morning. Use that period to work toward one of your goals that calls for concentration and sustained effort.
It would be wasting that peak time if you spent it sitting and watching TV. Yet sitting and watching TV for an hour in the evening may not be a waste of time at all.
It can be a good way to wind down for a restful night’s sleep. You can include most every kind of activity that you enjoy in your day.
But make sure it keeps its proper place.
Get To It
It’s important not to procrastinate, or put off the things that need doing right now. If something is your top priority for the day, then get started on it right away.
If you start doing other things first it will become harder and harder to tackle the main task. You’ll end up without much achieved.
So the night before, decide what will be your top priority for the following day. Then tackle it as soon as you can when the day comes.
Be In The “No”
Learning to say “No” to some people or activities is important if you’re going to make the most of your time. It could mean telling your boss that you’re not the best person to do a certain task.
Or that if you do this, you won’t be able to do that more important thing that he also wants from you.
It could mean telling your kids that you can only play with them at certain times. It could mean turning down an invitation.
Or rescheduling a meeting to make way for something more important.
Remember Your Priorities
None of this will be a problem as long as you make it clear to other people that they’re important to you too. When it’s time for work, you don’t play with the kids.
And when it’s time to play with the kids, you give that your full attention.
You don’t act in a way that makes them think that you would prefer to be working. Remember, time management does not mean prioritizing your work above all else.
It means making room in your life for everything that is important to you.
Overheard: “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time”
~Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Or sitting down on the couch and knowing you’re about to watch the new episode of your favorite TV show. Or getting a backrub from your partner. 
Overheard: “The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness”
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