The secret to getting things done
By Heath McGregor on Jul 15, 2010 in Goal Achievement, How To's, ICT in the classroom, Just for Teachers, Parents Help, VCE Resources, VCE Study Skills
There is one universal element that all people have to master in their life – and that is time.
Time is the great equaliser. We each have 168 hours per week with which to use our time and some people are able to achieve an extraordinary amount in that time, others not so much. Given that we all have this finite resource doesn’t it make sense to try and figure out the best way to utilise your time? I have written many articles surrounding time mastery including the 8 principles of time principles and balancing priorities in the VCE and I’m passionate about finding strategies that help me to balance work, family, friends, business and health/fitness. It’s never easy but it is so important for you to figure this out and constantly strive to find the right balance to incorporate the most important things into your life.
This is a major skill that all people need to acquire, and the sooner you as VCE students can develop these skills, the better your VCE results will be – period.
Sometimes the simplest strategies are the best – and here is one that I have utilising for awhile now.
- Review your priorities/goals
- Organise tasks according to goals and their importance/urgency
- Allocate time to complete tasks
- Using a timer – take action on the single task at hand (and focus on that task until you complete it!)
- Repeat for your entire list.
This is the perfect solution for you if you regularly find yourself looking back at at your life wondering what in the world happened to all your time, and why you have very few results to show for it.
Don’t be quick to fob off the simplicity of the solution because there are a number of key elements which make this system work so well.
These are:
- An end result – a goal for the end of the day (or the end of the study session)
- A specific timeline and deadline to achieve that task
- Believability about what is possible to achieve within the given timeframe
Here’s how to make the system even better!
The system outlined above is very powerful and it works. I am quite a visual person and I like to be able to see not only the big picture (the overall plan) but also how the smaller pieces work together to get me to that point.
The solution that I use on a daily basis to help empower my time management is the Action Machine. It is designed to motivate you to take more action, the interface helps you get absolutely clear about your day, allowing you to easily visualize your time and accomplishments at-a-glance.
Check out the video of how I use the Action Machine below:
To find out more information about the Action Machine.
Please leave your comments and thoughts below
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Hanna | Aug 26, 2010 | Reply
look that Action Machine is a fantastic idea believe me i know it would work,but im not going to pay $47 for it when u can basically do it yourself on pen and paper for free. sure it looks fantastic and u may think its worth the $47, but i dont not when it simply what i do with pen and paper. i dont want to be hearing about how good things are if you have to pay for them because to tell you the truth i dont have any many at the moment so the money i do get goes towards more important things it would be great if you guys told us more about things that are free and are going to help me through my last 2 years of high school.
Heath McGregor | Aug 28, 2010 | Reply
Hi Hanna – thanks for your comment. The Action Machine is more than just a simple pen and paper to do list on a computer. It has a lot more functions that help you become more efficient and productive with your time. At the end of the day we are all limited by; energy, time and money. Time is the great equaliser, the one currency that we all have exactly the same amount – how we choose to spend it is up to each of us individually.
If the cost to buy a resource will help you to be more efficient and productive in your study and it saves you time in the end…is it a good investment…absolutely. Given that we are at the business end of Term 3 and exams are around the corner the one thing students and teachers alike have less and less of is available time. And the urgency / stress of what is coming will only exacerbate this.
Believe me when I say I completely understand about not having the available funds to pay for resources. One of the main reasons that I set up this website was to help students who were unable to pay or didn’t have access to some of the resources out on the web. Every now and again when I find resources that I think are a reasonable cost and, in my opinion, are a valuable resource for students, parents or teachers I will recommend it. In fact, 99% of the website resources that are available here on this website are free. Sure, not all people will be able to get access to the handful of paid resources that exist but hopefully you still get some value and help out of the resources that exist here for the benefit of all students, parents and teachers.
If you have found value in the free resources that exist here during your VCE why don’t you give back to the community and become a contributor?
Thanks Hanna – best of luck for the upcoming exams.
Cheers, Heath
Tony | Jul 24, 2011 | Reply
can you use it on multiple computers with the one purchase?
Heath McGregor | Jul 24, 2011 | Reply
To my knowledge yes – provided you own the computers. You would need to check the Action Machines terms of use though.