| Making Time for Time Management |
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 "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -Mark Twain Time Management In the Taoist tradition of “do nothing and it all gets done,” it isn't a matter of working harder or more, it's a matter of working smarter, prioritizing, either in order of importance or sequencing, and protecting your time from anything that drains its value. It's also a mind-set of performing the task with little to no emotional investment and getting it done faster with less stress. Prioritizing means doing the most important tasks first. Perhaps today it means do the easy things first so momentum can be built to get through the list. Tomorrow it could be the one task you need to complete for your mental health. Multitasking refers to working on several things at once to get through a list. A series of 5 minute chores is a great way to build up momentum. Rather than clean all of the kitchen cabinets, start with one cabinet or even one shelf. Protecting your time from things that rob it of value is a bit trickier. Because often those things are things we enjoy, friends or family dropping by, colleagues for the "5 minute" meeting, your favorite song on the radio, the friend who drags you into their project and away from yours. In “The Artists Way,” Julie Cameron has guidance on how to manage these “crazy makers.”  For the distractions and procrastinations you have control of, take control of them. If the TV is a distraction, plug in Tivo or turn it off. If the phone distracts, use voicemail or email. While there are always times to let your mind wander in an unstructured way, there are also times to focus on the to-do list so you can have uninterrupted, unstructured time. A more interesting question is why are you procrastinating on your to-do list? Perhaps the answer is a combination of several things, like the tasks are boring, you're over-tired and lack the energy or the projects. All of these can be addressed with a shift in mindset, making your to-do list less ominous. If that seems too daunting, there is a certain value of recognizing whatever your issue is and then doing the task anyway. At end of day, write down, think about, or acknowledge in some way what you accomplished for the day. What better way to relax over dinner or before bed than reflecting on how much you did and the quality of those accomplishments? After acknowledging, I find it helpful to then forget about them- it helps to start fresh the next day, keeping forward momentum. With the most useful reflection, you might find yourself with a self satisfied sense of completion and energy to tackle the next list. |
