Time is not Gold!

As everyone has heard it for numerous times, it is gold and we should not waste it. I’m quite sure you understand what I am talking about. Yes; ‘Time!’ It has been named gold because it is too valuable. But my opinion is that we definitely could buy gold by saving some money, but never ever, could do such a thing for time, could we?! I mean, are we able to buy at least 1 second even with huge sum of money? Absolutely not!

So what happens to us when we throw away such a precious thing just like a piece of nothing and pay no attention to it?! We are living as if we are eternally never-ending. The reason might be that most of us do not know how to manage our time in the best way. “Time management” is under great consideration nowadays, and thus, lots of workshops are being held to teach time managing skills to people. Moreover, there are lots of websites, books, and articles about this subject. Though it is impossible to tell you all the skills in this short note, here are some practical productivity tips to get you started.

1. Write tasks down: one of the most common mistakes is trying to use memory to remember too many details which consequently lead to information overload. Using a to-do list to write things down is a great way to take control of your projects and tasks and keep you organized. It is so simple; just list all of your tasks instead of memorizing them.
2. Prioritize your list: arranging your to-do list in order of its priority, helps you focus and spend more of your time on the things that are really important for you. You can value your tasks into categories using the ABCD prioritization system. (Doing A and B increase your pleasure and decrease your stress.)  In this way you might find some of your tasks as not urgent or necessary; you could eliminate some of them or want someone else to be done.
3. Plan your week: Spend some time at the beginning of each week to plan your schedule. Taking the extra time to do this will help increase your productivity and balance your important long-term projects with your more urgent tasks. All you need is fifteen to
   thirty minutes each week for your planning session.

1. Learn to say no: many people become overloaded with too much work just because they become overcommitted; they say yes when really should be saying no. It seems necessary sometimes to say no, so that you will free up time to spend on things that are more important.
2. 5. Think before acting: Before committing to a new task and giving your answer, stop to think about it. This will prevent you from taking too much work. If you still are not able to say no, buy time; you can use some similar phrases like: “let me first check my day-book.”
3. 6. Continuously improve yourself: learn new things and develop your natural talents and abilities.
4. Identify bad habits: Make a list of bad habits that are stealing your time, disrupting your goals, and blocking your success. After you do, work on them and eliminate them from your life. Remember that the easiest way to eliminate a bad habit, is to replace it with a better habit.

1. Remember developing time management skills is a journey: it might be started with this guideline, but needs practice and other guidance along the way.
2. Become aware of how you use your time: having a to-do list and scheduling for it is not all you have to do. After all these, what you need is to be aware of how you are following your schedule and how successful you have so far been in your duties.