What I learnt was that even the person with the perfect time management skills (from the outside) can let the life balance slide. While a very systematic approach to life is not mine, it works for many. We all need to be smart enough to read the signs and get balance back if it has slipped a little. I was a little bit slower on the lesson.

If you don’t have time to do it right, you must have time to do it over.
~ Anonymous

You are in one thing as you are in everything. So many books and blogs have been written on the subject of time management (by much better and more educated writers than me), but it is important to understand time management is not just about the workplace.

The most basic system to good time management is the “to do list” When I was a Manager in the travel industry, I knew that many of my staff need to be trained in life, not just in their job. One thing I ask all staff to complete on a daily basis is a to do list.

The “to do” list clears your head and stops the overwhelm or “busy head”

For example, write ten things down on Friday for Monday morning. By the end of work on Monday 3 things have been done (if you are lucky) and 4 things are added. This happens all week. That last point added on Friday night was a very low priority when put on your list but by the following Friday it has become the clear number one priority. I wonder if that low priority would ever be seen as a high priority if you had not seen it on your list every night for a week?

Now to me, this is a simple process to be completed before you leave your desk each day. This is something that helps me be better with my time management and makes me better at my job. In fact now I use my notes page on my phone rather than paper. It does not matter the system. What does matter is that you get it out of your head.

It is very basic system and it clears your head. If you want good time management then you need to put in place the building blocks for a solid foundation and nothing is easier than writing a to-do list! Step two if you set aside time each week to time block by using your to do list you will find the winning combo. Make sure you put your time as priority number one !