Time management – the one personal development topic that two people can take polar opposite approaches with. Some people love managing their time down to the minutes… other people leisurely waltz through life without using a schedule. I, for one, love scheduling my days, hours, and minutes! I love discovering how to become more productive and how to plan my day with greater efficiency. And after a few years at working on time management skills, I’d say I’m pretty competent at doing both of those things.

But it took me a while to realize one important thing: having great time management isn’t always about learning new tips and tricks on how to cut corners and schedule better. Amazing time management is about having a mindset that’s dedicated to using your time the best way you can, as well as having the tools and resources to make that happen.

I’m not talking about other characteristics such as self-discipline, perseverance, or focus, although those traits are fabulous to have. I’m referring to a way of thinking. Imagine, just for a second, that every five minutes for the rest of today, you would remind yourself, “What should I be doing with my time, right now?” Would the outcome of your day be substantially different than where it’s currently headed?

Without having the “mindset” of time management, all of your efforts to become better at rearranging your time will be in vain. Have you ever tried to learn a brand new skill – such as blogging or playing the piano – when you were in a totally lazy mood? “Ugh, I can’t stand to do this anymore!” was probably your rallying cry. You felt discouraged, unmotivated, and apathetic. Likewise, learning time management skills without having the appropriate thought process will leave you flat on your face.

Implementing the Time Management Mindset

Applying a new line of thinking to time management is fairly easy, and it only requires several simple steps.

1. Pick a day to test the mindset. (This is important. You want to be able to devote yourself to a thought-pattern change for an entire day, not a couple of sporadic times throughout a random day.)
2. Think of an action you do fairly frequently throughout the day, such as looking at a clock, putting down your pen, or taking a sip of water.
3. Whenever you perform that action, immediately ask yourself, “What should I be doing with my time, right now?” If you slip up and forget to ask yourself, just re-ask whenever the question comes to mind.

You’re most likely thinking what a silly, ridiculous method this is right about now… but that’s totally okay! The goal isn’t to make your brainwaves on a constant “oh my god I need to figure out what I should be doing RIGHT NOW” tangent, but turn your thinking into a more consciously aware process. After asking yourself this question enough times, you’ll start thinking about what you really should be doing with your time a bit more often.

Conscious thought is exactly what personal development is about. Refocusing your attention on what’s absolutely needed and then performing those related actions is paramount to your success. If you want to be a popular blogger making $10,000 a month, you need to constantly refocus your attention on what needs to get done, not what you “think” should get done. There’s a major difference. This goes with any skill and task – e.g., raising a family, building a website, learning a musical instrument, or writing a book. You name it, and “What should I be doing with my time, right now?” can easily be asked and applied.

Any sort of internal value or trait shift takes time and discipline.  But it’s well worth the efforts in the end. Can you start asking yourself, right now, what you should be doing with your time? Got an answer? Good. Now go do what you should have been doing all along!