Have you ever met someone who is consistently late? For whatever reason, they are always 5-15 minutes behind. Of course, they will be courteous by calling to let you know that they are running behind. Yet the bottom line is that they never met you at the agreed upon time. What is interesting is to note how these same people live their lives in general. It seems that someone with this problem tends to have a life that is a mess also. They cannot manage any aspect of it. Their basic operation is to run from one situation to the next. Amazingly, even though they are constantly busy, they appear to get very little done.



There is a fundamental philosophy that comes true regardless of what people do to get around it. Basically, if you do not get control of your time, there is no way that you will ever have control in your life. Failure to manage our time puts us in the position of duplicating the aforementioned scenario. We move from one activity to another without making any apparent progress. Our time is spent in a continual state of emergency while we place our focus on the urgent instead of the important. True success comes from being able to handle those activities which have a meaningful impact upon our lives. Getting to this point accelerates all our efforts in everything we do.

There are two simple practices one can implement immediately to garner a bit more control. The first involves keeping your word. It is essential that we begin to do those things we say that we are going to do at the time that we agreed upon. The habit of letting ourselves off the hook is too easy a trap to fall into. We must raise our standard of conduct in this area. Regardless of what else is occurring, treating each time commitment as a life or death situation will aid in creating a new habit. If we are consistently late, it is a sign that we need to more attentive to the commitments that we make. It is a good idea to initially cut back on some of the activities we consent to. This relieves us of some of the pressure which results in us operating at a harried pace.

The second area that can be immediately changed is to be conscious of any perfectionism complex that we might have. Many people with time management issues have an need to do everything perfectly. They will continue with an activity far beyond the acceptable level of performance. This stems from having a low self worth. To compensate, they attempt to make their results extraordinary. Unfortunately, this creates a situation where things take longer than they should. Watch someone operating under this premise and you will see a task take 3 times as long as it should. The easiest way is to remember that a great deal of success is derived from the simple act of completing something. Often, others expectations are a lot less then ours. Give them what they require, but allow yourself to be less than perfect.

Gaining control of our time instantly improves every area of our lives. The more that we can focus our attention on those things which are truly important to us, the fuller our lives will become. Some of the most successful people operate at a pace that is fast yet unhurried. People who are hurried tend to make senseless mistakes. Careful consideration to how you are spending your time and what you are agreeing to will show those tasks which are important to you. A little planning will go a long way to achieving your ultimate end.