a.      Set Meetings 

                                       i.      Staff Training                           9-12 

                                       ii.      Lunch                                     12-12:45 

                                       iii.      Project Meeting                      1-2 

                                       iv.      Fundraiser Meeting 2-3 

3.      Write Down Other Tasks that Need to Be Accomplished. Did I mention that a mental list is not a list? 

a.      Other Tasks 

                                      i.      Order Banners 

                                      ii.      Submit Logo 

                                      iii.      Order Bracelets 

                                      iv.      Confirm T-Shirt Order 

                                      v.      Call Bank 

                                      vi.      Order Plane Ticket 

                                      vii.      Define Business Project 

                                      viii.      Create News Report 

                                      ix.      Check Emails 

                                      x.      Update Website 

4.      Make First Things First. Reorder your list from the most important activity to the least. 

a.      In order of Importance 

                                      i.      Order Banner 

                                      ii.      Submit Logo 

                                      iii.      Confirm T-Shirt Order 

                                      iv.      Order Bracelets 

                                      v.      Create News Report 

                                      vi.      Define Business Project 

                                      vii.      Order Plane Ticket 

                                      viii.      Call Bank 

                                      ix.      Check Email 

                                      x.      Update Website 

5.      Set Time Limits on Tasks. Most activities you know the approximate timeframe that will be required to accomplish the task. (i.e. laundry 1 ½ hours, reviewing the news 30 minutes, review documents 1 hour) 

a.      In order of Importance 

                                      i.      Order Banner                         5 minutes 

                                      ii.      Submit Logo                          5 minutes 

                                      iii.      Confirm T-Shirt Order          5 minutes 

                                      iv.      Order Bracelets                    10 minutes 

                                      v.       Create News Report               45 minutes 

                                      vi.      Define Business Project        20 minutes 

                                      vii.      Order Plane Ticket              15 minutes 

                                      viii.      Call Bank                            15 minutes 

                                      ix.      Check Email                          30 minutes 

                                      x.      Update Website                     60 minutes 

6.      Insert Tasks Between Set Appointments. Your day must revolve around those meetings that have been prescheduled. Consider the tasks estimated time and order of importance, then schedule them in between your set appointments. 

a.      Monday’s Plan 

                                      i.      Staff Meeting                         9-12 

                                      ii.      Lunch                                   12-12:45 

                                      iii.      Order Banner 

                                      iv.      Submit Logo 

                                      v.      Confirm T-Shirt Order         

                                      vi.      Project Meeting                    1-2 

                                      vii.       Fundraiser Meeting 2-3 

                                      viii.      Order Bracelets                    

                                      ix.      Create News Report              3:15-4 

                                      x.      Define Business Project         4-4:30 

                                      xi.      Order Plan Ticket                 

                                      xii.      Call bank                             4:45-5 

7.      Follow your plan. Write your plan, and then follow your plan. Whether you use a blank sheet of paper or a planner, carry your schedule with you throughout your day because if you do not you will get off track. Do not jump to the third task when you have not completed the first one. Do them in order until all of your to do list is complete 

8.      Left Overs. If there are some items that are not accomplished at the end of the day place on tomorrow’s to do list. There will be some days when there will not be enough time in your day to accomplish everything; even the President must leave some things for tomorrow. 

a.      Tomorrow’s To Do List 

                                      i.      Check Email 

                                      ii.      Update Website 

Now invariably there will be unforeseeable problems and tasks that will come up throughout your day. However, just because they come up today does not mean that they have to be dealt with today. Some emergencies come up and need to be dealt with right away. When that happens deal with the issue, then re-evaluate your schedule to see which projects need to be postponed or moved forward. However, everything that is not an emergency can be written down for tomorrow’s to do list. 

Now that you have read how to plan your day understand that this plan works for me and is based on my personality so if you are overwhelmed take a deep breath and relax. However, if you do not have a system to plan your day I suggest that you work this one to get you started. As you work this plan you will notice things that do not work for your situation or personality and will begin to adapt your own method out of mine. But the most important thing in planning your day is to have a plan and to work the plan you have, for when you do maximum results will be your reward. 

