Time management

Ask most women what makes them stressed and they'll tell you it's not having enough hours in the day.


Time is today's most valuable commodity

Time is today's most valuable commodity. We all juggle choices, anxious to please family, workmates and friends - all of whom expect absolute attention to their priorities.

But what are your own priorities? What goals do you want to achieve - and what's most important to you? Try these tips to help you sort them out:

Determine your mission - set aside time to think and write about your life and goals. Writing such a 'mission statement' can help you work out what's essential to you in life: what you'd like to be and what you'd like to accomplish.

Understand where you spend your time - think about how you could best prioritise and itemise the many pressures in your life. Can you categorise your life in neat 'important', 'quite important' and 'unimportant' boxes? Or would a more complex chart suit your life: 'urgent and important', 'important but not urgent', 'urgent but not important' and 'neither urgent nor important' perhaps? Don't trivialise quiet times, sleep and other seemingly unproductive moments - they're essential for your health.

Review your roles - a clear set of roles will help you create order and balance in your life. Your roles grow out of and contribute to the fulfilment of your personal mission.

Identify goals - work out a goal in each role for the coming week. These don't have to be activities; they can be as simple as being more patient with your children.

Organise your week - plan the week ahead using a week-at-a-glance diary or drawing up your own chart. If something prevents you from completing an activity, don't worry. Just try to fit it in elsewhere or make it the first thing you plan for next week.

Evaluate your week - at the end of the first week, take a realistic look at how it went. What were the big successes? Which scheduling details were less successful? Identify turning points - those times when you consciously decided to prioritise one activity over another. Do your goals need revision?

Enjoy success - no schedule guarantees instant success, but remember you're in control. Re-evaluate your goals and roles each week, so you can close the gap between what's most important to you and how you spend your time



by Dr Trisha Macnair