NextArticles.com » Self-improvement » Time-management » Time Management - How The Right Environment Makes It Easier

---

Time Management - How The Right Environment Makes It Easier

Author: MichaelAdams Total views: 5 Word Count: 482

When most people think about time management, they think about mental discipline, following processes and other hard core "will power" techniques to stop procrastination and get more things done in less time.

Sure all of those things can and do work, but at what cost? Wouldn't it be more fun to learn other ways of improving your time management that cost very little in terms of time and mental discipline? Let's skip those "Brute Force Time Management" techniques and instead try something easier.

A very smart man named "Buckminster Fuller" is quoted as saying "Environment is stronger than will power". I think he got it right. If you're overweight and trying to avoid sugar, how hard do you think that would be if you have a box of candy sitting on your desk at the office? Now if instead, there was a plate of fresh cut vegetables there instead, you'd probably find it pretty easy to avoid sugar at that moment don't you think?

This same sort of idea goes for almost everything, yet most people don't think about setting up the right environment for efficient time management. In fact, most people kind of think of anything having to do with time management as a chore. Let's turn that around.

Sit for a moment and see what you see in your work space. Choose five obvious elements in your work space and pose yourself the following question "Does what I'm looking at right now help me reach my productivity and time management goals or get in the way of reaching those same goals?"

No "maybe" answers allowed. If an item you picked does not explicitly support your time management and productivity goals, immediately toss it out or otherwise remove it from your workspace.

For example, televisions are notorious for their ability to distract a person and also seduce them away from getting tasks accomplished promptly. If you have one in your workspace and can agree that it doesn't support your better time management goals, simply unplug it or better yet, move it to a different room.

A messy desk full of papers can be another distraction from your productivity and efforts for better time management. Just ask yourself the simple question of whether having a messy desk supports your productivity or detracts from it. Beyond aesthetics, a messy desk makes it harder to find your important papers and can cost you more time as you have to hunt to find them. Help yourself out, clean up your desk!

I used 2 simple examples here because they help make the point clearly. Getting rid of anything in your work space that does not support your productivity and time management goals is critical to your success.

Of course after you remove distractions and non-supportive elements, your next step will be to add elements to your environment that actually support your time management improvement goals. We cover more of that in my other articles.

Download Hundreds of Complimentary Industry Resources
Get hundreds of popular Industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more; all available at no cost to you. With more than 600 complimentary offers, you'll find plenty of titles to suit your professional interests and needs. Click Here and Sign up today!

Sponsors

About the Author

For additional tips and hints about time management, make sure you claim your copy of author Michael Adams' excellent free report on tips for managing your time and multi-million dollar projects.

---

Rating: Not yet rated

--Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments No comments posted.

Add Comment

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.

More articles in this Category

1: Freshmen; Here's What You Need to Know
2: Which Of These Time Management Skills Are You Missing?
3: The Importance Of Time Management
4: 3 Steps To Better Time Management
5: Overcoming Procrastinating With a Little Help From Your Goals