Today I’m going to continue my “time management is like a boat” analogy. First, you need to keep your head above water, then you can get into the boat. When you are feeling overwhelmed and out-of-control it is difficult to make long term decisions. Every thing feels immediate and urgent.
However, once you are able to move past the overwhelm, then you can begin to have a life where you are more proactive. This is when you start to enjoy your journey.
Let’s set the stage.
You realize that you spend more time than you want working on urgent tasks. You have a number of important “life” projects that you’ve put on hold until “things slow down”. You stay at the office an hour (or two or three) later than you would prefer just “finishing up one more thing”. You’ve missed a few (or arrived late at a few) family gatherings. You aren’t feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious (like when you were trying to get your head above water), but you are feeling unsettled. You know that “things can be better,” but you just aren’t sure how.
You’ve read some time management books – but the ideas just don’t seem to work for you. Or you think the ideas would work, but you just don’t know how to apply the concepts to you.
[su_youtube url=”http://youtu.be/FMcL0kkOybs” width=”360″ height=”280″]What can you do?
The time management strategies you can implement are numerous – from delegating, to time blocking, to eliminating distractions, to reducing procrastination, to focusing on your capture tools, to adjusting your scheduling to . . .
However, the #1 strategy that I recommend is to take a close look at your daily, monthly, and weekly tasks.
- Where are you currently choosing to spend your time?
- Is this in line with your vision for your life?
- What adjustments can you make so you are happy, confident, and secure with the results of how you spend your time? Take a look again at the list above (delegating, adjusting your schedule, etc.) then slowly start to make these adjustments.
I’m curious, where are you in your time management journey? Are you:
- Trying to get your head above water?
- Trying to get into your boat?
- Trying to sail your boat?
Comment below and share!
Get ready – next week we explore sailing your boat!
Would you like some help with these strategies? With a little coaching, you can easily achieve the perfect balance between your business and personal lives. You can develop a framework and a system that allows you to put first things first -and live a life of purpose.
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I’m still failing at my time management. :P
Thanks for sharing this. This is something I need to read all the time to remind myself of its importance.
Lux – You can have a time management system created JUST for YOU! Go to http://www.ScheduleWithLisa.com to schedule a time for us to chat about your specific time management challenges and brainstorm some solutions and next steps. THis 30 minute consultation is complimentary.
[…] is a journey. Sometimes all you can do is keep your head above water. Other times, you are sitting in your boat – but not yet prepared to sail. And sometimes – you are in the “and them some” […]