Learning Time Management Skills: Tips for Going From Theory to Practice
Let's be honest. Learning time management skills is the easy part. The hard part of learning time management skills is consistently applying what we know to our lives. Most of time management is common sense, but not common practice. Success requires making time management methods a seamless part of your life by building good habits that work even when you don't want to. 
As the New Guinea saying goes, "Knowledge is only an idea until it's in the muscles."
So, for really learning time management skills - and by that I mean learning to apply them consistently to your life - here are a few tips that I recommend: Find the Sweet Spot: Time management activities are useful for decreasing bad stress and weaving a life you love, but after a point time management itself can stress you out. We overplan, overcommit, micro-manage and then fail and become frustrated and give up. Then we repeat the whole cycle again. Find the sweet spot for time management activities that get you "the biggest bang for your buck." See the page on time management and stress for a full discussion of this crucial part of learning time management skills. Build in Regular Checkpoints to Get Back On the Wagon When You Fall Off: Quarterly, weekly, and daily planning each morning goes a long way to improving your effectiveness. (For weekly planning I suggest 30 minutes on Fridays to think through the upcoming week; daily planning each morning for 5-10 minutes before you begin.) These sessions help you weave together effective months, weeks, and days. Even if you fall off the wagon - which will happen - use these sessions to re-focus and get back on. Build A System That Works Even When You Don't Want To: When you're feeling inspired and have strong will-power for time management, build yourself a system. Examples of building a good system to outsmart yourself and work when you don't want to include: setting up your email and physical triage systems early, using a PDA that beeps only for important reminders, putting your quarterly life review sessions on the calendar a year in advance, etc. Focus on the 20% of Activities that Drives 80% of Results: Pareto's Law in economics states that 20% of causes usually drive 80% of effects. It's the same for you in planning your life. What 20% of things you do maximize your productivity, fulfillment, and happiness? Focus on building in more of them. What 20% of things you do cause 80% of your problems? Focus on eliminating, outsourcing, or minimizing them. Say "NO" to Interruptions: Multi-tasking is a myth. Constantly shifting between activities, multi-tasking, and dealing with constant interruptions tanks your productivity and increases your stress. Learn to focus and learn to say powerful words - like "NO." Reward Yourself: Time management isn't just for minimizing stressors in your life. In fact, the real value of learning time management skills lies in allowing you to create a life that you love - a life full of meaningful activities, adventures, work, and play. Once you get control of your time, you can proactively weave yourself a life built around your highest priorities. So, particularly in the early days, use your time management activities to plan in things that you love doing. The rewards will keep you going. Understand Behavior Change: Behavior change is hard, but not impossible. That said, I don't care what self-help gurus and hypnotists claim; behavior change requires consistent proactive practice. Know that by building new habits, clarifying success, writing "new stories," and building in structural supports you can rapidly increase your chances of success. Good luck. Remember, the key to learning time management skills is to apply what you know consistently in your life. Again, "You haven't learned it until it's in the muscles." If you'd like to learn how I train executives to quicky master time management skills, please check out my step-by-step e-system: Rescue Yourself! Time Management Strategies to Take Your Life Back E-System  Good luck!
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