Become a Great Writer

You're probably asking yourself, 'What in the world does being a writer have to do with time-management?" Well, that's a great question and I'm glad that you asked. The answer is EVERYTING! Effective time management begins with planning your time, which means writing down your plans on paper. There is power in the pen! There are literally thousands of thoughts that race through your mind throughout the course of the day. In order to focus your time on what's really important requires you to have something tangible to look at. That requires you to decide now to write down every task you will need to accomplish. This not only includes on the job tasks, but at Home stuff also. Remember, write, write, and write!

Schedule Your Priorities

Effective time-management begins with scheduling and anticipating upcoming activities and events both personally and professionally. This is where goal setting will assist you enormously in prioritizing what is on your schedule of things to do. Setting written down goals will help you to differentiate between what is urgent and vital, what can be done now and what can wait.

Invest In a Planner

I find that a daily planner is a very effective tool in helping you to become a better manager of your time. I would suggest purchasing a weekly-at-a-glance planner and then write down everything you need to accomplish in it. I like the weekly planners as opposed to the daily planers because you can open it up and have your entire week in front of you at one time. You can simply transfer your already written down goals to your planner in addition to the on-the-job tasks that you must fulfill.

Write a "To Do" List

Sometimes you may have more on your plate than you've bargained for. writing a "to do" list will help you to overcome your feelings of being overwhelmed. When you find yourself to be extremely busy or unexpected things pop up, take the time out the night before to write a "to do" list. Decide in order of priority what things you absolutely must get done and by what time. Write it down and do it.

Learn To Say "No"

This is a difficult task for some people. Some people do not want to be perceived as a non-team player or make others feel that are not important enough to do favors for. Trust me; your peace of mind is not worth sacrificing to appease others. Remember, you cannot be all things to all people and you cannot do everything that everyone asks you to do. That type of mentality will drive you to a nervous break down. Keep in mind that you are saying no to the request and not the person. Mature people can accept when you truthfully are not in a position to accept any additional projects at this time.

Learn To Delegate

There will be times in your life both on th|e job and off when you will need to enlist the assistance of others. This is simply wise decision making. When you simply have too much before you to do, consider what things you can pass on to others to do for you. Most people really do not have a problem giving a helping hand to others when the need arises. You are human and sometimes you have more to do than what is humanly possible. Utilize the services of others and by the same token, be ready to assist others in their time of need.

1. Take Notes Effectively
2. Learn To Read Actively
3. Learn To Write Effective Term Papers
4. Plan For Great Oral Presentations
5. Use Smart Test-Taking Strategies
6. Manage Your Study Time
7. Balance Your Life
8. Set Career Goals
9. Deal With Personal Issues
10. Know The System

1. How You Think is Everything.

Always be positive. Think Success, not Failure. Beware of a negative environment.

This trait has to be one of the most important in the entire list. Your belief that you can accomplish your goals has to be unwavering. The moment you say to yourself “I can’t…”, then you won’t. I was always given the advice “never say I can’t” and I’d like to strike those words from the dictionary.

I’ve found that from time-to-time my attitude waivers. A mentor of mine once said “it’s ok to visit pity city, but you can’t stay and there comes a time when you need to leave”. Positive things happen to positive people.

2. Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

Write down my dreams and goals? Develop a plan to reach them? You mean like a project plan? Yes, that’s exactly what this means. You may have heard the old adage: A New Years resolution that isn’t written down is just a dream, and dreams are not goals.

Goals are those concrete, measurable stepping stones of achievement that track your progress towards your dreams. My goal is to start a second career as a freelance writer – what are your goals?

3. Take Action. Goals are nothing without action.

Be like Nike and “Just do it”. I took action by reaching out and started writing. Every day I try to take some action towards my goals. It may be small, but it’s still an action. Have you taken action towards your goals?

4. Never Stop Learning: Go back to school or read books. Get training & acquire skills.

Becoming a life long learner would benefit us all and is something we should instill in our kids. It’s funny that once you’re out of school you realize how enjoyable learning can be. What have you learned today?

5. Be Persistent and Work Hard: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

I think every story of success I read entails long hard hours of work. There is no getting around this and there is no free lunch. But, if you’re working towards something that you’re passionate about, something you love – then is it really work?

6. Learn to Analyze Details: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

I think you have to strike a balance between getting all the facts and making a decision with incomplete data – both are traits of successful people. Spend time gathering details, but don’t catch ‘analysis paralysis’.

7. Focus Your Time And Money: Don’t let other people or things distract you.

Remain laser focused on your goals and surround yourself with positive people that believe in you. Don’t be distracted by the naysayer’s or tasks that are not helping you achieve your goals.

8. Don’t Be Afraid To Innovate: Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

Follow through on that break-out idea you have. Ask yourself “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”

9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

Successful people develop and nurture a network and they only do that by treating people openly, fairly and many times firmly. There is nothing wrong about being firm – just don’t cross the a-hole line. How do you deal with people?

10. Be Honest And Dependable: Take responsibility, otherwise numbers 1 – 9 won’t matter.