THE 10-80-10 PRINCIPLE - The Key to Maximizing Your Time and Effort

BY JOHN C. MAXWELL
JULY 22, 2014

People ask me all the time how I get so much done. First, I tell them that a lot of it is thanks to my high energy mixed with low IQ. I just don’t know any better. But that’s not really the key to my success at achieving a variety of goals. The secret is something I’ve been practicing for many years, but haven’t really taught that much: The 10-80-10 Principle.

If you know me, you’re already aware that I’m a big fan of delegation. I delegate almost everything. But there are right ways and wrong ways to delegate. The 10-80-10 Principle is what I consider the best way to delegate.

Here it is in a nutshell. For any project, I divide the total process (100%) into the first 10%, the middle 80%, and the last 10%. Then, I involve myself in the first and last 10%. The middle 80% is carried by my team. I pour myself into the first 10% in order to get the project started on the right track. Then I hand it off to the team. I interact a little bit with them, but not much. It’s really their baby. After the team has taken the project almost to completion, I dive back in again and help with the final 10%.

I call those two parts the bookends of success. I coul also compare the process to piloting a plane. The crucial parts of the flight are the takeoff and landing. They’re the most dangerous, and the most complicated. By involving myself in the team’s project during those crucial times, I’m able to help them make a successful trip.

For today’s post, I’ll describe the five things that I make sure to provide for my team during the first 10% of any project. Then on Friday, I’ll share the five things I provide during the final 10% of the project.  Here’s what I provide when I involve myself in the first 10%:

1.  The Big Picture

I’ve often said that leaders see more than others see. This time at the front end of the project is when I share with the team what exactly I see, and what exactly I want the outcome to be. I don’t want my team to get started and get lost. It happens all time. People get started and get lost, because they don’t see the big picture. So I use this time to make sure we’re all on the same page and have the same goal.

2.  Objectives

Now it’s time to break down the goal into specific objectives. I try to focus on only four or five main objectives. These provide the “how.” How are we going to achieve the overarching goal? It’s a good idea to keep these objectives simple, and make them visual. You want your team to be able to look at them later and be aware instantly of whether they’re still on target.

3.  Direction

Here I break things down even farther – helping figure out the specific responsibilities of each person on the team. I want to give each individual direction, because they’re not all going to be doing the same thing. Each person needs to know their position, so that there won’t be conflicts later. And it’s easier to know who’s accountable.

4.  Resources and Support

Now each person knows what they need to do to achieve the goal. It’s time to find out what they need from me to make it work. What kind of resources do they need? Do they need other people to assist? Do they need workspaces? Are they in need of monetary support? Before I can expect people to give me what I’m asking for, I need to give them what they need to get the job done.

5.  Responsibility

This is where I hand off the “ball” and let them start on the next 80% of the job. I’ve given them what they need and set them up for success. I want them to be clear on the fact that the task is theirs, and I won’t be involved much until the end of the project.

At this point, after handing off the project for the team to do the next 80%, I can move on to other projects, or go back to tasks that I need to accomplish. Delegating in this way allows you to have more than one project going at once, because you’re not involved for 80% of it.

Now, a lot of people delegate in this way, but the ratio is more like 10-90. The leader is involved for the first 10%, but then the team takes everything to completion. That’s what I love about 10-80-10. It takes any project to another level of excellence, because the leader, the one who originated the big picture, steps back in and helps elevate the work of the team.

Source: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/

TIME MANAGEMENT - Top 10 Time Management Skills Everyone Must Learn

Article by prajita chowdhury

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler

And as a pilot, therefore, you have the power to direct and utilize your present time to its fullest. Time management is one skill that everyone requires to develop in order to succeed in life. Anybody who has mastered the art of managing his own time gains the power to deliver splendid results, no matter how big the task is. And therefore, here we present top 10 skills that will help you in mastering this powerful art of time management:

 10.Do it now – Stop waiting for the right time to come

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” – Napoleon Hill

It happens with probably most of us, that to start any particular task we keep on waiting for the right time to come. We keep on preparing so much for activities that sometimes we lose the track of time. Or we tend to postpone the task giving various excuses. There is no doubt that preparation before any task is important. However, it is equally crucial to decide for how long you need to prepare. Therefore, developing a sense of urgency is an important aspect of time management. So, stop waiting and just do it.

