A common denominator which governs life is that everybody has 24 hours in a day. Why is it that some people can be productive in the tasks assigned to them while others struggle for time if faced with the same work load? The difference is time management. Those who do not manage their time are like headless chickens running with no direction and no results to show. People who practice time management are in control of their lives. They know exactly what they have to do in a day and most probably know what they have to do tomorrow and the next week.
In these times, many people are burning out due to the stress of life. More often than not, these people suffer because they do not practice efficient time management. Obviously, they work very hard for they are always busy. They try to do too many things at one time because they do not know how to prioritize their tasks. As a result, they are less productive though they insist they are working very hard.
Each morning, before going into the daily routines proper, sit down and make a list of things to do. Schedule the day. Whether you are a housewife, a brain surgeon or a student, you have specific sets of things to do. Set your priorities and plan the maximum time you could spend on each task. Perhaps, you may want to spend more time on an urgent project. Stick to your schedule. Do not be distracted. Many times, you draw up a nice schedule but as the day progress and new things come around, you get may confused and stray from the schedule. Be disciplined. Be firm. You may also draw a weekly schedule instead of a daily schedule or both. The important thing is to make some sort of schedule.
To be successful in time management, you have to know your limits. Do not accept any task that you cannot handle. If you are already fully loaded, rejecting a new project may be wiser than accepting it and making a bad job of it.
When you receive a new project or task, don’t procrastinate. Attend to it right away. Procrastination is one of the most notorious culprits of time wasting. When you procrastinate, you are not performing the duties you are supposed to be performing but putting them off. It’s at the back of your mind so you obviously spend time thinking about it but because you are delaying it, you waste precious time which can be used on other things.
Efficient time management also requires efficient delegation of tasks. While you are responsible for your duties, you cannot do everything by yourself. For instance, if you need to pick up an air ticket for your business trip, using a dispatch boy is a better solution than going there to pick it up yourself.
Time management is a very important component of success. A sage once said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” How true.
译文:
时间管理的重要性
各人支配生活的一个共同之处就是每人每天有24小时。为什么有的人在完成任务的过程中效率很高，而其他人在面对相同工作量的时候却要拼命地争取时间呢？不同之处就在于对时间的管理。那些没有很好地管理时间的人，就像无头苍蝇一样没有方向到处乱飞，也就没有任何成果可以展示。那些能很好地践行时间管理的人，也就能够很好地掌控他们的生活。他们能够确切地知道一天之内要做的事情。大部分或许也知道明天和下一周要做的事情。
现在，许多人由于生活的压力而累垮。这些人遭受这些痛苦，多半是因为他们没有践行有效的时间管理。从他们忙碌的生活中，我们就可以很明显地看出，他们工作非常辛苦。因为他们不知道如何理出任务的优先顺序，所以他们会在一个时间里试着做过多的事情。因此，尽管他们坚持认为自己工作十分卖力，效率仍旧不高。
每天早上，在投入适当的日常生活之前，坐下来，列个清单，看看要做点什么事情，计划好这一天要完成的工作。不论你是家庭主妇、脑外科医生或是小学生，你都有明确的事情要做。安排一下优先要完成的事情，计划一下你在每项任务中所能花最多的时间。也许，你想在一个紧急的项目中花更多的时间。不过，请坚持你预定的时间表。不要分心。许多次，你会计划一份美好的日程表，但往往事与愿违，新的事物会出现，从而扰乱了你的安排，使你偏离了自己的计划。请务必严格坚持。你也可以用拟定一周的时间表来代替拟定一天的日程表，或者两着都拟定好。重要的还是要作出日程表。
想要在时间管理中成功，你就必须知道你的极限。不要接受你不能完成的任务。如果你日程安排已满，那么请不要接受一份新的项目，因为这可能会比你接受它却把它完成得很糟糕要更为明智。
当你接受了一个新的项目或任务，请不要拖拉，应立即投入其中。拖拉是浪费时间最臭名昭著的罪人之一。当你拖拉的时候，你会推迟完成这些项目或任务，而不会很好地履行你应该履行的职责。从而你会把这件事情挂念于心。显然，你会因此而花很多时间去考虑它。但因为延误完成这项任务，你就会浪费很多可以用在其它事情上的宝贵时间。
高效的时间管理也要求有高效的任务授权。当你对你的任务负责时，你就不能亲自做每一项事情。例如，如果你出差需要一张飞机票，派个人去帮你买要比自己亲自去买更为可行。
总之，时间管理是成功的一个极其重要的组成部分。一个圣人曾经说过，“失败的计划，即计划的失败。”多么正确啊！