My time management skills are always improving, this is because it wasn't very long ago that they were nonexistent. I have always been able to get things done on time, but I would only do them when the stress and pressure of due dates drove me to complete them. Through some self-reflection I came to the determination that I need timelines and due dates to be aggressive with projects. This is why I am now making these timelines myself and holding my calender up to the almighty as his word. Deviating from my calender will mean something else will get bumped and next thing you know I am in the same situation as before working late every night to finish everything. Reworking the schedule is possible but the end goal is the same.
I would have to say that this has not affected my locus of control, because mine is of the internal nature. I have always been able to hold things as my own, even in group settings. My goals may have some outside influence, i.e. must dos and emergency contingencies, but are never completely out of my control when it comes to the final product. I feel that I am able to adjust well to issues and make the adjustments necessary to meet the timeline in place, and even if one occasionally passes this timeline I own it and don't scape goat my way through it.
With my new job, and taking a new direction for my masters it quickly became apparent that my old habits weren't sufficient to keep track of everything. I have started to use MS projects, this allows me to keep my work and school projects in order and also allows me to update them from anywhere with my phone or tablet. This is such a great tool because I can also have some data mining from access sent to this program to allow me to edit priorities in seconds when the need is there. I think that this is one tool that will allow for me to be on top of my obligations so that I won't fall victim to deadline stress again.
Another thing that I have started to do is write down everything that comes my way. This ties into the Projects software, but it is separate because things only get put into project if you remember to do so. This gives me confidence that I will not forget something, in the past this was one of my main stress agents. So much info is now thrown my way that it is impossible to remember all of it, quick notes on the tablet and then transferring those notes into projects should eliminate the stress associated with it.
The last thing that I have started to do, is early morning mantras, one of them is "I'm good at my job and my work gets done in a very timely fashion" this allows me to take demands from executives and prioritize them properly. Executives want results NOW, and if you let this stress you out it will forfeit the priorities you already had going. It has to be added to the list every time and assessed in relation to your other obligations. By doing this you have the tools and answers to give the executives when they come by for a follow up. "Why isn't this done?" "Because, the following compliance issues took precedence."
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