I was talking to a client the other day and they mentioned the lack of fore-thought young people have these days.

They’re so used to making instant arrangements and leaving things to the last minute that they struggle when they have to think more than a few days ahead.  Or they’ve been used to having someone else around them who will do everything for them.

When you set out into the world of work or even if you’ve decided to start up and run your own business, you may not have ever thought about how you go about planning your life or what you’ll actually need to do to survive.

After all if you’ve been brought up in the age of social media, instant success and gratification, as seen on X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent etc. you may think these things just happen and success is easy.

Success comes with hard work and long-term commitment.  Very few people get instant success and for many of those who achieve fame and fortune, they’ve come to it by putting in the hours and working hard at their craft to achieve their success.

You need to think about what you want – before it happens, so that you can plan for it.  Where do you want your career to take you?  What do you need to do in order to get that first step on the career ladder – work hard at school … achieve good results … go on to college or university … gain work experience … have a successful career/business.

It’s a case of putting in the effort to reap the results at a later date.

On a short-term basis, you need to think about what’s coming up this week, this month, this year.  It’s no good realising you need something for work the evening before or even the same morning.  You need to start to think for yourself and think ahead.  How will you get from A to B – even if that’s just catching the bus or train to work?  What do you need that’s going to get you there – know what train you’re going to get, leave on time, allow time to get a ticket?

You don’t get taught time management at school, so start developing good time habits now.  These will stand you in good stead – whether you’ve got a career in industry mapped out or you’re planning to take over the world with your own business or you haven’t yet decided what you’re going to do.

Learn more about the importance of good time management and how to improve your time management skills with – Time Management & Productivity for Students.