One of the most fearsome things facing people today is all of the things which seem to conspire to distract use from what we are supposed to be doing. From cell phones to the internet to TV, no matter where we go there is something to do other than our assigned tasks, and it is so very easy to goof off and get nothing done.

Here are a few principles that can help you manage your time so that you can use it as effectively as possible.

First off, it is important to recognize that we as people have a limited amount of time and an unlimited number of things that we can do with it. Thus, we have to prioritize and use our time to do the things that will help use to achieve our goals and accomplish the tasks that are most important to us.

An important time management skill is the ability to break big tasks into smaller tasks. We often are confronted with huge projects or jobs that will take lots of time to complete. The good thing is that many times we are given a large amount of time in order to complete these projects. The bad thing is that often we are intimidated by the these big projects and we don’t start them until the last minute, meaning that we are left racing to get whatever it is done on time and left with a bad taste in our mouth. So, figure out how much of your job you can do each day and each week, basically what it will take to get it done, and then pick a day to begin.

This leads into the importance of making a plan and sticking to it. If you do not have a plan that you follow, you will be disorganized and you will not be able to make the most of your time. You will sit down to work on something but you won’t have a clear idea of what you need to do, and often this means that next time, you won’t have the hear to sit down and you will do nothing at all. All of this can be prevented by proper planning.