I don’t have to tell you that we are all busy and getting busier. The whole world is moving faster and our culture is expecting more of us at work, at home, and everywhere else we go. This has created a big demand for time management training, as people struggle for ways to get their schedules and their lives under control. I am often asked, “What is the number one enemy of effective time management?” People are always very surprised when I quickly answer, “YOU!”
It’s true. People are always blaming something, or someone else, for the fact that they are always behind or late or feeling overwhelmed. My boss is too demanding, the traffic was horrendous, marketing was late getting me the research I needed, my spouse signed me up without checking with me first, etc. We have a million excuses. Don’t get me wrong; sometimes our time gets eaten up by circumstances beyond our control. When that happens, you just have to adapt and keep moving. However, most of the time we are our own worst enemies when it comes to effective time management. If you want to win the battle against time bandits, you better start with the one person you can control – you know who!
Here are some hints to help you beat your number one time bandit:
1. Stop keeping lists in your head. You can keep a few schedule items juggling around in there, but can you keep up with all of them? Probably not. Most people can only remain aware of about 6 or 7 pressing responsibilities at any one time. I am not talking DOING them, only remembering them. Unless you are retired and all you have is a golf game and a honey-do list to keep track of, get some kind of planning and tracking system and USE it.
2. Stop trying to squeeze in “just one more thing” before you head home for the day, or depart for some other important function. First of all, squeezing something in implies that there isn’t really room for it, which means you are likely to mess it up somehow because you don’t have the capacity to deal with it adequately. Also, it drastically increases the odds that you will be late for that next important event you are rushing to get to in the first place. People who are chronically late are sending a message to those left waiting that says, “Sorry, but my time is more important than yours, because I am more important than you.” People eventually get tired of being treated that way, and they may get tired of waiting for you, too.
3. Forget about multitasking, it is just another way of saying “poor planning.” Nobody does their best work when they are trying to do two or three things at once. Even if all you are trying to do is have a serious conversation with someone sitting next to you in the car while your are driving (and I am not even talking about cell phone conversations here), your much more likely to miss your exit or run a stoplight, because your brain is just not geared to give intense focus to several important things at once. Usually, when people say multitasking, what they mean is stopping work on one important thing to do another important thing, and then stopping that important thing to either go back to the first important thing (or maybe drop everything to do a THIRD important thing), with the result that when -- or if – they get finished with all those tasks, they are exhausted, stressed, and probably not happy with the quality of their work.
4. Don’t try to compensate for a demanding schedule by speeding up and working faster. This is related to the previous point about multitasking. I am not advocating the adoption of a slacker mentality; rather, I am advocating for sanity and excellence. The first thing that happens when you start rushing through your work is that you get sloppy and make mistakes. Your work product will definitely suffer. What is the point of finishing faster if you have to spend an extra 30 minutes correcting mistakes afterwards? The other thing that begins to suffer is your mental and physical health. When we put ourselves under extra pressure, our body switches into “fight or flight” mode, assuming there must be some kind of emergency. Our heart rate and blood pressure go up, our muscles get tense, and we actually LOSE some of our capacity to concentrate and reason through complex details because our brain is getting ready to fight a bear or something. Living constantly in that state will raise your risk of things like heart disease, stroke, and even some cancers.
Better choices:
? Delegate
? Learn to say No (in a nice way)
? Quit trying to rescue everyone and everything
? Focus on one thing at a time and limit interruptions that would distract you
Remember, there are very few genuine emergencies in life, especially at work. Most people will respect your schedule and pace, if YOU respect it first. Instead of jamming in extra tasks to fit someone else’s schedule, explain YOUR schedule to them and let them know when you will be able to address their request. If you set a reasonable deadline and keep your promise, they will get used to letting you work at your best pace.
Time management 101: Life is best-lived one day and one task at a time. Why not try that for a change?
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Time Management Tip– Perfectionism = Procrastination
One of the most pernicious time management obstacles is simple procrastination, and one of the chief causes of procrastination is perfectionism. Many people put off doing certain tasks because of a conviction that they won’t be able to do the job up to a certain standard of success or performance. Unfortunately, their desire to do a perfect job results in there being no job done at all. Remember this: perfectionism is possibility’s worst enemy. It usually makes better sense to start a project and aim for what is reasonable, rather than postpone it week after week hoping to find a way to do it “just right.” Once you begin to make progress, there will always be the opportunity to make revisions that lead to gradual improvements.