9. Identify bottle necks/ constraints

Whatever task you are going to undertake, there is always a limiting factor or constraint that determines how efficiently and quickly you will complete the task. This constraint accelerates the rate of your work as well as your productivity. A key factor can be a person whose help you may require, a weakness that acts as an obstacle, or a tool that you need to accomplish your task. Once identified, work on it to get the maximum return out of the available time. However, if one doesn’t pay attention to it, the same factor becomes a bottleneck and hinders productivity.

8. Focus on one thing at a time

 ”Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus” – Alexander Graham Bell.

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing. In order to achieve anything big or small, the mind has to be trained to focus on that single important task, without getting distracted by any influences or activities. We put a lot of effort in completing too many activities in given time without prioritizing them properly, but end up getting average results. Under the pressure of strict deadlines, people suffer greater stress, make more mistakes, and have to do redo more tasks. Therefore, divide your work and attempt to complete them one by one: one task done at a time in the best possible way turns out be of highest quality which motivates us to give our best efforts in undertaking other activities as well.

7. Clarity of thoughts : Write them down.

“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” - David McCullough

Clarity of thoughts and goals decides the quality of the work that will come out eventually. The utmost reason why certain people work faster and are successful is because they are absolutely clear of what they want to achieve. Clear thought acts as a compass that direct them to achieve their goals. Vague ideas or non- clarity of thoughts doesn’t take you anywhere. The best way to get a clear picture of your thoughts is to write them: refine them if necessary and keep on reminding yourself about your goals. If you could think on paper, you could execute easily in action. The clearer you are about the objectives, the easier it becomes for you to conquer your goals and procrastination.

6. Identify and do the most critical task first

“Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goeth

Another way of prioritizing your work is to ask yourself “Which one task or activity, if I did it in timely and splendid manner, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?” There are many activities in life that can take a backseat, when you know which activity or project is going to affect your life in a significant and positive way. Often this task may be the most difficult to do. But don’t be scared: take up the challenge and just do it. Put aside all the non-critical activities till you finish the important one; once completed you can feel the difference you have made using this critical way of prioritizing. Your ability to select your most important task, to begin it and then to concentrate on it single mindedly until it is complete is the key to high levels of performance and personal productivity.

5. Be punctual

“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” – William Shakespeare

This list will be incomplete without the crucial aspect of time management: punctuality. This is the characteristic of completing a required task or fulfilling any requirements before deadlines. A person’s sense of commitment is directly proportional to this highly valued time management skill. And of course, punctuality is the soul of any business. The sooner you develop this habit, the better your chances of success becomes.

4. Go that extra mile

The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does. – Napolean Hill

The key to be successful in today’s competitive world is to go that extra mile in whatever you do. Try to beat your own set deadlines. Set up this habit of starting a little earlier, working little harder than what you are expected to do. As you build this habit, your self-esteem rises that pushes you to take on more difficult challenges more confidently, thus preparing you for your next success.

3. Apply 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule is one of the most productive ways of time management. It is based on Pareto’s principle which states that 80% of results come from 20% of the activities. To achieve the maximum out of your available time, 80/20 rule forms one of the most popular principles of prioritizing. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth as much or more than the other eight items put together. The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But the payoff and rewards for completing these tasks efficiently can be tremendous. You save a lot of time and energy to complete the bottom 80% of work. Therefore, always ask yourself before beginning your work, “Is this task in the top 20% of my activities or in the bottom 80%?”

