TIME
MANAGEMENT DIARY
[The author ,Shri
S.K.Sengupta , is a Management Consultant , Behavioural Scientist and Personal
Counsellor . ]
I love to sit back , relax and
feel that everything is under my control . I hate to feel breathless ,
overburdened and short of time . I am glad when a small sheet spread before me
in the morning tells me :
- all
that I need to do today ; and
- in
order of priority how I should do those things one after another .
That way I feel :
·
I am in charge .
Things are under my grip .
·
I am using my time
intelligently .
·
I have a sense of
accomplishment at the end of the day .
It is a great feeling . I love it
. And all that I need to do for that is to maintain a simple diary .
I am a conscientious note-taker
and I buy a New Year Diary much before the current year is out . If I get a
bill which I want to pay on say 14th January , I will open the 14th
January page of my New Diary and make a note . I have to meet someone on 27th
December , I will open the 27th December page of my running old
Diary and note the appointment . I have to receive my brother at the airport on
21st January , I open the 21st January page of my New
Diary and scribble that I have to be at the airport at 6.30 A.M. And I am happy . I am relaxed . I can’t forget . I am free
from the tension that I must not forget . And if today is 23rd
December , when I open the 23rd December page of my running Diary in
the morning , the notings at the top of the page tell me everything that I need
to do today . Easy . What a simple way to be free from stress . I can certainly
lean back and feel happy .
So , today is say 23rd
December and my Diary tells me all that I have to do today . I find that I
can’t do one of the tasks noted for today , and I don’t want to do one more
task , and both can be postponed to suitable dates : say to 26th
December and 3rd January . So I delete these two items from the page
today and jot them down suitably on the 26th December and 3rd
January pages . Now maybe I am left with six tasks for today . Now I add one
routine task to this list , and one more task that I feel I need to do .
Finally , therefore , I have eight tasks for today . I jot these eight tasks in
the middle of the Diary page , one below the other , and delete them from the
top . Now if three of these tasks are TOP URGENT , I mark ‘A’ against them .
Out of remaining five also , two must be completed today . I mark ‘B’ against
them . Remaining three items are less important , which also I would like to do
today if time permits . I mark ‘C’ against them . Now , I go to items marked A
, and number them as A1 , A2 and A3 in order of priority . Then I go to items
marked B , and number them B1and B2 in order of the importance and sequence in
which I would like to do them . Next I go to items marked C , and number them
C1, C2 and C3 in a similar manner . So my Diary page looks something like this
:
Meet Mr.
F.D’Souza at 9
A.M. > A1
Meeting
with Citibank B.M. at 10.30 A.M. > A2
Final
touches to Project Report > C1
Preparation
for the talk tomorrow
> B1
Receiving
Sunil at Rly. Station at 4 P.M. > A3
Internet
downloading on Team Building
Attending
get-together at the club at 6 P.M. > C2
Completing
the article on Time Management
> B2
Now , I begin my day attending to
task A1 . After that is over , I delete it by drawing a line across it . Then I
move on to task A2 , complete it , and then delete it . Now task A3 can be done
only in the evening . So , I move on to the next priority item i.e. B1 . After
being over with B1 , I delete it . It is still not time for A3 which is the
highest priority task on the list now . So , I move on to B2 , complete and
delete that . It is still not time for A3 . So , I complete C1 and delete that
. Now , I attend to A3 . After A3 is over , I delete that too . Now , I attend
to C2 , and it also happens to be the right time in the evening to go ahead for
the ‘get-together ‘ . When I delete C2
, I am left with C3 for which I did not have time today . So I check-up my
Diary to see on which of the next few days I am relatively free . I find that
on 26th December I am not much occupied . So , now I delete C3 from
the Diary Page today and carry it over to the 26th December Page of
my Diary . A well-utilized yet uncluttered day ! I had no stress , I
accomplished as much as one could , I worked on priority basis , and I wasted
no time . Am I not Happy ?!
Time Management Diary is a simple
concept as illustrated below :
----- Note what is to be done on which
day .
-----Divide today’s work in three
categories [A,B&C]
TIME in order of priority .
----- Prioritize work in each category
and mark them
MANAGEMENT accordingly [A1,A2,A3 etc.] .
-----Do the work in order of priority as
planned .
DIARY
-----Carry over any work left undone to
some
suitable future date .
Time Management Diary system is not only easy to
understand and follow , it is also highly useful :
·
It ensures that
nothing is forgotten or left undone .
·
It ensures that one is
free from unnecessary mental clutter and mental stress .
·
It tells you in a
flash what needs to be done today .
·
It tells you in a
flash the priority of things to be done .
·
It ensures that First
Things are done First .
·
It ensures best
utilization of available time .
·
It gives you a sense
of control and accomplishment .
“Trap the time and set yourself
free “ . That is what Time Management Diary is all about.
The author , Shri
S.K.Sengupta , is a Management Consultant ,
Behavioural
Scientist and Personal Counsellor .He can be contacted at :
E-mail : d2wd2w@rediffmail.com
Website : www.d2wd2w.com
