Prioritize your goals..

Once at workshop, a time management expert stood in front of the group he was presenting to and said, "Okay, time for a quiz."

He pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced a dozen large rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the group answered, "Yes."

He replied, "Really?"

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he proceeded to pour the gravel into the jar. He shook the jar, causing the pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the rocks. He continued to do this until no more gravel could fit. Then he asked once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time, the group was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied.

He reached under the table, brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand in. It went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more, he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the group shouted.

Once again he said, "Good!"

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. He looked up at the group and asked, "All right, what is the point of this illustration?" One business professional raised her hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit more things into it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The point is that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the big rocks in your life? More time with your loved ones? Advancement in your education? Business growth? Greater wealth? Something else that you've always wanted to accomplish?

If you don't take the time to prioritize--put your major goals in first-- then all your time will be used up by less important things.

Self Management

You are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Learn to accept total responsibility for yourself. If you do not manage yourself, then you are letting others have control of your Life. These tips will help "you" manage "you."

Here is a list of things that help you in self management and which will in turn lead you to the path of success: -

-) Look at every new opportunity as an exciting and new-life experience.

-) Be a professional who exhibits self-confidence and self-assurance in your potential to complete any task.

-) Agree with yourself in advance that you will have a good attitude toward the upcoming task.

-) Frequently ask, "Is what I am doing right now moving me toward my goals?"

-) Do it right the first time and you will not have to take time later to fix it.

-) Accept responsibility for your job successes and failures. Do not look for a scapegoat.

-) Do not view things you do as a "job." View all activities as a challenge.

-) Use your subconscious mind by telling it to do what you do want. Instead of telling yourself, "I can't do that very well," say, "I can do this very well."

-) Give yourself points for completing tasks on your "to-do" list in priority order. When you reach 10 points, reward yourself.

-) Practice your personal beliefs. It may be helpful each morning to take 15 minutes to gather your thoughts and say a prayer.

-) Make a commitment to show someone a specific accomplishment on a certain date. The added urgency will help you feel motivated to have it done.

-) Practice self-determination, wanting to do it for yourself.

-) Believe that you can be what you want to be.

-) Never criticize yourself as having a weakness. There is no such thing. You are only talking about a present undeveloped skill or part of yourself that if you so choose, you can change. You do not have any weakness, only untapped potential.

-) Be pleasant all the time-no matter what the situation.

-) Challenge yourself to do things differently than you have in the past. It provides new ideas and keeps you interested.

-) Talk to yourself. A self-talk using positive affirmation is something that is common among all great achievers. They convince themselves that they can accomplish their goals.

-) Create your own "motivation board" by putting up notes of things you need to do on a bulletin board or special wall space. It is an easily visible way to see what you need to work on. When an item is done, remove the note. Also keep your goals listed and pictured on your board.

-) Stay interested in what you are doing. Keep looking for what is interesting in your work. Change your perspective and look at it as someone outside your job would,

-) Establish personal incentives and rewards to help maintain your own high enthusiasm and performance level.