People generally have a fairly good understanding of basic time management techniques, and almost everyone knows how to plan and prioritize. Most people know they should be more organized. The problem is that very few of us always do what we know we should do. Your success does depend on a successful time management system. Think about some accomplished people you know. Do they do what they say they are going to do when they say they will do it? Do they keep their word? The answer is probably ‘yes.’ People who keep their word consistently create power and focus in their lives. Together, power and focus provide the ability to be more effective in shaping events and circumstances. Effectiveness, in turn, enhances our feeling of well being. The better we feel; the more successful we are.

The “Formula for Well Being©”demonstrates that before we can keep our word, we need to give our word. Giving our word creates the potential for us to keep our word, which in turn creates the power and focus to be more effective.

Achieving more power and focus through mastering the right time management techniques is a skill, a mindset, and a lifestyle and it can be adopted by anyone who …

• Wants to feel more in control,
• Wants to attain more out of life,
• Wants to achieve success in business while enjoying the pleasures of a personal life,
• And, wants to reduce stress and realize more life balance.

Define a time management habit that you wish to develop. Be as specific as possible.

Negative habits in our lives are destructive; positive ones provide focus and power. They help us achieve our goals. In order to rebuild habits, we must define precise behaviors for change. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Your focus and power is dependent on your time management skills and behaviors. It is never too late to make a positive change, and a new year is upon us, so start today!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

With respect to time, many people spend far more than they invest. Most of us spend inordinate amounts of time engaged in frivolous activities that do little or nothing to propel us toward our life goals. For some reason, we don’t value time as we do money, electricity, food, or even paperclips. Most of use are trained not to waste paper. We turn off lights, so we don’t waste electricity. Yet we continue to treat our time—precious moments of our lives that can never be relived—as if we had an unlimited supply.

Too often we spend our time doing what someone else wants us to do, or we do things that seem urgent rather than those that are really important. As a result, many unimportant tasks get done in a thorough, timely fashion, while important activities get hastily done under crisis conditions. Time is like money. You can expect dividends if you wisely invest it and losses if you spend it frivolously. Time reflects who you are. It indicates what you think of yourself and others, and how focused you are in achieving the goals you have set for yourself. Orchestrate each day of your life to achieve a high level of performance and satisfaction personally and professionally. Align your activities with your personal goals and with the goals of your organization.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

What should I do first?

What is the priority, really?

Do, I really want to start with “that” project?

Should I wait until this afternoon to start making phone calls?

Should I rework my web page/marketing material?

How about if I give _______ a call and see how they are doing?

Playing the “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” game is a success killer. This game will only provide distractions, reasons to “not” do something, and ultimately you accomplish nothing. When is the last time you worked for or visited a successful company and saw people accomplishing “nothing?”

Focus is what is necessary to accomplish goals and objectives that will lead to success as you define it. Focus provides a clear image, a clear path of direction.

How do you achieve focus?

Start with the end in mind. Decide where you want to go and what you want to accomplish. You need to design the “big picture” in order to select and implement the necessary action steps. What is the vision for your company? What do you want to be known for and why? As a result of accomplishing your vision, what will change for you personally? The answer to these questions will provide the fuel and passion necessary to drive you to success.

Establish a Plan. After you have established your desired vision, you need a plan … a plan that not only includes the vision, but a plan that lays out the mission (how you plan to accomplish the vision in a two to five year time frame). Internal and external assessments of the organization and your market place need to be conducted. Based on your direction and combined assessments, you can then create and proceed with sufficient and necessary critical goal categories that will bring the plan to life.

Implement the Plan. The critical goal categories are the broad goals established in your plan to begin the action planning process. Next, specific and detailed goals, which must meet the SMART criteria, need to be created. They will provide the daily, monthly, and quarterly plans as well as the needed measurement stick. These action steps must be determined with time lines, and the time commitments need to be immediately entered into your planning system. Having an unorganized time management system will inevitably cause challenges and lack of results.

Continuous Goal Review. Know what measurements are critical to the success of your business and monitor them closely. Seek out assistance through a coaching or mentoring relationship where someone helps keep your feet to the fire. Being in your own “successful” business does not allow you the luxury of “doing it tomorrow” or playing the “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” game. It requires the same persistence and unyielding focus on the critical measurements … just like when you held corporate responsibilities.

Make a difference today! We cannot control tomorrow … we can only plan for it, and yesterday is a cancelled check. The only thing we can control is today! Make a decision to review your action steps first thing every day and make the commitment to yourself (no matter what) that you will accomplish want needs to be accomplished. Long-term success comes from the dedication to do the right activity well and do it every day!

As they say in the ever-popular “FISH” video, “The choice is yours.” No one ever said that success was easy or “child’s play!”

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.