 2. Motivate yourself.

“People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar

Any difficult task takes a lot of hard work and determination to get completed on time. Often you may feel disheartened when things are not going your way or when you are not able to keep up with time constraints. But always motivate yourself: in order to achieve your peak performance levels, you have to be your own cheerleader. You have to encourage yourself every day to give your best in every activity that you undertake. A positive self-talk everyday helps to boost your self-esteem. Say to yourself positive affirmations like “I can do it”, “I have the power to achieve it” again and again, until you start believing and behaving like a successful performance orientated person. It is also very important to self-reflect and take some time off from work for yourself. Devote some time in various kinds of hobbies like reading, listening music, adventure sports or whatever that interests you most. So that when you come back to work, you are completely recharged and your productivity is at peak level.

1. Plan every day in advance

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now.”- Alan Lakein

Planning before you start your day is an ability that should be cultivated as early in life as possible. The ability to plan well is a measure of your overall competence. The better you make a plan, easier it becomes for you to overcome procrastination and complete all your tasks one by one without wasting your time. In order to get the highest possible return of all your energy that you are dedicating to complete your work, planning comes as an indispensable tool. Every minute spent in planning saves as many as fifteen minutes in execution. So set aside 10-15 minutes to plan your day in the beginning, and eventually you will discover how this small investment will help you achieve better results than your expectations and save you a great deal of energy, time and resources.

TIME MANAGEMENT - Tips for Students

Manage Your Work, Don't Let It Manage You:
Tips for Managing Your Time and Getting Ahead


Goals of Time Management 

• To be able to have control over your life - manage your time, don't let it manage you!
• To be healthier and happier (less stress).

Seven Suggestions for Effectively Managing Your Time
1. Be Organized

• Use time saving tools: appointment calendars, "to do" lists, e-mail, answering machines, file folders, etc.
• Have an organized workplace (don't waste time constantly looking for your work).
• Use your appointment calendar for everything, including listing study time.
• Use "to do" lists for both long-term and for each day/week.

2. Plan Ahead (Schedule it and it will happen!)

• Determine how long your tasks will take (do this before agreeing to take on a task!)
• Consider whether any activities can be combined.
• Determine if big tasks can be broken down into smaller tasks that may be easier to schedule (such as studying for exams and visiting the library as part of an assignment to write a term paper).

3. Prioritize Your Tasks

• Use an A-B-C rating system for items on your "to do" lists with A items being highest priority.
• Set goals for both the short term and long term as to what you want to accomplish.
• Look at all of your "to do"s to gauge the time requirement and whether additional resources will be needed to accomplish them (if yes, schedule time to obtain those resources). Don't postpone the small tasks (a sense of accomplishment is good and overlooked small tasks can become larger tasks.)

4. Avoid Overload

• Include time for rest, relaxation, sleep, eating, exercise, and socializing in your schedule.
• Take short breaks during study and work periods.
• Don't put everything off until the last minute (for example, don't cram for exams).
• Learn to say "no" when appropriate and to negotiate better deadlines when appropriate.

5. Practice Effective Study Techniques

• Have an appropriate study environment.
• Split large tasks into more manageable tasks.
• Read for comprehension, rather than just to get to the end of the chapter.
• Be prepared to ask questions as they come up during study, rather than waiting until just before an exam.
• Do the most difficult work first, perhaps breaking it up with some easier tasks.
• Don't wait until the last minute to complete your projects.
• Read the syllabus as soon as you get it and note all due dates (and "milestone" times) on your calendar.
• Be a model student! (be attentive and participative in class, and punctual, prepared, and eager to learn)

6. Be Able to be Flexible

• The unexpected happens (sickness, car troubles, etc.); you need to be able to fit it into your schedule.
• Know how to rearrange your schedule when necessary (so it doesn't manage you - you manage it).
• Know who to ask for help when needed.

7. Have a Vision (why are you doing all of this?)

• Don't forget the "big picture" - why are you doing the task - is it important to your long-term personal goals?
• Have and follow a personal mission statement (personal and career). (Are your activities ultimately helping you achieve your goals?)
• Know what is important to you. (What do you value most?)
• Have a positive attitude!

TIME MANAGEMENT - 14 Time Management Tips

Do you want to make better use of your time at work? If so, you're not alone. We all want to be more productive in order to get ahead in our careers; however, none of us want to spend every waking hour at work.

