Time Management

February 6th, 2006 by Steve Pavlina

Time Management” is a new article I just posted to the free articles section.

Time management is a subject I’ve investigated extensively, and this article explores my most recent thoughts about it.  When I first began seriously studying time management in 1992, I learned a myriad of low-level tactics that allowed me to increase my personal productivity.  Graduating college in three semesters was one significant result of this tactical approach to time management.

Recently, however, I’ve been taking a more strategic approach to time management, meaning that I’m more concerned with making correct decisions than with optimizing the specific implementation details.  This article takes a fresh look at time management from this strategic perspective.

Time management systems like David Allen’s GTD, Tony Robbins’ OPM, or Franklin-Covey’s system require that you prioritize your tasks in some way, and this means you need to label some tasks as more important than others.  But exactly how do you determine which task is the most important one?  What’s the criteria?  I believe the key factor in effective time management is accuracy.  When you have an accurate model of reality, then the difference between the important and the unimportant becomes clear in a meaningful sense.

The real gains in time management are realized at the top, not the bottom.  If your high-level strategic decisions are based on an inaccurate understanding of reality, then your mission, goals, projects, and actions will be virtually meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  All of your accomplishments will be little more than busywork.  This article presents a way to resolve this situation and to know whether or not you’re setting the right goals to begin with.

Enjoy the article:  Time Management


Attend Steve's 3-Day Workshops in Las Vegas

Conscious Relationships Workshop - Feb 17-19, 2012

See all workshops...

Free Personal Development Insights Newsletter

Get Steve's Free Newsletter

Sign up below to receive my free email newsletter, which I usually send out once or twice a month. You can unsubscribe at any time, and I won't share your contact info with anyone else. With tens of thousands of active subscribers, this is one of the most popular personal development newsletters in the world, with insightful and motivating content to help you grow faster.