My, how time flies! Where did the time go? I need to manage my time better! Haven't we all muttered these words one time or another?

The fact is we've all been given the same amount of time each day. How we manage that time is critical if we want success in the things that matter most to us. It is a major factor in how we feel about ourself and life. The most desired skill, yet least mastered, is learning how to manage time.

Below are some tips on making the most of your time that can help free up an extra two hours a day. First are a few benefits to get you motivated to manage your time more effectively.

• you will have less sress therefore a happier and healthier life both physically and mentally
• you will have more free time to enjoy your life better
• you will reduce frustration
• you will get a sense of achievement and piece of mind
• you will open yourself to more satisfaction
• you will increase your energy level
• you will drastically improve the quality of your life
• you will have more time to read to gain new knowledge.
• you will have a better chance at success now that you have more time to work.
  

Plan Your Day– Do you know where you're headed in life but find it difficult getting there? Maybe all you need is better time management. Managing time requires you to get good at focusing your time and energy on the things that really matter. Start with a plan and set some goals today. Figure out the most important things you need to do and how you can get them done as soon as possible. Give planning and goal setting your full attention. Be sure to write your plan and goals down. Later, if things need to be changed, then go ahead and change them.

Be realistic when planning your day. Do not overload with too many projects that will rob you of your primary focus of managing time. Planning time into your day to sit quietly and reflect on any changes that could help you improve the quality of your day and ultimately your life is good management of time.

Accomplishing your goals is never easy but a workable plan is like a road map. It will show you how to manage your time and get you where you want to go.

Beat Procrastination – Procrastination is delaying something we’d rather not do, usually caused by feeling overwhelmed by the task or not knowing where to begin. Or we may be thinking we don’t have the right resources to get the job done.

Getting through a project is simple if it is something we enjoy. But what if it's not. In creep the thoughts that make us feel we are not in the mood to do it right now, or we tell ourselves we have more than enough time to get the task done and so we tend to procrastinate more than we should.

There are many reasons why we procrastinate. If you think about it procrastination is just a habit. We know, in order to break a bad habit, we must replace it with another good habit. Examination of the excuses we tend to use to keep us from accomplishing our goals is a pretty good habit to keep.

Understand when you start to put things off why you do that. Then decide to take active steps for correction. Anthony Robbins has been quoted to say “a real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided”.

As you examine yourself be very careful not to put yourself down. You will gain nothing by telling yourself you are lazy, or stupid, or you aren’t competent enough to do the job. Instead of a putdown, focus your attention on the positive things and how it will make you feel when you get the job done. Be sure to reward yourself in some way when the job is complete.

Remember that procrastination is the worst enemy of effective time management.

Organize your day - To successfully manage your time you must be organized. Begin by organizing your work area. Keep your desk uncluttered except for the things you need for the project at hand. The disorder of a cluttered work area takes up space that could be used for better purposes like managing your time.

Check this out for four steps that will get you the perfect office desk in just 15 minutes.

Visit the Army Wife and let her show you "5 Simple Ways to Organize Your Day".

Once you learn to stay organized, you will never again ask "where is it?". Don't you agree, that alone will save you much time.

Prioritize - Figure out what time of day you are most productive and are at your best. Are you a morning person? If so this is your peak time to work on your most important projects, urgent or not. Get rid of all distractions that gobble up your valuable time.  When you allow distractions to become a priority, you sacrifice time management. Your focus should be on managing time throughout the course of your day. No checking emails or calling friends at peak time so you can really concentrate on those important tasks. Uninterrupted work time is one of your most precious assets when managing time.

Prioritize your projects 1 - 4 using the following formula used by time management coaches.

1 = The task is urgent and important. 2 = It's important but not urgent. 3 = It's urgent but not important. 4 = It's not urgent and not important.

Prioritizing your projects will help you work smarter, not harder and will give you greater return on time.

To be successful you need to know where your time is going. Keeping a time journal is very effective when learning to manage time. Write down everything you do. Monitor and update your journal throughout your day in 15 - 30 minute increments for 3 days to 2 weeks. Do not wait until the end of the day when most likely you will forget what you did. Keeping track of time will help you see where you are wasting it. With a good plan, small manageable goals, organization, and self-discipline to follow your plan you can make the most of your time and free up an extra two hours a day. You deserve it!

Time is the best teacher

Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late. ~William Shakespeare

The key is in not spending time, but in investing it. ~Stephen R. Covey

A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life. ~Charles Darwin

If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got. ~Lee Iacocca

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?
~Henry David Thoreau

Never let yesterday use up today. ~Richard H. Nelson

Money, I can only gain or lose. But time I can only lose. So, I must spend it carefully.
~Author Unknown

Time is money. ~Benjamin Franklin

You cannot kill time without injuring eternity.
~Henry David Thoreau

Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.
~Peter F. Drucker

"Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. ~H. Jackson Brown

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg

The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: “I did not have time.” ~Franklin Field

I am organized in my work and it saves me time.

Today is the Most Important and Eventful Day in my life.

I am in Complete Control of myself.

I am clear about my goals.

I am clear about my priorities.

Everyday I am moving forward to achieve my goals by managing myself.

I am communicating and clarifying my goals to all concerned.

I am focusing on the task at hand.

I am doing whatever needs to be done NOW.

I am continuously improving my efficiency & effectiveness

I am making the right decisions at the right time.

Every hour, every minute, every second, is productive for me.

I am committed to manage my self and my time.

I am regularly planning my schedule.

I am planning my work, and working my plan.

I am persistent in my follow-up.

I am now focusing on “The Important”.

I am saying “no” to low priority tasks.

I am in complete control of my destiny.

I am accomplishing all that is important to me.

I stop, I think, and then I act.

I prepare, prioritize & plan, then perform to achieve results.