Time management is really about managing yourself. It's about making a commitment to be more organized, maintain your focus and use your time to your best advantage.

Here are some tips to help you become active and proactive with your time.

stick to the plan

1- Maintain a to-do list

Create a to-do list and make it a habit to continually update it. Include urgent and non-urgent items so you'll never forget or overlook anything again. Carry your list with you at all times, either in your iPhone or your daily agenda. Also, be sure to break down your projects and assignments into specific action points. For instance, instead of noting "Prepare Performance Reviews," write:

• Research absenteeism records on employees
• Review personal files
• Read employee goals
• Assess performance
• Prepare "Performance Review" documentation
• Meet with employees to discuss reviews
• 
  

2- Allocate your time

Include an estimated time frame for each action point and the date by which the task must be completed. If the order in which you perform the tasks doesn't matter, you might be able to accomplish something during unexpected pockets of free time. For instance, you could research information on the internet while waiting in your office for a conference call to begin.

3- Set and respect deadlines

Be realistic about setting deadlines and strive to meet them. It's true that any task takes the exact amount of time allotted to it. Have you ever noticed how quickly you can blitz through paperwork, delegate assignments and make decisions on the last day before your vacation? Although we tend to get a lot done when we're under pressure, it is a lot less stressful and considerably more professional to establish and stick to an action plan.

avoid wasting time

4- Use your time wisely

Consider accessing your e-mail only at certain times of the day and let your voice mail pick up your calls to give you an uninterrupted hour or two. If possible, never touch the same piece of paper or e-mail twice. Do not open your mail unless you have time to read it and take action on it; that is, reply to it, delegate it, file it or discard it.

5- Get organized

Organize your desk, your hard-copy and computer files and your e-mail folders so you can find things easily. Far too much time is wasted searching for lost information. Benjamin Franklin said it best: "A place for everything, everything in its place."

6- Stay on task

Have a clearly designated "in" basket so people do not put things on your desk randomly. Have you ever returned from a meeting to find extra files, letters and documents all over your desk? Instead of following your own schedule, you probably became sidetracked by someone else's priorities.

7- Avoid disruptions

If you have a door, close it occasionally. Having an "open-door policy" for your staff is self-defeating if you don't have the time to really listen to their questions and concerns. If a coworker comes to your desk when you're too busy to chat, ask to set an alternate time to meet.

streamline teamwork

8- Collaborate and cooperate

Colleagues will expect your work to be done on time, so be sure to avoid any delays. You'll have the same expectations of them. To be safe, build extra time into the project time line to counteract unexpected snags, miscommunications or missed deadlines. If your presentation date is the 25th of the month, make sure you have everything scheduled for completion by the 23rd.

9- Avoid unnecessary follow-ups

If you pass the buck or assign work  to someone else, let it go unless it is your specific responsibility to oversee it. Too many men waste valuable time listening to or reading reports about someone else's project. If your colleagues' research or business responsibilities do not impact your day-to-day work, job performance or career goals, you should only express an interest by way of supportive conversation.

10- Cancel routine meetings

Determine if meetings are absolutely necessary. If they are, establish an agenda and stay on track -- start and end on time. If your presence is not essential for the entire weekly operations review meeting, ask your boss privately if it might be appropriate for you to excuse yourself early.

maintain your focus

11- Keep busy

Keep your skills sharp by having at least one project on the go at all times. Two or more is even better, as it gives you the opportunity to switch gears and concentrate on something else for a change of pace. Working on different projects simultaneously ensures that you always have something to work on. It also keeps your mind active and your perspective fresh.

12- Pick your projects carefully

Make sure your work has value for the company and that it makes the best use of your skills. There may be good reasons to decline a request to sit on a committee or to refuse to take on an additional project; successful business professionals know how to say "no." Ask yourself, "Will this advance my career?" and "Am I able to commit the necessary time to this assignment?" You will earn a lot more respect by collaborating with a colleague whose expertise complements yours than by taking on additional work on your own, overburdening yourself and burning out.

