(NewsUSA) - Procrastination might be the subject of many jokes,
but wasting time is no laughing matter. Every person is equal in
one thing - a limited amount of time. How people use that time
determines their lifestyle and income, separating the Oprah
Winfreys and the Donald Trumps from the rest of the rat race.
In an interview with SUCCESS Magazine (www.successmagazine.com),
Dr. Mehmet Oz, vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia
University, writer and a regular on T.V. and radio, said, "It's not
about time management. It's about energy management. The things you
do should give you that zest for life."
If you love what you are doing, you are far more likely to do
your job efficiently and effectively. Darren Hardy, publisher and
editorial director of SUCCESS Magazine, suggests approaching time
management as an investor, and looking to get the best return on
expended energy.
"Your management task," says Hardy, "is to spend more time on
what gives you energy and to guard against, eliminate, delegate or
mitigate your time on those things that take energy away from
you."
Hardy offers the following advice for Americans looking to use
their time more effectively:
- Discern wasted time. According to one study,
American employees working 40 hour weeks waste 50 percent of their
time on unproductive, low-priority tasks, and then another 37
percent working on personal business, surfing the Internet, eating
lunch, taking breaks and chatting. Most people are productive for
only 10 hours each week.
Take an honest look at the amount of time you waste, and imagine
what you could accomplish with those extra hours.
- Prioritize energy. Urgent tasks are
deadline-based, and important tasks are those on which you want to
utilize your time. Finish urgent tasks first. If a task is urgent
but not important, try delegating it.
- Set standards. Life is a series of trades -
we trade time for money, work time for family time, gym time for
television time. Define your values, and always trade your time
towards those values.
