To manage your time more efficiently, it is important that learn how to identify your goals and prioritize them. Creating a personal timeline helps in managing time. Know your short-term,mid-term and long-term goals and set your time for each. Doing so helps you spend your time wisely.
Each type of goals has specific characteristics. You need to learn to distinguish where your goals belong to as this can help you a great deal in managing your time. You can avoid doing things that do not necessarily contribute to achieving one of your goals.
Short-term goals are goals that you set and complete on a daily basis. You usually have many short-term goals running through your mind all at once. For example, one of your short-term goals is to pay your bills this week. Another short-term goal is to get gas for your car and fill it up on your way home from work. Short-term goals may take up much of your time, to the detriment of your mid-term and long-term goals. This is why it is important that you learn to manage your time correctly and try to complete as many short-term goals as possible.
Mid-term goals are goals that you intend to achieve at longer periods of time. For example, one of your mid-term goals is to go on a cruise 9 months from now. In planning for that mid-term goal, you try to arrange your schedule and time so that you will be able to go on that cruise. In short, mid-term goals are of significant importance and most of the time, your life changes depending on whether you achieve your mid-term goals or not. Completing all your short-term goals can sometimes bring you closer to mid-term goals. For example, one of your short-term goals for your mid-term goal of going on a cruise is to talk to your travel agent this week and find out what cruise packages are available.
Finally, long-term goals are the dreams that you have for your life. Long-term goals span years. For example, your long-term goal is to be able to be in management position five years from now. Another long-term goal is to own a yacht or your dream house. Whether or not you accomplish your long-term goals depends on you and how you manage you time. In order to get closer to achieving your long-term goals, you have to orient your time towards doing whatever is possible to achieve those goals.