13- Stop procrastinating

It's human nature to postpone unpleasant tasks. Schedule some of the more fun aspects of the project to follow the negative ones. If you dislike working with figures, plan to do the accounting tasks first thing in the morning when you're fresh and there are fewer opportunities for distraction. If you continually put things off and miss deadlines, perhaps you should look carefully at your current job, your career goals, your strengths, and your interests. Habitual procrastination is often a sign of dissatisfaction.

14- Reward yourself

Time management is not entirely about work; it also involves scheduling some downtime to relax and recharge your batteries. Plan rewards once your tasks are completed. This could mean taking a coffee break as soon as you've finished reading the engineering specifications report or planning a vacation once the new product has been launched.

make time to succeed

Resolve to pay closer attention to how you spend your time. Watch how the business professionals you admire allocate their time and emulate some of their business practices. Avoid procrastination, maintain your focus and practice good organizational skills, and you'll earn respect and recognition in your career. Success comes to those who work hard and know how to manage their time well.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/money/successful_100/109c_success.html#ixzz2VPqERaNr

TIME MANAGEMENT - Sample of Time Management Log

TIME MANAGEMENT - The Time Management System

Time Management

Time management systems have become exceedingly popular in recent years... and with good reason. The ultimate potential benefit of such systems is the ability to optimize how you spend your time in order to extract the best possible results in the shortest period of time. Such systems do come with a price, however, and that price is the time you must spend first learning and then maintaining the system. Generally speaking, the more complex the system, the more costly it is to use. The more time you spend managing your system, the less time you'll spend reaping the rewards of increased productivity.

Since the early 1990s, I've studied time management extensively, both by devouring existing knowledge on the subject and through first-hand trial and error. I've read a shelf full of books on time management, listened to hundreds of hours of time management audio learning, and read dozens of articles on the subject. I've used a variety of time management systems including Franklin-Covey, David Allen's Getting Things Done, and Anthony Robbins' Rapid Planning Method (formerly called OPA for Outcome-Purpose-Action). I've used PC software like Microsoft Outlook, Palm computers, and paper-based planners. If there were such a thing as a Ph.D in time management, I've gone through the curriculum many times over.

Studying time management has been an extremely worthwhile endeavor. While the claims made by people selling products in this field are often exaggerated and overhyped, I did realize some genuine productivity benefits from applying the best ideas. As I wrote in the article "Do It Now," I was able to earn two college degrees in only three semesters, largely by applying a variety of time management techniques, some of them to the extreme. I took the same classes in 1.5 years that other students took over a 4-year period, but I was able to compress them into a much shorter period of time by taking about triple the normal courseload. However, I don't consider this to be an extraordinary achievement. I think someone else who studied time management as much as I did could achieve similar results. The sad truth is that most people are so incredibly bad at managing their time that rock-bottom personal productivity is simply accepted as normal. So anyone who can consistently invest 80% of their time each day in intelligent, productive activities is going to look like an overachiever by comparison. The average college student in particular is probably operating at only 20-30% of their capacity, and I'm referring to their social life in addition to academics. Most people are completely unaware of just how poor they are at time management until some "overachiever" enters their lives and makes them look bad by comparison.

Time management systems

It's tempting to say that excellent time management is a result of having a great time management system. But I have not found this to be the case. I think the general mindset of time management is far more important than any system. And the mindset of time management is simply that you value your time. It's really a self-esteem issue. If you see your life as valuable and meaningful, then you will value your time as well. If you find yourself wasting a lot of time, you probably don't have a strong enough reason to manage your time well. No system you use will make much difference until you address the underlying issue of self-respect. If your life has no meaningful purpose, then you don't have a compelling enough reason to improve your time management skills. You might get motivated every once in a while, but your motivation to improve just won't last.

