I just wrote a long post about wasting time and guess what happened?

… In the process of saving it, I screwed up and now its lost in cyberspace.

You see, the friggin’ genius (me) wasted a few hours writing, proofreading and then losing a post about wasting time.

Because of my carelessness, I’ll never get that time back.

As I grow older, I’m starting to find it funny that many of us place work (our jobs) first. I mean, we actually put everything else on the back burner.

Naturally, we all have to do what we have to do in order to earn a living but — Come On!

As busy as we are today, we need to make time to focus on what’s important… (quality time family and friends).

It pains me whenever I sit down and talk to a family member or friend about the different events and occasions that I’ve missed.

The conversation always starts out the same…

… “Remember when we took that trip to (fill in the blank), or celebrated so-and-so’s birthday?…

… 90 percent of the time, my reply is the same, “I missed that one, I had to work.”

The lost post covered a few different ways to manage essential tasks and the need to prioritize them.

In this condensed post, I’ll share with you one simple thing that may help you avoid these awkward yet painful conversations.

It all starts with just creating a to do list.

I usually do this on Sunday evening on my way to work. I usually break it down into the following categories.

Family First! – These are events, birthdays, special occasions etc..

If I can’t be physically present, a phone call or just a greeting card will do.

Remember it’s the thought that counts.

Date Night – from now on, my wife and I are going to go out on a date at least once every week (Friday or Sat).

By Wed, I’ll have a good idea of what we are going to do.

Appointments – In my case these are usually doctor appointments.

I created a window (8am – 10am) to set each appointment. This works well for me because of my schedule. Make sure that you create a window that fits your particular situation.

This will up the rest of the day for me to goof off, if that’s what I want to do.

Automate! – When it’s possible, try and set up reminders using the technology we have at our fingertips.

I like to record these weekly tasks using the calendar app on my iMac. I am able to sync my calendar with my iPhone alerts and all.

I’m sure that your computer has some type of calendar map, so now it’s time to put it to use.

You can break each task down to daily and even hourly levels.

Simply using common sense can kick start you on your way to better time management.

What works for you?

Your thoughts and suggestions are always welcomed.

Please leave a comment in the section below or you can blog about it and link back to this post.