How Time Management Helps You Separate Being Productive From Being Busy

One of the values of a good Time Management System is that it helps you separate the good use of your time from the less effective uses.  This comes into play when we have to deal with days where we are busy, but not productive.  From the onset, being busy is not what we want; running around working hard, at whatever comes across our desk is not a recipe for success.

Being Busy

The days where we worked hard, ran hard, accomplished things, and still ended up dissatisfied at the end of the days were the days that were busy for us, but did nothing or very little to move our Agenda along.  That is why we have an Agenda; to help us plan and organizes our day, so we can move closer to achieving what we want to do and when we feel it should be done.  The purpose of adhering to a good Time Management system is that we want to have a plan, and then work that plan.

Being frantic and hectic does nothing in the long run to help us achieve and realize our goals.  We want to achieve the following: being productive.  What is not going to benefit us is just being hectic and running around, this leads to nothing of real value for us, except perhaps by accident.

Being Productive

This is where we want to be, being productive means we have achieved what we set out to do, and that is to move closer to realizing what we have set out in our daily Agenda as well as our long term plans and goals. If you do not have a plan, then you are simply at the mercy of the events and the people around you who do. When you allow this to happen, then being wrapped up in other peoples activities is the best that can happen to you and that is not an appealing thought.

Accomplishing what you set out to do has many benefits, one is, success breeds more success. If you get into a groove, see things working out for you, you tend to keep doing what is working for you. Time Management is an acquired taste, some people will turn their nose up at the mere mention of it, and others will latch on, see that it works and then become an advocate, a convert of it. The value of a good system is that it helps to keep you focused and your eye on the ultimate prize, you and your productivity and your happiness.

What we want to be able to do as much as possible is to have full, busy as well as productive days. How do we do that?  Self-management, no I did not misspell, we need to control and manage our time, as well as managing ourselves at the same time. Once we separate what we want to do, we then have to discipline ourselves into doing what we set out to do. That is where we have to show some discipline and some focus, keep out the influences and the distractions, and get down to business. This is where a good Time Management System is worth its weight in gold, it will not only help establish a plan for you to follow, it is designed to keep you on course and focused on the tasks at hand.

Easier said than done, it is a long process and made longer if we are not aware of the implications. The days that we get what we want to get done are the days that we are closer to where we want to be. The days that will allow other people, other events and other Agendas to prevail, we a have taken a step backwards. We have only so much time, energy and resources at our disposal, we need to be sure that we make the best use of these limited, non renewable assets.

More information

Bryan Beckstead is the creator of the Power Time Management System and has been involved in the Time Management and Productivity industries for almost 35 years. If you are really serious about improving your quality of life, visit him at www.powertimemanagementsystems.com FREE E-Book, Power Time Management System's Top 141 Time Management Tips. Go to www.powertimemanagementsystems.com/getthepower/index_getthepower.html.

Copyright (c) 2010 Bryan Beckstead