Time Management is a crucial skill in success in any field. But one might say, to manage time you have to have available time to manage, right?
As you sit in a day full to the extent that you wonder how progression will ever result from such mayhem, you already know the answer.
It will. But you have to make it.
Because of a constant and unwavering commitment to your success, you cannot settle for settling, or allow mayhem to rule.
This is what I tell myself, even though some people would tell me that I’ve already succeeded. But I know where I am going.
So I continue plugging away, even when it begins to hurt!
You know the questions you ask yourself when it gets to that point, how can I do it all?
But you also know that you can always find a bit of time here and there for that one more phone call or that one latent post (like I’m behind on making this one now 
And in the ongoing daily runabouts that you find yourself on, you know that’s a prime opportunity to talk to someone, make that connection, and potentially forge a new relationship.
That’s the one trick in Time Management is finding time where you didn’t think there was any.
Even while I sit here with a project in its last weeks of an 18 month progression, culminating in a frenzy of activity that would drive anyone to the brink, I’m taking just a moment to write while chatting with someone on Skype and while waiting on a background task to complete.
Earlier I made a couple of phone calls in between other tasks, when my mind was in desperate need of a rest from them. I could have been doing some of the other things that I need to, a bit of cleaning perhaps, but more pressing things were in arrears.
But when you see the results of each of these little activities, stolen out of bits of time from all the madness, there’s a spark of motivation that comes from that result, that tiny measure of success.
The fact is that is IS measurable, and it DOES count, and it IS worth those stolen minutes.
It adds to the weight of your total contribution and future success.
As things forge forward in one direction you can start a ripple in another, and another.
This is a bit of wisdom from ‘The Slight Edge’, a book by Jeff Olson who brilliantly explains this universal law. It is that every small contribution that you make toward your goal counts enormously!
As long as you keep moving, that is the key! Never give up.
But once in a while a breather IS in order. You DO have to care for yourself, and get enough sleep and proper nutrition. Working until 1:30 A.M. when you have to be up at 6:30 A.M. isn’t doing you much good.
Take at least most of one single day in the week to manage personal affairs and prepare for another week so that you don’t go mad while taking care of the future.
And while mayhem persists, take those moments to pluck the highest priority items from your To-Do list so that it does not loom so large an daunting.
While the first trick of Time Management is finding time where none seems to exist, going from mayhem to actual progression requires taking action!
I think it’s vital to prioritize your tasks and try to take them one by one, rather than risk multitasking them.
As I often repeat, multitasking is bad bad bad, it really screws up your brain, and even if sometimes we feel like we *have* to, it’s often just a problem of perception: we feel we’re doing a lot more while in all truth we’re becoming increasingly less productive.
So, just decide the priority of your tasks and go on taking them one by one, it’s the best suggestion I can give, not the simplest, mind you, but it works.
Gabriele Maidecchi´s last [type] ..My Blogging Guidelines part 1
Hi Gabriele!
I agree completely, but my point was that when times are such that for example, I am working 15 to 18 hour days yet still want time for some of my business activities, I can find them. In one case, I will use my earpiece for a call during drive time, or in another, if I have to sit and wait on a background task to complete, I can start a post or make another phone call. Otherwise when the end of that 18 hour day comes, I’ve little steam left for such things, my brain is fried by then! So right now, I am replying to this just before heading back into it from a lunch break. But you’ve got to collect time in places you may not otherwise think of SOMEtimes.
But I agree, if you can prioritize and focus that is your BEST chance for getting the larger tasks completed. I certainly won’t be writing another ebook or ramping up a new marketing method until my current project is completed in late January/early February!
Great to see you as always, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Wishing You Wonderful Success,
Ok sorry that makes sense, I got what you mean
Gabriele Maidecchi´s last [type] ..My Blogging Guidelines part 1
Hi Vicki,
I agree that it’s not always a good idea to multi-task, but in some instances it gets me farther along.
Even though I’m retired, I have a schedule to keep, with many interruptions, as I work from home. Each day requires an adjustment to my schedule and I work when I can.
This is an inspiring post for me! I know that the extra effort in your job will benefit you in the future.
Hi Ellene!
You are right, every day seems to require adjustments, even when you have specific tasks to do, there are going to be things that come up which you should not ignore, and so the trick is to adapt and still progress along your path to your goals for the day!
Thanks for stopping by, great to see you here!
Wishing You Wonderful Success,
Hey Vicki
Fabulous read here, and you included some great points.
I am always multi-tasking but I put that down to being mum, wife and entrepreneur! I find I get more done and feel a lot better about things when Im working that way. However what I find works for me is to have my strategies in place for my business and then I know where Im going, when I am suppose to be there and that Im staying on track.
Another thing that helps is really analysing distractions – email, social media, mucking around in general when you get bored or don’t want to do what you’re doing anymore…. I always have a back up, if I don’t want to work on this strategy I move onto another so im changing it up but still working on important things.
Great post
cheers
Nat
Nat´s last [type] ..How Being A Rebel Gets You Your Desired Results
Hi Nat!
You are so right, having a plan definitely helps you to focus on the tasks you need to be doing when you get the chance to move quickly on them! And I love that you brought up analyzing those distractions – those can be our worst enemy when trying to be efficient with our time! Having a secondary plan is a great way to avoid those because we do need those little breaks from time to time.
Thanks for stopping by again, always a pleasure to see you, and thanks for adding such great value here!
Wishing You Fabulous Success,
Hey Vicki,
you bet that this subject completely rocks!
Thank you for introducing us to the way
how you manage your time and also for
the great indications!
