How many times have you heard someone something along the lines of ‘spend as much time with your kids as possible while they’re little because you can never get that time back’. I find that phrase quite annoying because for me, there is more to life than raising little people and when someone says that it makes me question (and potentially feel guilty about) the other things I’m spending my precious time on. For others, it’s a great reminder about priorities. Whichever way you look at it, it’s truth. Time goes fast. There are no refunds.
My Ten Time Management Philosophies
- Whatever you choose to spend your time on is worth it.
- To do lists (or tasks lists) are as essential to work-life as breathing is to life-life.
- You can usually achieve more in less hours than what you are currently doing (ie, working 5 days rather than 6).
- Dividing your day up into blocks will help you accomplish more.
- The pressure of deadlines and time limits is something to learn to love because you know how effective it can be in getting shit done.
- Perfectionism has no place in a well-managed timetable (‘good enough’ is my mantra these days).
- Everyone has ‘time suckers’ (tasks that you’re not great at, which take more time than they should, or things which distract you from getting shit done). They usually relate to our personalities and skill sets. Work out what they are and eliminate them.
- Down time should be down time. Everyone needs actual rest. No matter how much of an active, workaholic you might think you are. And this becomes more important the more you jam into your days/weeks/years.
- Time management is a constant work in progress. Because life happens and it happens fast. But once you have the tools, it’s just a matter of using them each time something changes!
- All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. I don’t know who Jack is, but I can relate to him a lot. Not just dull, but stressed. Fun time needs to be part of your overall plan.
Effective time management starts with planning and analysis. Some really great starting points are doing things like:
- Working out how many hours of free time you have each week
- Mocking up a timetable of your ideal week, including all the hours from waking up to going to bed.
- Setting clear goals (it’s fascinating to me how connected time management and goal setting is. I have found that the more attention I
give one, the more attention I have to give the other, and vice versa.)
You might want to grab a copy of my article “6 time management tips that will give you more time to work on your business instead of in it.” – it’s a free download via my Shop.
K.
