You may be wondering how some people can play so many different roles in life in so little time. Their secret in living such a life is not actually a secret; it is just simply a matter of obtaining great time management skills. Fortunately, you do not have to be living so many roles just to be able to able to have these excellent skills; you just have to practice some of the things that will be discussed here.

Unlike managing your work desk, practicing time management skills takes some patience, perseverance and self-control because it is not just a matter of having some physical changes; it is more of a mental transformation - a change in one's behavior.

One of the things that you must practice if you are to manage your time efficiently is to learn how to say no. Once you have already planned your day ahead, hold on to it as tight and as reasonably as you can. Take this example: You are planning to finish your weekend report today but your friends drop by with their car and they are inviting you to a party right on the spot. When this happens, do not hesitate to say no - no matter how much they tease you about being workaholic or lame; just stick to your plans and by doing so, you save more time for more productive things and you also earn your friends' respect both at the same time.

If you are already at the exact time where you are planning to start something, then start, regardless whether you think you can't do it or whether you don't feel like doing it yet. Just start. Practice this skill by unconditionally starting simple planned activities. Like for example, if you're planning to read a chapter of a book 30 minutes before you leave, then just do it without thinking about anything else.

To avoid stress related to cramming, you have to know which activities will bring pressure and then you have to prioritize them over those that can merely bring pleasure. Whenever you are making a draft of your schedule, be sure to prioritize those activities that affect your work; they are the ones that will surely bring you pressure. However, you need to allot resting periods between your responsibilities, because if not, then you are just going to be very eager to finish your work so you can finally relax.

Relaxing is just as important as working but with the current employment system these days, people are forced to have more time to work and less time to relax. Since you have so little time for relaxation, you must maximize the amount of tension released when you are relaxing. Ease yourself by diverting your attention from work to other things like listening to music, surfing the web, reading a good book, or chatting with your friends and colleagues - do anything as long as you find it enjoyable. If you fail to make the most out of your relaxation period, you are just going to end up looking for more time to relax and finding yourself panicking to finish your work.