Time management systems are seductive. They lure you in with the promise of greater productivity, more free time, faster income generation, and higher self-esteem. And some of those benefits may indeed be realized. However, another possibility is that your system becomes a distraction that prevents you from achieving real gains. You find yourself investing more and more time in meta-activities like getting organized, prioritizing objectives, and learning the latest productivity software. Actually doing the tasks that your system is designed to manage becomes almost an afterthought... perhaps even an annoyance. Instead of helping you increase productivity, your system becomes a means to disguise low productivity. This is a common problem for people who haven't yet identified a purpose for their lives. The system provides the illusion of productivity, but when you strip it down to its bare essence, you find it's a house of straw. There's nothing there. When you sum up all the tasks, they amount to nothing but busywork and trivialities. Whether or not they actually get done is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. In the long run, no one will care anyway. If you find yourself in this situation, you've simply lost sight of the real purpose of time management.

What is time management?

Let's strip away all this complexity and get back to basics for a moment. What is time management? The essence of time management is the following:

1. Decide what to do
2. Do it

These appear to be very simple steps at first glance. Even a child can do them. However, when we look at them through the lens of optimization, they become much more complicated. In order to optimize these steps, we must concern ourselves with identifying the "right" or the "best" way to complete each step. We can easily see that some decision-action combinations produce better results than others. So our question becomes, "What is the best action to take right now, and what is the best way to do it?"

Answering this question should be the main purpose behind any time management system. Yes, there are side benefits like getting organized, becoming more clear-headed, and reducing stress. But ultimately these benefits all contribute to the decision-action process. What will you do, and how will you do it?

When I first studied time management, I found that most of the existing literature was focused on step 2. There was a lot of emphasis on how to get things done. This is a fine model for employees whose tasks are given to them, but that's an industrial age model, and it doesn't suit knowledge workers today who have a lot more freedom in choosing their tasks and even their careers. If step 1 is done incorrectly, then it doesn't matter how well you do step 2. If you decide to do the wrong thing, it makes no difference how well you do it.

Deciding what to do

Step 1 is a lot more difficult than step 2, which is probably why I've found so little adequate coverage of it. One of the most popular systems that attempts to tackle step 1 intelligently is the Franklin-Covey system, which concerns itself with the high level subjects of mission, roles, and goals more than the lower level of projects and actions. However, I don't think Franklin-Covey goes nearly high-level enough. Many of the mission statements I've seen produced by this system are nothing but vapid drivel, especially those produced by corporations.

The next level up from roles, goals, and mission is the level of context. Think of this as your current understanding of reality as well as your role within it. If you change your context, then everything else changes as well. For example, if you change your spiritual beliefs, then you may experience changes in your relationships and career as well.

Accuracy is paramount

The most important aspect of context is accuracy. Either your context accurately models reality, or it doesn't. This includes your most sacred spiritual beliefs, and it also includes the possibility that your beliefs may even alter your external reality. If inaccurate beliefs guide your actions, then your actions may very well be pointless. A person whose high-level beliefs are inaccurate simply cannot be productive in any meaningful sense. S/he might as well be digging a hole and then filling it.

I began learning of time management at the level of projects and actions, but I've since been approaching it from a top-down perspective. Now I'm far more concerned with doing the right thing than with doing things right. I spend a considerable amount of time reviewing my beliefs, looking for incongruencies between my beliefs and my experience of reality, and exploring other potential beliefs that may be more accurate. While working on the projects and actions level can yield minor productivity boosts, working on the high level of context and purpose can produce major breakthroughs. This is the process that led me to retire from computer game development and to start working in the field of personal development. When my context changed, everything else changed as well, including my mission, goals, projects, and actions.

I believe the most important thing I can do to manage my time is to strive to understand reality as accurately as possible. Above all, this means I cannot ignore data. Everything I've experienced -- everything I think I know -- must somehow be integrated into my approach to time management. There can be no incongruencies. My beliefs, thoughts, and actions must all be in alignment with reality itself.