I implied some AMAZING new time management
strategies in the last couple of days, and the results
are already unbelievable good.
You´ve to learn from personal experiences, how you
can manage your time every day, and work
on it..
Keep going,
G
Hi Gerald!
Thanks so much! Yes making enough time for all that we want to do is a challenge, isn’t it! Being that our best laid plans are sometimes changed for us on a daily basis, but we have to just keep focused on your goals which allows us to take advantage of those little moments. Experience is indeed the best teacher!
Great to see you again, I’m glad you stopped by!
Wishing You Tremendous Success,
Hi Vicki,
I embrace the idea of dedicating one day per week to personal affairs. Neglecting those can get people into trouble no matter how successful their businesses are.
It’s also important to have enough rest. Only 5 hours of sleep on a regular basis is not enough for most people, myself included.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last [type] ..Think And Grow Rich – The Mystery Of Sex Transmutation – Lessons From Chapter 11
Hi Oliver!
Thanks so much for stopping by, great to see you again!
Yes indeed, we absolutely must take care or ourselves and our families or we’ll never truly make the most of our successes. And sleep is so much more important than most people realize. Before I understood all of the physiological functions of sleep and when I was much younger, I used to think 5 hrs a night was plenty, and went for a few years getting only that! If I had only realized then what I know now, I never would have allowed that. But live and learn, right?
Always a pleasure to see you Oliver!
Wishing You Fabulous Success,
Hi Vicki,
That is really great advice about taking time out once a week to care of personal affairs… it’s something that I don’t do currently and those personal tasks are always in the back of mind and I have trouble staying focused. I’m gonna take your advice… thanks!
Kevin Schmidt´s last [type] ..The Importance of a Kick A Mentor
Hi Kevin,
Thanks so much! Yes those personal tasks can definitely begin to weigh heavily on your mind and do distract you from your focus – I’m glad you pointed that out more concisely!
Thank you for stopping by and for your comment!
Wishing You Tremendous Success,
Hi Vicki
I am impressed with your blog and the type of content you provide. it is inspirational for people like me in the same field.
Sorry to go out of topic. I want to know how you add the facebook widget with the pic of people like you. I want to add it to my website. please let me know thanks
Hi Judia,
Thanks so much! I am glad you like it, please do come back!
You can find the link for that Fanbox widget in my post on Facebook Fan pages – http://mlmdreamsaver.com/2010/09/creating-an-attractive-facebook-fan-page/
Let me know if you have any questions!
Wishing You Brilliant Success,
I multi-task too but sometimes I know I have to focus – especially if I am working on a blogpost. I tend to get distracted when a new email comes in or a bill arrives. I’ve made an action folder now where I can slot bills, school forms, or whatever so they don’t take me away from the task at hand. But sometimes I set up my laptop beside my desktop so that I can work on something different when I am waiting for a website to pull up or something. pretty nifty. thanks, Amy
Amy Hagerup´s last [type] ..What Kind of Tree is Your Business- Papaya or Oak
Hi Amy!
That’s great, an action folder is a good idea. i use gmail and so use the labels and the priority inbox to organize and label things that I want to be sure and pay the most attention to. It helps! And multitasking is great if you don’t get yourself too distracted, I can find that happening a lot!
Thanks for stopping by again and commenting, great to see you as always!
Wishing You Fabulous Success,
Hey Vicki,
I haven’t spoken to you in a while Vicki… I hope all is well with you!
Time management is a tough one. It can most definitely get away from a person… example: I just spent 4 solid weeks putting together my “7 Day SEO Boot Camp for Bloggers”, which is in-depth, Search Engine Optimization training that is tailored to the Blogger.
During this trying time, I only wrote one article… pretty sad! Now that the training that I am offering is finally complete and online, I can get back to building relationships, and writing more information-filled articles.
Thank you,
John Engle
John Engle | WebSeoBlogTips´s last [type] ..It’s HERE – 7 Day SEO Boot Camp for Bloggers!
Hi John!
I know, it’s been quite a while! I hope you are doing well too, I’ve been so busy but just great!
Time management has been my biggest challenge lately. My business has had to take a back seat to the job that still pays my biggest paycheck as the hours have increased to 65-70 per week this last month. I do the bare minimum at keeping up with talking to new leads, and taking time to reply to all communication online with Twitter, Facebook and my blog, but I have not had time for new posts. However, I still managed to sign up another new person this week to my primary business!
So things could be worse, I just have to get back to taking more time for my physical fitness and my business, but can’t start giving up sleep in order to do that!
I am glad you have finished your boot camp and look forward to seeing it (given my schedule lightens up!
Wishing You Fabulous Success!
I’m terrible when it comes down to managing my time, I’ve learnt by writing a to do list, then simply adding extra tasks on to it, I have a list of what I need to be doing and hopefully if I follow it in order, then things get done on time. Of course I date-stamp the notes so I know how “far behind” I am, they’ll always be “todos” which I put off for months before I end up doing, but oh well.
Alex Brooks´s last [type] ..WARNING- Stop Using “All in one Adsense and YPN” For WordPress
Thanks for this post, Vicki. This is a great reminder to a situation that is frequently encountered and almost always unnoticed. I find parttime networkers encounter this the most because they have difficulty setting a firm schedule to their daily/weekly activities because of their other obligations.
Hi Bryan,
Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment! You’re right, it’s a frequently neglected situation that we’ve got to get a handle on, and I struggle with it every day being the kind of person who tends to over extend themselves. Focus is paramount to success!
Here’s to a very Happy and Successful New Year!
