Time Management Is Bogus
Time Management is Bogus! We really don’t understand the problem. In fact, time is unmanageable – it just keeps tickin’ along. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Time should be manageable, but it’s not! Thousands and thousands of pages have been written about “time management.” The trick, of course, is not reading but doing. This little piece may include all the direction necessary.
The problem: We can’t manage time. Smashing the timepiece won’t help. We can manage ourselves, providing we agree that “we have met the enemy, and they is us!” Have a look at this “enemy.” You will manage him, or you will not. You can.
Also:
1. You never have enough time. Or,
2. You have all the time there is.
If you recognize that you actually have this second item as a personal choice, you can move forward.
When we look at how we manage our own time, most of us see a mess.
a. Endless do-lists
b. Broken agreements with others
c. Broken agreements with ourselves.
d. Frustration, anger and a sense of helplessness.
Anonymous: “Time is the currency of our lives. How we spend it tells much about us!” One answer – action.
This quote from Conrad Hilton: “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
So, what can we do to stop thinking and get into action?
1. Bag the endless do-lists. The alternative- some guidelines I’ve cribbed from Peter Allen and his book on Getting Things Done. Remembering what you need to do is critical- obsessing about it is deadly. Yes, I coach on the topic.
2. Identify one thing which is important but not urgent in your world – around your business, your relationships, whatever. Make a space for this opportunity, in time, in your day, on your calendar. One hour a day, 5 days a week. For me, it’s usually either very early or very late.
3. Give up detailed prioritizing . You don’t get a good return on the time you invest in prioritizing. The payoff is not planning. The payoff is acting.
4. Be like steel about this. The whole world will try to keep you from managing this! Watch this happen. Your own demons, and the forces of disorganization will attack. Here’s how you strike back.
• Don’t answer the phone(s).
• Close your door or take your laptop to Starbucks.
• Promise yourself you will not end the day without completing this process and the actions associated with it.
• Keep that promise!
• Give yourself an Attaboy when you do.
• Tell someone else how you kept your promise.
• Discover how great you feel about your business and yourself.
When you discover that you’ve put something off, just slot it in tomorrow’s “Important But Not Urgent” time slot, and tackle it a second time with renewed energy. Self-reproach is unrewarding and unproductive- at least it is for me. And that’s that. Please take it on. I’d be happy to hear how it works for you.