Dekalb County, GA juror who showed up for duty fifteen minutes late was thrown in jail. (The Washington Post, June 2001)  

Time cannot be saved only invested, therefore spend it wisely. The average American will spend six years eating, five years waiting in line, four years cleaning house, three years preparing meals, two years trying to return calls, one year searching for misplaced items, eight months opening junk mail, and six months sitting at red lights. 

An average American has thirty-seven hours of free time per week which is five more extra hours of free time than we had thirty years ago. Where does this time go? Well, statistically 40% of the free time is spent watching television. 

The activities in our life that take up most of our time and energy are the activities that are not pushing us toward our goals. Daily goals focus your time and make you more efficient. As Steven Covey says, “Make first things first,” and you can do this by making a list. Make a list every Sunday the activities that you have to do for the week. If you find that this is to difficult to do then make your list each evening before you go to bed of the things that you have to do on the following day. Once the list is created then place them in the order of importance. Once your activities are listed in the order of importance and place time frames on when you would like to perform and accomplish these activities. After your activities are laid out in the order of importance and time frames of when you would like to accomplish those tasks then do not do the second activity until the first one has been accomplished. Then do not do the third until the second activity has been fulfilled. Upon following this principle you will find that more will be accomplished with less stress. Most stress results from disorganization. When your activities are not placed in order of importance with timelines to work on then you will find yourself working on one activity while thinking of the other activities that need to be done. Then you will find yourself working on a side task to another project which will take you on a bunny trail to another project and pretty soon you will be working on 4 or 5 different projects simultaneously. Working on that many projects is due able, however, just not efficiently if they are being worked on simultaneously.  One hour work on one project. The second hour work on the second one and so on. If you do not get everything accomplished that is on your list, just add the remaining “to do activities” to your list tomorrow. 

            “Let’s say every week you have lunch with a certain friend. Each week, she asks to borrow a dollar, and each week you lend it to her. She never repays the loans, and you begin to feel taken advantage of. Now, one dollar is not a lot of money, but after 6 months of handing over the cash, it starts to get old. That’s what chronic lateness feels like to a timely person.” 

            “…They see tardiness as something you are doing to them. Perhaps they’ve cut short a workout at the gym, skipped breakfast, or waved away a second cup of coffee. If they’ve made sacrifices to meet you on time, they’ll feel frustrated and slighted that you didn’t think enough of them to do the same.” (Delonzer, p.13) 

Never be late again. Delonzer, Diana Post Madision Publishing San Francisco, California 2003 

Why is Time Management Important 

How to Time Manage 

            Allow for personality 

Pareto’s Law states that 80% of a companies productivity is done by 20% of its people. In any given company 80% of all the sales are made by 20% of the sales force and in any given church or business 80% of the productivity is accomplished by 20% of the crew. Also corporations have found that 20% of the customers make up 80% of the purchases. What this means is if you are the CEO of your company then you need to focus 80% of your customer satisfaction effort into the 20% of the people who are doing the majority of the ordering. Or if your focus is your employees then you need to focus 80% of your effort into the 20% of the employees that are generating the greatest return. However, this is not only for those who are in business this can also be applied to your personal life. The things in your personal life that are going to grant you the greatest return are your children, wife or husband, exercise and other activities that will grow you personally and spiritually such as church, personal development books, prayer and personal reflection time. When you forget about the 80% and focus on the 20% you will find that you are more relaxed and make a greater impact in your business, personal and spiritual life.   

Take some time for yourself to relax and rest. When you do this you save energy, improve your concentration enabling you to get more activities done faster. There is a new trend in corporate America where CEO’s and business leaders are implementing naptime into their busy work day. Business Week did a study that showed a increase in productivity for individuals who took a twenty minute power nap in the midday. In their study they interviewed business leaders who were taking the phone off the hook and turning the lights out in the afternoon to power them up for the second half of the day. Some who did not have couches are taking the cat naps on their office floor and others are going to specialty shops where they pay fourteen dollars to get away for a little cat nap. Sleep oriented businesses is a twenty billion dollar industry right now so there might be something to it. 

If you do not have a planner get one. You can have one on your computer, ipod