Regardless of your time management system, there are key elements for effective time management. Unless you include these in your time management system, you will likely operate at less than peak efficiency. So, take a look at the these that are outlined below.

Lets Get Motivated. Why do you think so many time management seminars are so motivating? It is not because they developed great new time management systems for people to use. It is because the speakers get the audience supercharged and motivated to actually use the time management tools that they are taught. How do you use this for your own time management? Focus on the positive emotions that will come as a result of your time management effectiveness. The feeling of freedom that comes from being caught up should be savored.

Make A To Do List. Ninety percent of the problems associated with any time management system stem from a failure to keep an accurate written record of tasks. The human mind is only capable of keeping three to five things in its short term memory at any given time. So, if you are not writing it down, you are forgetting it. If you are forgetting it, you are failing to utilize effective time management.

You Must Maintain Accountability. An aviator periodically checks his charts to determine whether or not his progress matches his flight plan. If he is not where he is supposed to be when he checks the chart, his task is find out why, make corrections and resume navigation. Accountability to your to do list works on the same principle. When you check your progress against the to do list and determine you are off course, you must figure out why. This is not an opportunity to beat yourself up. It is time management technique used to find problems with your time management plan and take corrective action.

Multitasking Works. An effective time management strategy might be to begin bringing your laptop to a doctors appointment. Learn to listen to books on audiotape rather than buying a printed book. Return phone calls while waiting on appointments. Learn to text while at lunch. These are all effective time management tools to help you get things done during dead times throughout the day.

Learn To Delegate. If you need to go to the bank and your friend is already going, let him take your deposit to the bank as well. If you have the ability to delegate, but do not use it, you are failing to properly leverage the time at your disposal. True, the delegate may not do as good of a job as we would have done, but it does not have to be perfect. It only has to be good enough.

Be More Assertive. You have to learn to say No when others make excessive demands on your time. In many ways, effective time management is a zero sum game. Literally, every hour you give away decreases your time by one hour while increasing the recipients by the same amount. The fact is that your time is as valuable, or more valuable than that of other people. It must be, otherwise, others would not ask you to give your time to them, right? Manage your time as you would any other scarce resource. Be assertive and say No.

Effective time management is a process with many components. You must find a reason to motivate you to make more effective use of your time. You must write down those things that you need to do and be accountable to yourself. You must also learn to multitask and delegate so that more can be done in a given amount of time. Lastly, you must guard your time as a valuable resource and learn to say No when appropriate. If you incorporate all of these time management tips into your time management, you will eat the elephant and still have room for desert.