In this ebook, we¡¦re going to be discussing the important components of a Time Management system. Whatever method works for you ¡V paper, electronic, or a hybrid – there are still some pieces of everyone’s methods that are common to all. Everyone has a way of tracking appointments or to-dos. Some people use paper while others use electronic options. Rather than thinking of it as a good/bad or right/wrong decision, or that there is one correct method, there are some principles that are foundational to every Time Management system.

Regardless of what you end up selecting, every system must satisfy what I call the “HUG” criteria. Think about your current Time Management system. It might not be exactly how you want it, so think about what bothers you about it, what is frustrating, and what is inefficient. Maybe one of these areas is your major downfall or challenge, and this can give you some insights into how to tweak it to be most organized.

The “H” in our “HUG” method stands for “Handy.” I call people who don’t keep their Time Management systems handy “Scrappers.” They’re easily identifiable by all the little scraps of paper everywhere. Think about what happens if you go to a restaurant to meet with a friend or client, and you think of something and you need to write it down, and you don’t have anything to write on. What do you grab? Do you grab a napkin or the back of an envelope? Have you ever written on your hand in desperation? I call that the original Palm Pilot„¥. Some people write on sticky notes, old dry cleaning tickets or matchbook covers. They are “Scrappers.” That’s because they don’t have a system with them, readily available. Scraps are created by not having anything to write on and grabbing the nearest piece of paper.