Establish short- and long-term goals!

It is easy to say "Take your time!" but how should you if you daily only 24 hour have? And of course everything you do is very important.

People who have a working time management strategy have one common thing: they know where they are going! They know what their goals are! Especially they know what are their short-term and long-term goals! These goals define how these people spend their time!

The first requirement for a working time management is to have your goals defined.

Some people have a purpose of their life without looking for it. Just think about men like Einstein. I do not think that he defined his goal and purpose to be the greatest physicist our time. I think he had the luck to find a particular problem he just loved to solve. Most of the people don't have this luck.

What does it do with Time Management? Without a goal is very difficult (if not impossible) to prioritize your to-do's and create a good schedule. Of course you need more than goals for a working time management: you will not go at your meetings at the time just because you have your goal defined. But you will know exactly if your job is the right one for you. It is obvious that your time management system is depending on this question, isn't it?

For defining your goals you need to know who you are or what are your values. Having your values give you the idea/direction where your goals could be. Possibly you will get an idea about your long-term goals, like where you will be in 5 years. You should verbalize this idea as specific as you can. It is not enough to say, "My goals is to be rich in 5 years." What does it mean? Try to be more specific. For instance you can say "My goal is to have a huge house in LA without debts."

After you have your long-term goals you should find your short-term goals. Short-term goals can be seen as milestones for your long-term goals. For instance, if you want to be a doctor, you have to have your graduation as a doctor. If you want to have kids you need to find a partner.

Long and short-term goals will give you not only the clarity in your life but energy to achieve them. With your goals in mind you will know exactly what your priorities are and you will have the requirements to manage your time in the most effective way. Can you imagine how great feeling is to be able to say "Fife years ago my goal was to have a house. I have now the house I dreamed about."

Resources:
Clarify Your values
Find Your Life Purpose
Define your Vision
Define Your Priorities
Your Priority List
Priority List Monthly