Doesn’t time management sometimes feel like trying to hold onto a bucking bronco or trying to grab a greased pig?
One minute you think you’re holding on tight, in control, and winning…the next you’re flying through the air and landing face-first in doo.
In the Time Rodeo…
Emails come in at an astonishing rate.
The phone rings and every caller asks, “Can I have a minute of your time?”
Your people stick their heads in your office and say, “Got a minute?”
The amount of work expected of you in your board position suddenly doubles.
Kids need more money for uniforms, and they’ve added Friday night games to an already full weekly schedule.
Your boss just asked for five additional reports each week.
And the internet has enabled us to “pull” tons of information towards us second by second.
Soon, we’re just reacting to everything coming at us. Our To-Do lists, priorities, and mission-critical tasks are left in the dust.
Sometimes we even push important work aside in order to respond to things that we perceive, in the moment, to be…
a crisis!
Often though, those “crisis events” really aren’t.
They appear to be a crisis because:
- Someone else made it sound urgent
- We didn’t ask enough questions right off the bat
- We didn’t pause, take a breath, and consider how this event or request fit into our current plan
- It’s our habit to say “yes, I can do that” without any thought about our current workload
- We didn’t say, “Yes, this IS important right now. Who else can handle this besides me?”
- The event actually is a crisis for the person asking – but doesn’t have to become ours
Are you beginning to see how time management can be overwhelming?
If we don’t consciously take control of our time, it will control us!
Distractions
Julie Morgenstern tweeted that interruptions now cost us 2.1 hours a day or a whopping 28% of our workday!
Joel Spolsky created some interesting examples to show how switching between tasks or getting distracted wastes 19 minutes each time. If you do this repeatedly, you could be wasting HOURS each day.
David Allen talks non-stop about different ways to get things done.
And even Stephen Covey, master of all things planning, had to create a chart to help us discern the “urgent” from the “important.”
What’s the answer? Are any of the people you listed above going to help you with your time?
My answer is: it doesn’t matter.
What?? Why?
Because I want you to think DIFFERENTLY about time management.
I want you to get out of the crazy rodeo mindset and into the flow of your work and life.
I’m not offering a single system or one-size-fits-all program (although I am creating a new eCourse on Time Management to be released in June).
And I’m never going to promote one method of time management over another. They ALL have their benefits and pitfalls.
What I am going to ask you to do is:
- Get clear on your priorities
- Choose a system
- Stick with it for a month
- Tweak it until it works
- Commit to it until it becomes an effortless habit – an integral part of your day
Does that sound like a tall order?
It should.
The only way to master time management is to make a commitment to doing it.
Not sure how to figure out your priorities? Not sure where to even start with implementing a time management system or strategy that works? Call MBS, Inc. today and we’ll help you get a handle it! [email protected] or (704) 553-8082.
Angie, you’re preaching to me. I finally posted a sign in front of my desk that says, “What’s most important to do RIGHT NOW?” I should add another sign saying, “Just say NO.” I would add one suggestion: Stick with the system daily for 3 months to make it a true behavioral change. Ugh! Yes, I know that makes your advice even more difficult, but also more likely to stick. Thanks for helping keep me on track. Mary