Time Management

Time Control More work for the overworked If you have plenty of time, you don’t need time management. If you are overworked you don’t have time for time management. Life is not fair. Not since I left first grade, anyway. Feel overworked if you like. Complain. Or fix it. Complaining is easier. And lasts longer.	Notice: We have officially changed the name from time management to time control. The Thinkerer is about taking control of your life. That includes taking control of your time.
I am already overworked. How do I find time to do these other things? If you always do what you've always done, you’ll always get what you've always got. We picked some tricks that won't take much time. Try one of these. Maybe it will save you enough time to try another. Two kinds of people: Those that things happen to. Those that make things happen.	Quick Tricks Timing Slogans
The time, the job, and you. You have noticed that you are better at some things in the morning. Or in the evening. But not all over the day. You have noticed that some jobs fit conveniently together (such as thinking and driving). You have noticed that some jobs take large segments of time while others fit easily into half an hour. It is always time to know what you will be doing in the next hour. You use all this information to schedule jobs. When did you last check to see how well your scheduling is working for you? If that was a while ago, check again. Maybe you are smarter now. Here are some tricks for time control.	Don't sacrifice. Satisfice.
Joblets. A joblet is a unit of work that has a goal, a start, and a finish. It should fit into a convenient unit of time (twenty minutes, an hour, or the like). It can be part of a larger job. You probably break big jobs into joblets to fit them into the schedule. The advantage of joblets is that you know what you want to accomplish in the next hour or so. You know when you have accomplished it. And you can take satisfaction in getting it done. The first joblet in any big job is to break it into joblets. The next joblet is to think about when is the best time to do those joblets.	Chop big jobs into joblets
MealChecks. Meals are a convenient time to pay attention to things you take for granted. To use MealChecks on time control, print out these questions. What joblets did you finish off since your last meal? Did you do any joblets that would have worked better at some other time? What joblets are you going to finish off before the next meal? At each meal, ask yourself the questions. Don’t spend more than five minutes on these questions. Try not to think the answers in words. Just use your imagination to see yourself working on the joblets. You can chew and imagine at the same time. If your meals are too busy for MealChecks, find another regular time. For example, while driving or exercising.	How to use MealChecks
Time Triage: While you are thinking about the joblets you are going to finish off, think them into three boxes: Must May You should be so lucky. Don’t talk to yourself about this. Just imagine the joblets going into their proper boxes.
Tomorrow. In honor of your busy schedule, use the Tomorrow Clipit. It will only take as much time as you give it. It will only save you as much time as you let it.	Tomorrow Clipit
Time Suckers. If you have time, go on to the Time Sucker Clipit.	Time Sucker Clipit
Schedule the pressures. If you feel pressured, the schedule trick may help. The trick is not in making the schedule. Anybody can do that. The trick is in believing the schedule. Three rules. Treat what you put on your calendar as done for now. Treat what you schedule as a promise to yourself. Keep your promises. Or the trick will fail. The trick here is to get joblets off your mind and onto your calendar. That pressure you feel comes from little memory units in your brain. They are keeping track of what you have to do. You want to convince them that your calendar will take care of that job. If they are convinced, they will stop bugging you..	Habit Clipit Rock around the Clock At least remember your schedule. Strengths Scheduler, Good Self-starting
Use one of these tricks for a week. Then try another. In a month you will take control of your time.

The Thinkerer 04/27/2008 Copyright (c) D. F. Dansereau & S. H. Evans	Site Map	Where start?	Topics
Famous fables

Time Control