Are Your Time Management Skills Not Allowing You To Be Great? New Habits for the New Year.
"How do I look?"
Several months ago, I was on business travel and was using FaceTime to connect with my husband prior to making my way to the first scheduled session. I had just finished applying my last bit of makeup and I knew he was going to tell me how beautiful I looked.
I flashed my winning smile and tilted my head, waiting for the anticipated response.
"You look LATE!" was his quick reply.
My lips pouted for a moment because I felt as if that was not a fair statement. But in all actuality, he was right. I was late, once again. He was often telling me "The time to be ready is not the time to get ready." And, "You get what you prepare for."
I had grown accustomed to his attempts of "helping" me with my time management skills but was not putting application to work to orchestrate changed behavior.
Fast forward a few weeks later. While the family was sitting at the dining room table, enjoying dinner together, my husband asked each of us to share some highlights of our day. It was our 8 year old's turn and she said,
"Well, my day was terrible. I was tardy because of Mommy."
My heart sank and my mouth fell open. That last minute decision to do "one more thing" caused the kids to be a few minutes late to school earlier that morning. I felt horrible! Now keep in mind, that was the FIRST tardy they have had as a result of me dropping them off late, in their entire elementary school careers. Nonetheless, my daughter's disappointment certainly stung! I needed to make a change and fast!
According to Psychology Today, Time management is the ability to plan and control how someone spends the hours in a day to effectively accomplish their goals. This involves juggling time between the domains of life—work, home, social life, hobbies.
It's a new decade and I have been working on a few tips to improve my time management skills. If your time management skills are not allowing you to be great, consider these tips.
Eliminate Distractions - "Ooh, squirrel!" The dog in Up, one of my favorite movies, reminds me of how easy it is to get distracted. How often are you working on a task and become distracted by a completely different task, or perhaps an email or a phone call? It is imperative to remain focused when working on a task and to tune out as many distractions as possible. That may mean turning off notifications on all devices or using the "do not disturb" function whenever possible. It may mean closing your office door when you are facing a tight deadline or closing email altogether. Whatever may cause a distraction, disable it to allow yourself to focus.
Over-Estimate Time - Under-estimating time can be a trap. "Let me do this one more thing" usually causes a domino effect of delays in other areas. Attempting to squeeze every minute out of the day can be risky. Under-estimating the amount of time it takes to accomplish a task or travel to a destination is a recipe for disaster, especially if you reside in Atlanta and have to face traffic! Additionally, you may have to remind yourself that you are in control of your schedule. Blocking time off on your calendar to handle important or time intensive tasks may be needed to allow ample time to complete these tasks. For example, if you estimate it will take you 15 minutes to respond to new emails, add an additional 10 minutes to guarantee some buffer time. Adding more time into your schedule to accomplish tasks will enable you to pivot if necessary instead of being crammed for time. It will feel odd at first, but the payoff is great!
T'was the Night Before...What can be done the night before? Thinking through the following day and reviewing tasks the night before can help eliminate some of the hustle and bustle you may experience at the onset or throughout the day. If there are tasks that can be done the night before to help with a smoother tomorrow then do it! Procrastination is not your friend. Prepping the night before will also allow you to prioritize tasks.
Employing these tips will impact your overall productivity and can also reduce time-induced stress. And remember, it's better to be an hour early than a minute late!
Several months ago, I was on business travel and was using FaceTime to connect with my husband prior to making my way to the first scheduled session. I had just finished applying my last bit of makeup and I knew he was going to tell me how beautiful I looked.
I flashed my winning smile and tilted my head, waiting for the anticipated response.
"You look LATE!" was his quick reply.
My lips pouted for a moment because I felt as if that was not a fair statement. But in all actuality, he was right. I was late, once again. He was often telling me "The time to be ready is not the time to get ready." And, "You get what you prepare for."
I had grown accustomed to his attempts of "helping" me with my time management skills but was not putting application to work to orchestrate changed behavior.
Fast forward a few weeks later. While the family was sitting at the dining room table, enjoying dinner together, my husband asked each of us to share some highlights of our day. It was our 8 year old's turn and she said,
"Well, my day was terrible. I was tardy because of Mommy."
My heart sank and my mouth fell open. That last minute decision to do "one more thing" caused the kids to be a few minutes late to school earlier that morning. I felt horrible! Now keep in mind, that was the FIRST tardy they have had as a result of me dropping them off late, in their entire elementary school careers. Nonetheless, my daughter's disappointment certainly stung! I needed to make a change and fast!
According to Psychology Today, Time management is the ability to plan and control how someone spends the hours in a day to effectively accomplish their goals. This involves juggling time between the domains of life—work, home, social life, hobbies.
It's a new decade and I have been working on a few tips to improve my time management skills. If your time management skills are not allowing you to be great, consider these tips.
“If you don't pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.”
David Allen, author of Getting Things Done.
Eliminate Distractions - "Ooh, squirrel!" The dog in Up, one of my favorite movies, reminds me of how easy it is to get distracted. How often are you working on a task and become distracted by a completely different task, or perhaps an email or a phone call? It is imperative to remain focused when working on a task and to tune out as many distractions as possible. That may mean turning off notifications on all devices or using the "do not disturb" function whenever possible. It may mean closing your office door when you are facing a tight deadline or closing email altogether. Whatever may cause a distraction, disable it to allow yourself to focus.Over-Estimate Time - Under-estimating time can be a trap. "Let me do this one more thing" usually causes a domino effect of delays in other areas. Attempting to squeeze every minute out of the day can be risky. Under-estimating the amount of time it takes to accomplish a task or travel to a destination is a recipe for disaster, especially if you reside in Atlanta and have to face traffic! Additionally, you may have to remind yourself that you are in control of your schedule. Blocking time off on your calendar to handle important or time intensive tasks may be needed to allow ample time to complete these tasks. For example, if you estimate it will take you 15 minutes to respond to new emails, add an additional 10 minutes to guarantee some buffer time. Adding more time into your schedule to accomplish tasks will enable you to pivot if necessary instead of being crammed for time. It will feel odd at first, but the payoff is great!
Employing these tips will impact your overall productivity and can also reduce time-induced stress. And remember, it's better to be an hour early than a minute late!
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