There’s never enough time in the day, right?  It seems we all have so many things to do, but 24 hours just doesn’t seem to be enough to fit in all the day’s activities.  But the question is, are you really out of time or do you just not know how to properly manage your time?

I came across an article recently, titled The Time Management Secret That Will Eliminate All Your Time Wasters, and I must say, it’s rather enlightening.

It doesn’t really tell you how you should live your life, but how to evaluate it and focus on how to make time for the more important things rather than wasting your time on unimportant tasks.

The article instructs you to first get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.  Draw a line in the middle, separating the left and right half.  On the left half, write five things you deem important — the order doesn’t matter.  Then on the right side, write five things that consume the most of your time.  Again, these don’t have to be in order.

After writing down the important things and the time-consuming things, evaluate what you have written.  You will see that some things probably don’t line up.

I write articles on a daily basis, so I’m used to spending hours on end in front of my computer.  But after that, instead of getting some rest, I spend more time browsing non-work related sites.  If I eliminate excessive browsing on the internet, I’m pretty sure I would get enough hours of sleep per day.  The only thing that lines up on my lists is working.  It is both important and time-consuming, but that’s okay because I love working.  And surprisingly enough, I need it to keep me sane!

The purpose of the list is to help your goals and actual tasks better align.  So in my list, I should eliminate worrying and excessive internet browsing, and replace them with getting enough sleep and spending more time with my loved ones.  As for the household chores, I can’t simply eliminate it since the house would fall apart if I do that, so maybe just spend less time doing those things or ask help in doing them.  And for catching up on missed episodes of m y favorite TV shows and movies, that’s a form of relaxation for me so that stays.

The article on Asian Efficiency recommends that people should do the exercise,identify which values are aligned with the appropriate activities, identify which values are not aligned, figure out which activities you should eliminate and what to replace them with, and review this exercise every 6 months.

It’s not that easy to suddenly change your life in order to focus on the important things when you’ve been used to doing all of those things in the past.  Sometimes you just need a little nudge here and there to keep you on track of your goals or activities.  It’s not that hard to keep track of your activities, it’s as simple as downloading an app to get things in perspective.

Tracker apps

BetterMe

The first obstacle that people usually encounter in trying to reach their goals is waking up early in the morning to start your day right.  Though it might sound absurd to some, but waking up early gives you more time to do things and actually finish your daily goals.  SO if you’re the type to constantly hit the snooze button until you finally feel like getting up from your bed then BetterMe is the app for you.  This app forces you to get up on time, if you don’t it will post how lazy you are on Facebook.  Yes, it’s a shaming app with the purpose of improving your life.  It’s a form of torture if you thing about it but it’s a great way to motivate yourself into getting up in the mornings.

Gym Hero

If you’re the type of person that lets your workout routine get in the way of your daily activities, then Gym Hero is for you.  It helps you keep track of your workout routines and exercises so you never have to worry about missing count or forgetting if you’ve already done a certain exercise or not.  It helps you reach your goal and at the same time keep you on track and not lose focus or spend more time than you need on a certain routine.

EyeLeo

If you’re main problem in getting around doing your chores or having time to relax is your computer then you need the aid of EyeLeo.  This app tells you to take pauses, short breaks and long breaks to avoid straining your eyes.  It forces you take breaks by disabling your computer screen for a specific period so you can do quick eye exercises, take a coffee break or even do some other tasks while your screen is frozen.  Don’t worry, a cute little leopard guides you in doing the eye exercises so you’re relaxing and being entertained at the same time.

Three tips for effective time management

Create a list – List down the things you need to accomplish in a day.  Take things slow so set tasks on a daily basis.  If you plan days ahead, you can get overwhelmed.  So take things one day at a time and if you’ve got the hang of it, then start planning for days ahead.

Set a timeline – With each task you list down, set a specific time.  Say, you can allot an hour for cleaning.  Set a timer for that, when the alarm goes off, stop what you are doing and continue with the task for the next day.  I’m sure you’ll get frustrated at first but you’ll soon get comfortable with the method.  With that, you’ll have more time for accomplish other tasks and won’t feel like a total slob since you actually did some cleaning.  It’s not procrastinating if you do not finish the task, you’re just lightening your everyday work load.

Stick to the list – This is probably the most important part.  You can create thousands of lists everyday but if you have no willpower to adhere to your list, then all will be for naught.  The purpose of the list is to help you get things done on time, if you don’t stick to your list and timeline, you won’t be able to finish the tasks you’ve listed.