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It’s the enemy of us all and we are at its mercy. Time, as the saying goes, waits for no one. However, there is help at hand! In fact, a lot of time has been devoted to the benefits of time management and how to achieve it. Today’s stressful lifestyle means a constant juggling of work, family life and social life. It’s easy to take your eye off the ball and let one of those departments suffer. Being organized can’t be left to chance. It really does require some effort and it pays off in the end.

There are numerous books written on the subject and courses and workshops are conducted to teach us the methods and benefits of time management. The Filofax, so popular with go-getters in the 1980s, brought the first stirrings of laying down a format for dividing up time. Some people prefer software applications that follow the same principles. A lot of people have things to do lists but it needs to be more refined than that.

Prioritizing is the key; otherwise there are too many paths to wander down in a forest full of waiting tasks. It’s a good idea to have an end goal in sight; otherwise specific tasks lose their sense of identity. Ask yourself, where would you like to be in five year’s time or ten or fifteen? Also, the benefits of time management will be lost if the set targets are not in sympathy with work colleagues or family members. Are you all singing from the same hymn sheet?

Once a clear goal is formalized, there are targets to decide and placed in order of chronology and importance. It’s the most satisfying feeling in the world to tick off those boxes. Daily, weekly and monthly tasks should be set out in detail. Not everything always goes to plan of course and a bit of flexibility needs to be built in. The benefits of time management will only work if the targets are realistic. Neither underestimate nor overestimate what can be achieved.

Everyone likes to be in control but you will never leave the office on time if you don’t delegate. It will soon become apparent, who can be trusted and who can’t. Another important aspect of the benefits of time management is self discipline. Procrastination won’t get the job done. This is especially significant if you are working from home, an increasing activity these days. It may be a sunny day and the golf course is calling but that monthly report won’t write itself. When the weekly targets have been met, that’s the time to reward yourself with a little rest and recreation. After all, all work and no play makes Jack or Jill a dull boy or girl.

Just about everyone is trying to figure out different ways to improve memory. Having a sharp mind is very important in every aspect of your life. If you have good recall skills then you are better equipped for everyday situations. People who learn ways to improve memory are more likely to do well socially and economically.

The social aspect of knowing the ways to improve memory might not be readily apparent. However, we have all been in a situation where we are required to remember names and faces. This can be a real challenge for those of us who don’t have the skills or ways to improve memory.

Following are a handful of strategies that my help you develop your own ways to improve memory. Most of these suggestions involve making connections between different things. When you make associations you are working with your prior knowledge.

Think of it this way. You have a collection of information that you already have earned over the years. Adding new information will be easier if you take a scaffolding approach in ways to improve memory. Your foundation of knowledge can link together with new information to build a solid structure.

Enough with the metaphors. Let’s use an example. We all know how to rhyme and most of us have favorite songs. One way to improve memory is to use rhyme and music to make a connection between the information and the pattern. For example, “i before e except after c.” This rule of grammar is far easier to remember with this little rhyme.

You can also try different approaches as well. One great way to improve memory is to make connections. This is really effective when you are trying to remember names and dates (two very challenging things for us to recall). Following are a couple examples of associations used as ways to improve memory.

When you meet a person you might want to repeat his name right after the introduction. While this is somewhat effective, you are better off to use ways to improve memory thorough association. For example, Fred could be associated with Fred Flinstone. While this may seem silly at first, it really works.

Dates are very difficult for some of us to retain. Try using some associations with this subject as well. For example, my niece’s birthday is October 4th. This is a tough thing to remember when you have 16 nieces and nephews. I remember it with “Ten-four good buddy.”

We all have different experiences and different foundations of knowledge. Why not use what you know as ways to improve memory?