I took a great Time Management course about 20 years ago and in my previous career, I considered myself to be skilled at managing my time. Goals were set, plans developed, and projects implemented as planned. I was always on time to meetings/appointments and followed up on tasks I had promised to do. I had no trouble prioritizing tasks and delegating where necessary.
I was in for a rude awakening when I started a Real Estate career over a year ago. Somehow, my best attempts at time management just weren't working. I started out each day with plans which almost always got deferred for "urgent, but not important" tasks. Every day was filled with unplanned tasks and events. But i didn't know enough about what I was doing to realize what was really important and how to set priorities.
I have started coaching sessions with my broker, Joe Manausa, a brilliant man with a lot of common sense and uncommon ideas, and he suggested I read, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. I remember when this book hit the market and while I read lots of self-help books, I thought this one was just another time-management book and wasn't what I needed. Boy, was I wrong. I wish I had read it years ago. It is helping me wade through life priorities and achieve a balance that's been missing for years
Joe says that "Time Management is figuring out what NOT to do". So, between what I've learned from Steven Covey's book about life priorities and learning what i shouldn't spend time on, I think I'm gaining ground.
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Time management is a constant challenge and something we could all use some help in. You may also want to read David Allen's, Getting Things Done.