Resolving incongruencies

A big time management mistake people make is that they allow incongruencies to exist in their lives without ever consciously resolving them. This is very easy to see when it comes to religion. People claim to hold certain beliefs as sacred, but they fail to act in accordance with those beliefs. They hold back or label themselves as weak. Why? Because part of them feels those beliefs are correct, but another part of them feels they're not. But instead of resolving this conflict, they try to avoid thinking about it. To resolve the incongruency would likely cause serious upheaval in their lives, and they fear what might happen. So instead they go through unhealthy cycles of hiding the truth from themselves and feeling frustrated with their inability to meet a standard which they don't fully agree with but which they feel they must continue to follow.

The upheaval caused by resolving internal incongruencies is real, but that doesn't mean you must fear it. I've gone through some major life changes as a result of pursuing this path, and it's hard every time. But I cannot accept the logic of clinging to a belief system that I know to be inaccurate. Once new data presents itself (or a new understanding of old data), I have to find a way to integrate it. At the very least, I must drop the incongruent beliefs while I search for better ones.

Despite the challenges, I've been extremely pleased with this approach. Problems that I struggled with for years simply evaporated once I adapted my beliefs to fit my own experience instead of blindly accepting what others told me. The world is full of so many false beliefs (especially from mass media), so it becomes a serious challenge to trust ourselves and our own thinking when everyone around us is telling us we're wrong.

For example, one of the first beliefs I found to be inaccurate was that I needed a job. Part of me felt I should get a job -- it seemed like the right thing to do after college -- but another part of me didn't like the idea of having to go to work each day and have a boss tell me what to do. I'd look at a job application and just stare blankly at it. I could barely stomach the idea of working on my resume. The whole idea just felt intuitively wrong to me. And I'm certainly not alone in this feeling, but most people do their best to tune it out. They go to work each day, but they don't really like it. They'd rather not go to work if they could afford to do so. Instead of accepting this incongruency like everyone else seemed to, I chose to resolve it. And this led me to find a way to make a good living without a job. It was not an easy path in the short term, but it's been much easier in the long run, especially when I notice the results people who followed the accepted get-a-job approach have achieved. Very few of them seem happy and fulfilled with their lives. At work they pretend everything is OK, but privately they feel miserable and trapped. 

And it gets harder each year. Personally I don't think most jobs are very healthy, considering what they do to the human spirit. I'm sure there are exceptions, but those aren't the norm.

Despite lots of people telling me to "get a job" (often with various expletives tacked onto the end of that sentence), I never did get a job after college, and I've been happily jobless ever since. I just accepted that being employed wasn't something I wanted, and I noticed that people who did have jobs didn't seem to want them either, so I ignored their advice and listened to my intuition instead. (I already explained how I do this on Podcast #6: How to Make Money Without a Job.) By unraveling this incongruency in my beliefs and resolving it, I was able to achieve a better result for myself -- abundant income generation, stellar career opportunities, and a fun social life without the confines of employment. Best of all, I'm ridiculously happy with my life.

The ultimate simplification of time management is that time management isaccuracy. In order to use your time effectively, you must strive to create the most accurate understanding of reality you can. This means giving adequate consideration to all the data that presents itself to you: sense perceptions, facts, logic, intuition, emotions, etc. And the ultimate goal is to bring all of these things into alignment. So what you perceive, feel, think, say, and do are all congruent.

Debugging beliefs

I've made tremendous progress in this area, but I certainly haven't reached the pinnacle of alignment. There are plenty of incongruencies I have yet to resolve. Whenever I experience uncertainty in some area, I look for ways to conduct personal tests. For example, the Million Dollar Experiment is intended to test the power of intention. What role does intention play in achieving results? I don't know the answer to that, but I can't overlook the potential of the intention-manifestation model because it could be very significant, and I've already seen some promising results. I don't yet have a deep enough understanding of how it all works though. The real benefit of such experiments is that they provide me with data I can use to upgrade my mental model of reality. And a better model allows me to make more accurate decisions and thereby use my time more effectively.

It isn't enough just to write down a goal and work to achieve it. It isn't even enough to create a mission statement and live your life in accordance with it. How do you know whether your mission and goals are intelligent to begin with? Haven't you ever set a goal you later realized was stupid or pointless? Will future historians summarize your entire life with the label "misguided?" How do you know you won't look back on your current goals a decade from now and conclude that you were on the wrong path all along? What a waste of time and of life to put so much effort into achieving goals that ultimately won't even matter.

