The Law of Consequences (in Life and Business)

Source: b5z

The Law of Consequences states that the value and importance of a task or goal is determined by the seriousness of its consequence if it is completed or not completed in due time. According to Brain Tracy, a task for which there are few, if any consequences, is by definition not particularly important. Therefore, for you to be more effective in life, you must aim at spending more time on the tasks that can have the greatest possible consequences.

Why Time Management is Difficult for You

Source: Freelancingandmore.com

Everyone knows that the level of your success and productivity in life and in all your endeavors is directly, and greatly influenced by your ability to manage time. It’s not just important to learn to manage your own time, but that of your coworkers, colleagues, friends and fellow students. However, you must know that time is a wild beast that can never be tamed. What I am saying therefore, is that it is impossible to ‘manage time’.

VALUE YOUR TIME...AND PEOPLE WILL VALUE IT

Frankly, I’m tired of people popping into my life at odd times and expecting me to do their bidding. They act like they are the boss of me and like they own me or something! How I hate it when people just disrupt a day I’ve planned ahead of me, making me do things they probably can do by themselves.

Truth is, I don’t blame them, and it’s actually my fault. It’s because I’ve failed to draw boundaries in my relationships with others. I’ve failed to make the “don’t cross this line” areas known to them, so they just come in and go out as often as they want.

If only I can set boundaries in the use of my time, people will respect it more and in the process, respect me more also. They will know when it’s ‘me time’ and when it’s ‘us time’. But the thing is it’s easier said than done. I know I need discipline and courage to stand up to my friends and ward them off at the times I need to be alone, the times I need to think for me and enjoy the sound of silence and peace.

Until I can do this, they’ll just keep taking me for granted and I’ll just keep wasting precious time trying to live my life for others instead of for myself forgetting that “time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” -Carl Sandburg

How to get more done in good time

We eventually end up regretting every second we spend doing nothing or doing nothing profitable. We then go on to complain that we have so little time to do so much but if God shared our views He probably would have given us more hours in a day, but He didn’t.

The time we have is enough if we can learn to prioritize our activities and scratch out the unimportant, unproductive things we do. Every second we spend is gone forever; we cannot retrieve time but we can manage it well. Time waits for no man. Just follow these simple steps:

1. .       First thing in the morning, write out your to-do list for that day. If you don’t do it now, you probably won’t have the chance again.
2. .        Organize the contents of the list in order of importance.
3. .       Allocate time slots to each activity and deadlines too.
4. .       If possible, set reminders around you. You can use electronic devices (Tablets PCs, iPod, etc.) or you can use sticky notes or better yet tell your friends to remind you.
5. .       You need to be disciplined. No one can teach you that. You’ll just have to learn it yourself.
6. .       Understand that you’ll probably not accomplish everything that day. Carry the minor activities over to the next day OR leverage other people’s time.
7. .       Make sure you follow up on your list and go through it at the end of the day.