time management
and actuals. If so, rejoice. You’re a perfect candidate for time management. You may find that by adjusting actual times to conform more closely to your ideal, you’ll improve your life significantly. You may also find that you need to rethink some of your ideal times and your reasons for having established them. If an adjustment leaps out at you now, note it in a fourth column, “New Ideal,” or “Time Management Goal”:
Video gaming
Estimate Ideal Actual
7 (4.2%)
New Ideal
3.5 (2.1%) 42 (25%) 10.5 (6.3%)
Then write the adjustment you intend to make in the form of a declaration: “I will play video games no more than one and a half hours a day,” or “I will average no more than 10 and a half hours gaming each week.” Congratulations. You’ve taken the first big step in successful time management. You’ve accounted for your time. You’ve perhaps uncovered areas where you may be spending too much of that time and areas where you aren’t spending enough. And you’ve made some initial declarations concerning your future activities. If you did nothing else, this new level of self-awareness and resolve would be extremely helpful to you. But there’s much more you can do, if you’re willing, to help yourself spend time wisely and well; not to satisfy the numbers on the chart, but to create a joy-filled as well as productive life.
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