A Combination of Tips on Time
I had a mini meltdown while meeting with a colleague this week. Something we were discussing reminded me of a task that needed completing sooner than my mind had previously grasped. The planned activities and needs of the day were looming on me - and I was heavily overwhelmed.
The topic of “time” shows up in so many different ways and it is a topic of concern to most I know.
I have a Time Management class that I love to train on - but managing time is so much more than that. Here are a list of ideas and thoughts generally related to time. Pick and choose those that you might find helpful.
Consider using early morning as a time to attack high-priority work or do activities that take care of yourself (exercise, journal, meditate). If you can capture time when everyone else is sleeping, you can be focused and intentional. Set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier. Over time, you might value the time so much that you push that alarm back even further. (Don’t forgo sleep. Go to bed earlier!)
If you are planning a meeting agenda, put the most important topics early in the agenda. If time does not go as planned, you will have at least covered the topics most needing your attention.
If you are planning a retreat or training, don’t schedule in more content than you really have time for. When do you want to be free to wrap things up, distribute an evaluation form, talk about next steps? Consider that time as sacred in your planning. Do you anticipate starting on time? Will you wait for people who aren’t there yet? Perhaps in your planning, consider the first 10 minutes lost to late arrivals or parking problems. Perhaps your 2-hour retreat should only have 1 ½ hours of content planned.
Put your phone in another room. (I just did that because the next two things on my to-do list need my attention and the phone notifications will easily drag me away.) That’s also another tip - turn off the notifications! Take the time to look at where you are spending your time; this is a feature most phones will provide. Is that much time on TikTok or Facebook really consistent with your professional and personal priorities? How much time are you spending on games?
Make the time to phone or visit the people important to you. We all know that the next day is not guaranteed. But are we acting that way?
Bundle like work together. I have a pile of paperwork on my desk that I tend to do all at the same time. Together they take a chunk of time, but individually they are just a distraction. You can use the same approach with making or returning phone calls (assuming they are not time sensitive).
If you work from home and your work day is flexible (that is, you can extend it beyond a set schedule), you can use home chores to break up your work day providing a relief from the pressures of work. You can tell yourself that when you finish a difficult assignment that you are going to empty the dishwasher. It doesn’t sound like a great reward when I type it, but I do know that there are times when getting away from the work of work is a break, even if it is the work of the home.
Depending on where you live, seasons are limited. I have - again - hit the end of summer without having spent time on my bicycle. Planning for seasons - and what is available within them - helps to prepare us to take advantage of them. Take the bicycle in for a tune up prior to the warmer weather. Get the furnace tune-up before you need the heat. Plan the vacation before the best options are unavailable.
Schedule your doctor's appointments for the next year when you leave the office this year. Don’t delay your dental cleanings, skin checks, mammograms and colonoscopies. You know why.
Every once in a while, break the number one time management rule - do the highest priority work first. I have two more important things on my to-do list today. But, as I was driving home from a meeting, I had an idea for this month’s blog and the ideas and thoughts were flying. Sometimes, the time is right to capitalize on good thinking or creativity. The discipline is knowing when you are taking advantage of inspiration versus procrastinating.
I hope you find some of these thoughts helpful. I am not going to move on to a #11 because it is time to get to my highest priority work. Any more, and this blog would become a tool of procrastination.
