Here’s the truth, and I mean the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you are going to manage your time effectively and accomplish the important (to you) stuff, then you must know what is important to you. Sounds simple, I know, but oftentimes it is those simple things that are the most difficult. “Simple” does not necessarily mean easy.
Let’s call these important things “Big Rocks.” (I didn’t coin the term, and I thank the always-brilliant Leo Babauta for his enlightening blog, Zen Habits. I urge you to check it out.) What are your Big Rocks? If you can’t rattle them off, it would be a very worthwhile use of your time to clarify your priorities. Where do you want to be (or where would you rather be) spending chunks of your time? Doing more meaningful hobbies and activities? Exercising more? Working more? Reading more? Of course, there are no right and wrong answers here; only the honest answers matter.
Once you have listed your Big Rocks, it becomes much easier to say “yes” or “no” when asked to take things on, join something, or be responsible for anything else outside of your Big Rock areas. Think of your week as seven buckets. And in a typical fashion, you approach each bucket, i.e., day, without any preplanning. Slowly and surely, or perhaps not so slowly but ever so surely, your bucket fills with pebbles, sand, and whatever other debris comes your way, which leaves no room for your Big Rocks. And seeing as we all have the same 24 hours, there is no bigger bucket to be had.