Accuracy is the standard for knowing whether or not your goals are well chosen. If your goals are based on the most accurate model of reality you can muster, then you have nothing to worry about. You've done the best you can, and you can expect no better results. But accuracy isn't remotely easy. This is why many of my goals are directly targeted at increasing the accuracy of my beliefs. I figure that if I don't understand reality well enough to be confident that my goals make sense, then my first priority should be to increase the accuracy of my current mental model of reality. To the degree my model seems accurate, I act within it, but when I find incongruencies, I refine the model itself. Sometimes I find my model so broken that I must discard it completely and rebuild a new one from scratch. The ultimate test of your model of reality is reality itself.

Now while you may not want to dedicate your whole life to the pursuit of accuracy, I think you'll realize substantial improvements in your time management by moving accuracy to the top of your time management philosophy, as opposed to efficiency, effectiveness, or some other standard. Whenever you have to make a tough decision about how to use your time, take a step back and revisit your current understanding of reality. What do you know to be true? And what does that truth dictate is the correct course of action for you? Once you know the correct course of action, then you can strive to get it done effectively and efficiently, and that's where modern time management systems can be of use.

To improve accuracy, eliminate inaccuracies

Although it's very hard to know when your beliefs are accurate, it isn't as difficult to detect inaccuracies, so focus your improvement efforts there for starters. Symptoms of inaccurate beliefs include chronic procrastination, mixed emotions, lying, self-sabotage, setting goals that fizzle, fear of failure, fear of rejection, timidity, depression, anger, frustration, resentment, and wearing excessively baggy pants where the crotch is down to your knees (you do NOT look cool in those; you look like a dolt).

It's usually not that difficult to identify incongruencies in your beliefs. You probably have lots of them, but you may have been taught that it's just normal to feel incongruent. I'd say it's common, but it's not normal. I think it's more normal and natural to be congruent. Having mixed feelings is generally an unpleasant state. When you experience this sensation, take some time to privately journal about your feelings on both sides and explore them as deeply as you can. Most people don't go nearly deep enough. Eventually you will uncover a new truth that you've been unwilling to face. For example, as I previously explained, I had to face the reality that I didn't want to spend my life working for someone else, but I still had to earn money to meet my needs. I admitted that both of these were true (my inner feelings and the external reality), but they were incongruent. And that allowed me to devise a congruent solution that honored both sides without forcing me back into a state of incongruency. I opted to find a way to make a good living without needing a job. It was hard in the short term but much easier in the long run. Inaccurate beliefs don't serve you, so dump them whenever you can.

If you take care of the highest level of time management (accuracy), the other parts have a way of taking care of themselves. My purpose, mission, roles, goals, projects, and actions all filter down from my current understanding of reality. Based on my understanding of reality, my purpose is clear. Based on my purpose, my mission is clear. And so on down the line. Clarity at the top creates clarity at the bottom. There is still plenty of room for choice at the lower levels, but it's like picking options for a new car you purchased. The big decision has already been made, so the details just aren't going to matter all that much. The details will control the flavor and texture of your life but not the essential nature of it.

When it comes to time management, the accuracy of your beliefs about reality will basically dictate your results. It doesn't matter so much what particular system you use. As you strive for greater accuracy and congruency, be patient with yourself. This quest for greater accuracy is ongoing. I'm not sure human beings will ever reach the pinnacle of accuracy -- that would require that we become gods. There are always more inaccuracies to eliminate, more experiments to conduct, more pieces of data to integrate. The important thing is not to settle. Don't settle for conflict in your life when you could achieve congruency. Sometimes it will take a year or more to replace conflict with congruency, such as in the case of divorce or career changes, but that time is going to pass anyway, so you might as well put it to good use.

Source : http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/time-management.htm

TIME MANAGEMENT - 26 Time Management Hacks I Wish I'd Known at 20

by Etienne Garbugli @egarbugli