Like financial resources, time is limited and it’s use involves trade offs. One reason we find ourselves stressed is that we try using more time than we have. In other words, we have more things to do than there is time to do them.
One solution, if you can afford it, is to pay someone else to do some of your projects. For example, if you don’t have time to mow your grass, you could pay someone else to mow it. If you can’t afford (or don’t want) to hire someone else, or you have projects that only you can do, time management strategies become even more important.
The first step is to list all the things you think you need to get done during some time period (day, week, month). Then for each item you’ve listed ask yourself the following question: “What is the worst thing that will happen if this doesn’t get done by the end of the day (or week, or month)? Now rate from 0 to 5 the “badness” of the consequences of not getting something done, with 0 being not bad at all and 5 being very bad.
Your badness ratings have now told you which items to work on first. That is, the items with a 5 badness rating have highest priority, then the ones with 4, and so on. If you don’t get the 2s, 1s, and 0s done, that’s fine because they aren’t very “bad” anyway.
