Confession time on time management

I have a confession to make… I struggle with time management. There, I said it, and it feels better. Now, I know this will surprise you if you read this blog, because I teach time management and I have a really great program to track your time and calendar. It works if you work it.

Therein lies the problem, not only for you but also for me.

In recent years I have become convinced that time management is 5% about having a system that works for you and 95% about the choices you make about that system on a minute-by-minute basis throughout the day.

Here are a few options that I know get me off track repeatedly.

Saying yes when I should be saying no

We are all guilty of this to some degree, and some of us have the disease of pleasing worse than others. I hate letting people down, so I often take on one more project (paid or not) that I don’t have room for on my schedule. I also tend to say yes to the things that take up my time instead of focusing on the things that I know will advance my business (see the next topic for more on that).

Avoid the important in favor of the urgent

I’ve been doing this a lot lately, and even recorded a video blog post about it this month. It’s obviously on my mind. Steven Covey covers this brilliantly in his book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” He refers to time-sensitive items as those things that demand your immediate attention and don’t serve your higher purpose for your life and business (like email or a text message). The important items on your schedule and in your life, according to Covey, are those that lead you, step by step, toward your goals. These are generally much more methodical and boring than the urgent articles in my day. They are also the things that make me clench my fists and feel great when they are completed. Go figure.

Trying to fit 10 pounds of stuff into a 5 pound bag

I’m only supposed to have 8 hours in my workday (and, truth be told, I’d like to cut it down to 4), but my to-do list is usually 10-12 hours long. There’s no amount of creative calculation that can make that work. I am a highly productive person and get more done in a day than most people. I type terribly fast (my brother-in-law once assumed, listening to me work from another room, that he was joking by just hitting random keys, because no one could type that fast) and move quickly through my life. I also multitask too often (which, while a great skill, usually means you’re not putting your best foot forward in whatever you’re doing). This tends to lead to…

Deliberately denying my basic needs

This starts to happen when I’m really overcommitted and overwhelmed. I literally don’t eat or take the time to run to the bathroom. My children are cynical with me because for most of their lives I have said: “I’ll be there in a minute, just let me finish this”and does not show for eons. If I’m sitting at my computer when I say it, they just roll their eyes. It really bothers me, but obviously not enough to have changed it. If I go into my office to “Do a quick check of my email before breakfast,“I can literally finish without getting up and making breakfast for up to two hours later (at which point I often just skip breakfast and stick to lunch).

So where do we (you and I) go from here?

I know this has been a building problem and concern for me over the past few years, and the more my business and speaking career grows, the worse it gets. Here’s a list of a few things I’m currently focused on that I think will help me. Feel free to steal any of these ideas and see if they work for you too.

• I am delegating more(thanks to my virtual assistant Julie and my web queens Amy and Chelsey). You also know how to delegate, you probably don’t do it enough. Ask for (or hire) help.
• i’m putting myself first(exercise or meditate first thing in the morning, before going to my office).
• I am using the tools I have deliberately(such as planning my week on Sunday, making a daily to-do list, weekly dinner menus, etc.)
• I’m taking a breatherand learn to listen to my intuition and live more in the moment (because sometimes the things I have planned for that day don’t feel like the things I’m supposed to do. I’m willing to scrap my plan if I feel like I’m supposed to do it ).
• I take time every day to communicate and connect. (with my clients, potential clients, business partners, friends, etc.)

And what about you? Is this an area that you struggle with? Do you have some creative and inspiring ways to control how you spend your time?