Recently I’ve seen a few clients whose predominant cause of stress was poor time management and thought I would write on the subject.
Bad time management is a systemic problem and therefore daily processes (patterns) need to be changed for long term success. Patterns of behaviour are just patterns and new desired ones can be formed. You can achieve this by implementing simple techniques to disrupt the old patterns while creating and reinforcing new ones.
Good time management is not just about getting things done on time, it is much more than that. It is an important part of health and lifestyle. It will reduce anxiety levels and lead to a happier life in and out of the office. Naturally you will become more efficient when working but other areas of your life will benefit to. Sleep will improve, you get more “me time” and more family time to do the things you enjoy.
There will always be 24 hours in a day. That’s out of your control but what is in your control is how you think about time and how you spend it.
It's helpful to think of time as a commodity just as you would money. You would budget your cash, so why not your time? You can’t get time back, so it's even more valuable.So create a time budget for yourself. The goal should be to have a work-life balanced where neither gets neglected. Getting this balance right will mean during your free time you can actually forget about work because it’s all part of a plan. Of course you may need to change your plans but always have a plan to work with initially.
Keep a to-do list and every morning look at your list and prioritise the tasks on it. To make this simple decide on the 3 or 4 most important tasks. Think of each task in terms of value to you or your company. Decide how much time you are going to spend on each task. Question the things on your list. Are they all necessary? What will they achieve? It’s a good idea to schedule the more demanding tasks for times in the day when you know you are more efficient. Attention to detail is great, but ask yourself how useful the extra detail is? How much value does it add to the project and at what cost? Will it mean compromising other tasks? Will it take up all the free time you planned to have? It’s always better to do the necessary things adequately then the unnecessary things perfectly. When the Navajo Indians weave a basket they always leave a knot so the gods won't think that they're trying to be gods themselves. Just do the best you can and know you can leave a knot and still achieve what you want.
