How do you use your time?

Post 452 - Each day blesses us with 24-hours. That's 1440-minutes. No more, no less. Time is relentless. Unlike other resources, it can’t be bought or sold, borrowed or stolen, stacked up or saved, manufactured, reproduced, or modified. All we can do is make use of it. And whether we used it wisely or not, it nevertheless slips away.

If you want to know how effectively you're managing your time, try answering the following questions:

- Do you have - in writing - a clearly defined set of lifetime goals?

- Do you have a similar set of goals for the next six-months?

- Have you done something today to move you closer to your lifetime goals? Your short-term goals?

- Do you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish during the coming week?

- Do you concentrate on objectives instead of procedures, judging accomplishment rather than activity?

- Do you set priorities according to importance, not urgency?

- Do you delegate as much work as possible?

- Do you delegate challenging tasks as well as routine ones?

- Do you delegate authority as well as responsibility?

- Do you prevent subordinates from delegating upwards those decisions and tasks they find difficult or stressful?

- Have you taken steps to prevent unneeded publications and information from intruding on your time?

- When wondering if you should keep something, do you follow the principle: "When in doubt, toss it out?"

- Do you force yourself to make minor decisions quickly?

- Do you always set deadlines for yourself and others?

- Are you on guard against the recurring crisis, taking steps to make sure it won't occur again?

- Have you discontinued any time-wasting routines or activities lately?

- Do you try to live in the present, thinking of what can be done now rather than rehashing the past or worrying about the future?

- Are you continually trying to implement ideas that will help you make better use of your time?

I suggest taking this quiz every six-months. And if any of the answers are no, stop and figure out what you can do to correct the situation. The price of using your time effectively is eternal vigilance - however, the rewards are well worth it.

Planning how to use your time wisely takes time. Everything else takes longer.