Wouldn't it be great to have all the time in the world to do everything we needed to?

Wouldn't it be great to just once be able to cross everything off our "to do” lists?

Wouldn't it be great to finish every night at 17.30pm, go home and not worry about the mass of things we have to do tomorrow?

In today's manic world it often seems we have no time to get all of our work done, let alone have time to ourselves - time to do those things we never seem to get round to. Like go to the gym or have a dental check up? Sound familiar?

So often we hear endless advice on how to effectively manage our time. However, you and I both know there is no such thing as time management - only management of ourselves.

I'm going to share with you 2 key ideas that over the years have made a massive difference in ensuring that I make the best use of my time on a day to day basis.

Both of these relate to our fond friend - The TO Do List!!

Anyone can make a list- I'm sure we've all come into the office 30 minutes early on a Monday morning to make a fresh list and then feel very contented that we're organised and prepared for the day. However, come 2pm, this beautifully constructed list all of a sudden has grown, not shrunk!!!!

Furthermore, we have arrows and quickly scribbled notes over what was previously an attractive, beautifully written to do list.

So here's what to do.

The next time something happens that compromises your list - be it a phone call, email, text - Do nothing for 30 seconds

Why? Because guess what happens when the vast majority of people pick up a phone. That's right - they all of a sudden forget their lovely structured list and immediately action what was talked about on the phone. Then whilst doing this, another call comes in, so then that second call then becomes the next area to action. Two hours later all the best laid plans from the early morning are left in tatters.

By doing nothing for 30 seconds, we are forcing ourselves to prioritise whether or not the phone call is actually more important than what we were currently doing. It ensures we are prioritising the list in the correct way and are working effectively rather than efficiently. You and I both know;

"Efficient is doing things right…

…Effective is doing the right things right!”

The second key idea for you is based on the classic Mark Twain line;

"When you have to eat a frog, don't look at it for too long!”

Yes, it's all about Procrastination - the thief of time!

People have an obsession with stroking things off lists!! It doesn't matter what it is. I know some people who always put at the top of their lists - "Write a list” - just so they can stroke it off when they've finished the list!

It gives everyone a great feeling of accomplishment to have one less thing to complete. However, this obsession brings with it a major problem. It means that the first things we concentrate on tend to be those tasks that don't take a long time to do, are easy, or just happen to be far more appealing than the other items that remain. This is why we always seem to have the same task on our lists for 6 weeks. We make ourselves busy doing lots of other things, constantly justifying to ourselves why these easy tasks should be finished ahead of what we know should have been actioned first!

So here's the key idea - Start with the worst first. Compile your list and make sure the most awkward, the most difficult and the least appealing task is top of your agenda.

This has 2 major benefits;

Firstly it means that when the task is finished we feel good about ourselves and can look forward to the rest of the day without this dark cloud hanging over us (we'll have eaten the frog!).

Secondly, it actually transpires that this nightmare task was actually not half as bad as we thought it would be - the fact we had put it off for so long has meant we over dramatised the difficulty in completing it!

Try these 2 ideas over the coming weeks. It will ensure your "lists” become an effective self management tool and that you are more in control and of course…

It will guarantee you squeeze more out of every day and still have time to play in the evenings!