I have a confession to make… I struggle with time management. There, I said it, and it feels better. Now, I know this will surprise you if you read this blog, because I teach time management and I have a really great program to track your time and calendar. It works if you work it.
Therein lies the problem, not only for you but also for me.
Over the past few years, I’ve convinced myself that time management is 5% about having a system that works for you and 95% about the choices you make about that system minute by minute throughout the day.
Here are some options that I know repeatedly get me sidetracked.
Say yes when you should say no
We are all guilty of this to some degree, and some of us have the pleasing disease worse than others. I hate to disappoint people, so I often take on one more project (paid or unpaid) that I don’t have room for in my schedule. I also tend to say yes to the things that take up my time instead of focusing on the things that I know will advance my business (see the next topic for more on this).
Avoid the important in favor of the urgent
I’ve been doing this a lot lately, and even recorded a video blog post about it this month. It’s obviously on my mind. Steven Covey covers this brilliantly in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He refers to urgent items as those things that demand your immediate attention and don’t serve your higher purpose for your life and business (like an email or a text message). The important items in your schedule and in your life, according to Covey, are the ones that take you, step by step, toward your goals. These are generally much more methodical and boring than the urgent items in my day. They’re also the things that make me clench my fists and feel great when they’re completed. Go figure.
Trying to fit 10 pounds of stuff into a 5 pound bag
I’m only supposed to have 8 hours in my work day (and truth be told, I’d like to cut it down to 4), but my to-do list is usually 10-12 hours long. No amount of creative calculation can make that work. I am a highly productive person and get more things done in a day than most people. I type terribly fast (my brother-in-law once assumed, listening to me work from another room, that he was joking by just hitting random keys, because no one could type that fast) and I move quickly through my life. I also multitask too often (which, while a great skill, usually means you’re not bringing your best to whatever you’re doing). This tends to lead to…
Deliberately denying my basic needs
This starts to happen when I am really overly engaged and overwhelmed. I literally don’t eat or take the time to run to the bathroom. My children are cynical with me because for most of their lives I have said: “I’ll be there in a minute, just let me finish this”and does not show for eons. If I’m sitting in front of my computer when I say it, they just roll their eyes. It really bothers me, but obviously not enough to have changed it. If I go into my office to “Do a quick check of my email before breakfast,“I can literally finish without getting up and making breakfast for up to two hours (at which point I often just skip breakfast and stick to lunch).
So where do we (you and I) go from here?
I know this has been a building issue and concern for me over the last few years, and the more my business and speaking career grows, the worse it gets. Here is a list of some things I am currently focused on that I think will help me. Feel free to steal any of these ideas and see if they work for you too.
- I am delegating more(thanks to my virtual assistant Julie and my web queens Amy and Chelsey). You also know how to delegate, you probably don’t do it enough. Ask for (or hire) help.
- i’m putting myself first(exercise or meditate first thing in the morning, before going to my office).
- I am using the tools I have deliberately(such as planning my week on Sunday, making a daily to-do list, weekly dinner menus, etc.)
- I’m giving myself a breakand learning to listen to my intuition and live more in the moment (because sometimes the things I’ve planned for that day don’t feel like the things I’m supposed to. I’m willing to scrap my plan if I feel like I’m supposed to) ).
- I take time every day to communicate and connect. (with my clients, potential clients, business partners, friends, etc.)
And what about you? Is this an area you struggle with? Do you have some creative and inspiring ways to control how you spend your time?