Time Management Month

Can you manage time?

Answer: No.

But you can “choose” how to “use” your time.

Time is like money.

You choose how you want to spend it.

Most people spend money on what is most important in their lives.

Why would you not spend time on what matters most to you?

I don’t like the term “time management” for a variety of reasons.

Here are a few reasons I don’t like the term “time management:”

• You can’t “manage” time.
• How you choose to use your time has a direct correlation to the systems and processes you use at work or at home which allows you to be more productive with the use of your time.
• You must be prepared to expect the unexpected – which usually means you need to shift your focus for how you had “planned” to use your time.

A more accurate term could be “attention management.”

Attention management can be a solution where you are intentional with how you spend time vs. being reactive.

This is an approach that is deliberate and can put you back in control.

It also means that you will need to fight off distractions and create times throughout your day to accomplish your priorities – what is most important to you.

Yes, this can be hard, but consider these key points:

“No.” is a complete sentence – and a powerful productivity tip, yet it is hard to put into practice. When you say “yes” to something you will likely have to say “no” to something else – because you have only so much time each day.

Using time wisely so you can be as productive as possible requires skills that you may have never been taught. That is not your fault. If you can identify where your weaknesses are, you can work to improve those skills.

Skills such as:

• Decision Making
• Prioritization
• Task Management
• Project Management
• Goal Setting
• Resource Utilization

Believe it or not, all of these skills impact your ability to use time effectively.

Flat Squirrels

I don’t know who first said this but if you stop for a moment to digest this quote; you may think about your decision making skills.

“Be decisive.

Right or Wrong.
Make a decision.

The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.”

What is YOUR best time of day?

Do you know what time of day you do your best work?

• Early Morning
• Late Morning
• Afternoon
• Evening
• Late Evening

This is the time of day when your brain can be most focused on the work that may be the most difficult – head down, work.

There are many thought leaders that have methodologies that work great for some and not so much for others.

Examples:

Never check email in the morning (Julie Morgenstern)

Eat That Frog (Brian Tracy)

With eat that frog, it suggest that if you do the worst thing first you get it out of the way for the day.

But what if morning isn’t your best time of day? Now what?

This is why it’s important to know your optimum time of day to do your most-important focused work.

For me, I know that I do my best work very early in the morning.

This is how I’ve written all of my books, newsletter and accomplished other difficult projects.

By about 6pm, I. Am. Done.

Don’t ask me to think about difficult things, respond to difficult e-mails that require a lot of thought, or do numbers.

The outcome will not be good and I know this.

This means I have to plan my days and weeks wisely and it also means time-blocking my calendar for the tasks or projects or they will never be accomplished.

Even then, I have to recognize that even the most well-planned day/week can be completely thrown off course as a business owner that must constantly re-prioritize the most important tasks to move client projects and the business – FORWARD.

On a recent planned time away from work this month – for personal reasons – I “planned” to write text for our new business website and two newsletters.

Both of these require an immense amount of focus without distractions - something I do best on a chair near the ocean or a pool.

During my recent time away I took my laptop to the pool chair and planned to write for two hours each morning until the sun came up and I couldn’t see my laptop screen.

Do you know how many comments I received from people that “assumed” (incorrectly) that I was “working on vacation?”

Let me be clear…my time away was not a vacation – but it was intentional time away from the office for other reasons.

The first morning an older gentleman said to me “so what tech company didn’t give you time away from work for vacation?”

The second morning a woman assumed (incorrectly – again) that I was a “workaholic” like her husband that couldn't be without a laptop.

They were both WRONG – assumed I was on vacation - working, and judged me.

I politely thanked them for their concern of how I was “choosing” to spend MY TIME.

I simply told them what I was doing and how my best work is accomplished while listening to the waves crash on the beach and not in an office where there are too many distractions.

Working hours aren’t always 9-5, Monday – Friday.

One of the best perks of being a business owner is that I get to “choose” when I want to work.

I have a client – and fellow coach and business owner - that has a sentence below her e-mail signature that says:

“Important note on work/life balance: My work hours may not be your work hours. Unless specifically requested, please do not feel obligated to reply outside of your normal working hours.”

This statement places a boundary for her so that others don’t “judge” when she does her best work, and gives permission to those she corresponds with to respond during “their” working hours.

During “time management” month – or whatever you choose to call it, I hope this newsletter has some take aways you can put into practice in your own life – at work and at home –

So you can create “a work life that works for you™.”

Wishing you purposeful productivity and sustainable organization,