Finding time for time management

I’ve just finished writing the first draft of an article on time management in exam preparation, which I had planned to do last week! Yes, it was on my To Do list, but it didn’t get done. No there wasn’t any unexpected crisis which came up. It’s just part of the problem with managing your time – we’re all human and sometimes things don’t happen as anticipated.
So now I’ve finished the article, what pearls of wisdom can I impart about managing your time if you’re trying to study for that important qualification?

OK, you’re busy people, so I’ll be quick:

1. Understand that so-called time management is really self-management. You can’t actually do anything to time (like 'find it' or 'make it') you can only change what you do with the time you have.

2. Realise that we all have the same amount of time. You have the same 24 hours in each day as I have. Everybody has the same time available for revision, so if some people achieve a lot it’s not because they have more time than you – it’s because they manage themselves better.

3. Get it into your head that you will always have more stuff you could do than you can do. And in a lot of professional exams, there will always be more knowledge you could learn than you every will be able to – there’s always one more research paper, one more case report. That means that you’ve got to make sensible choices. If your goal is to pass an exam with a clear cut curriculum, then you need to ensure all the curricular material has been covered before you start reading the ‘interesting but not examined’ stuff. Of course at the other end, there are always more interesting things to do than revise! As the old song says:

“I’m busy doing nothing, working the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do…”(See the original 1949 performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAYLD06MefI)

4. Recognise when ‘not enough time’ is really a code for not enough motivation or energy. It’s strange how people with ‘no time’ manage to spend three hours a night watching TV. It’s OK to use time productively re-charging your batteries, but on other occasions when you have ‘no time’ maybe you need to ask “How important is this to me?” and decide whether or not your goals have changed.

5. Plan what needs to be done to achieve your goals, rather than just fire-fighting whatever seems most urgent, since, in the words of Eisenhower:

"What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important”

6. Finally, learn to say ‘NO’. Of course, it’s important not to alienate people or become mean and selfish just for it’s own sake, but saying ‘No’ to people respectfully and appropriately when you really can’t help them will gain you more respect in the long run than saying ‘Yes’ to everyone, then letting them down. Your friends and colleagues deserve respect and help, but so do you! And if you don’t respect your own time, why should anyone else?