In an earlier post I listed some of the goals I’ve had over the past couple of years, and talked about my successes and failures. One essential aspect of attaining any goal is time management. For me, since I work full-time in a demanding job, have a growing family, and work on various projects (most to do what I really want to do with my life), time management is key. I’ve read tons of material on the subject, so I know what I should be doing. The problem is, well, doing it.
Why manage your time? Simple. You get more of the important stuff accomplished. The things that matter most to you get completed. Finished, done, pat yourself on the back and start something else. This leads eventually to less stress. Less overall general stress in your life (“Oh, no, look at all this stuff I have to do!”) and less situational stress in your life (“Oh, no, how do I put out this fire!”). And, at least for me, the less stress I have, the greater I’m able to concentrate and focus on the task at hand. It’s a self-reinforcing circle. The stronger my ability to focus, the less likely I’ll be hopping around from this to that, and the more easily I’ll get goals and sub-goals and all sorts of various important projects done. But my favorite reason for time management is this: more ‘free’ time is ultimately available to you, guilt-free, ’cause it’s scheduled in.
So, I’ve been reading a lot of books and articles and blogs and I know lots and lots of things that one should do to manage one’s time most efficiently. You know what? I still have trouble managing my time. Here’s a list of things I know I should do to make my life run smoothly. I know I should do these things. In fact, the more of them I do, the better my life flows. So far I haven’t got through a single day doing all twenty of these items, but I usually do at least five or six, sometimes as many as ten. One day I’ll get everything habitual, and then … well, see the previous paragraph.
I learned you have to blueprint your day, every workday. For me, this is simply a prioritized to-do list. It helps me remember crucial tasks, and gives me a sense of satisfaction when I see all the items checked off at quitting time. Though I’m lazy, it’s extremely worth it to spend the five or ten minutes first thing every morning to do this.
I also like blueprinting the week ahead every Sunday night. Who’s picking up our daughter? When will the wife be late from work? What’s the dinner situation over the next couple of days (we both cook)? What’s going on next weekend? What’s on the social calendar? I don’t like surprises, so this really helps. It’s worth it.
Set aside a time for finances. I do this either Friday night or Saturday morning. This way I can get all the bills out at the post office during my Saturday errands. I also try to make a half-hour or so every Sunday night for a time to review goals. Just so I know what I need to be doing in the next couple of days, where I’m progressing or what needs work.
Work is crazy. There are a few things I do, to varying degrees of success, to retain my sanity. Only check email twice a day. For me, once in the morning, once in the afternon. That’s it. I admit though, this is hard. Even harder is to let the phone go to voicemail. Then pick up your voicemail when you’re ready. It’s rarely a crisis situation, but that’s not always what your mind is telling you. A common time stressor is a higher-up coming over with an urgent request or mini-project for me to do. A good tip I try to use is to ask them for a deadline. Not everything needs to be done immediately.
Avoid web surfing, especially of the aimless kind. Also, when you’re working on something, give it 100 percent of your focus. Eliminate any distractions. For me, a distraction is background noise, talk, clutter. Try to stay organized. Spend five minutes at the culmination of any major project or at the end of the day to put everything back in its place. It helps me to be lest frazzled, and it frees up time.
At home, you have to triage ruthlessly. I try to keep TV watching down to a minimum. Ideally, it would be none; realistically I watch about 90 minutes of TV a day. Another goal I want to establish is a two-week meal plan. It’s not written in stone, but at least it saves time and effort thinking of what to do for dinner, day after day. And on the weekends, I have an unofficial, loosely-enforced rule: one day socializing, one day working (on the yard, house, whatever). This is very important to maintaining sanity. And for that day of housework, it’s best to keep a running to-do list for big and little stuff. Go through the house, room-by-room. You’ll fill up two sheets of loose-leaf paper. Try it.
Sleep’s very important. Most of us are sleep-deprived. I have another child on the way, so I’m accustomed to it. But the best situation would be one where you get good quality sleep for eight hours a night. I’ve read 10 pm to 6 am is the best. And don’t sleep in or stay up late on the weekends, either. But you knew this already, right?
To save time when driving, take a few minutes and plan your trips and errands logically. You’ll save gas and frustration as well as time. Oh, and a great tip I read is to listen to informational CDs in the car. I know I’m in the car six or seven hours a week by myself. Do I want to spend all that time listening to negative news channels? I’d rather learn something new. Grow. Expand. The library has hundreds of these tapes and CDs. Check ’em out.
Finally, the best way to get all this time management stuff down is to keep a loose and flexible schedule. Allow yourself plenty of time to get things done. Don’t get stressed out. Something’s better than nothing. So if I sounded like I was beating myself up in the beginning of the article … I was, and I shouldn’t. Some time management is better than none, but there’s always room for growth. However, beware the law of diminishing returns, and make sure the daily life you create is one you enjoy.
Why manage your time? Simple. You get more of the important stuff accomplished. The things that matter most to you get completed. Finished, done, pat yourself on the back and start something else. This leads eventually to less stress. Less overall general stress in your life (“Oh, no, look at all this stuff I have to do!”) and less situational stress in your life (“Oh, no, how do I put out this fire!”). And, at least for me, the less stress I have, the greater I’m able to concentrate and focus on the task at hand. It’s a self-reinforcing circle. The stronger my ability to focus, the less likely I’ll be hopping around from this to that, and the more easily I’ll get goals and sub-goals and all sorts of various important projects done. But my favorite reason for time management is this: more ‘free’ time is ultimately available to you, guilt-free, ’cause it’s scheduled in.
So, I’ve been reading a lot of books and articles and blogs and I know lots and lots of things that one should do to manage one’s time most efficiently. You know what? I still have trouble managing my time. Here’s a list of things I know I should do to make my life run smoothly. I know I should do these things. In fact, the more of them I do, the better my life flows. So far I haven’t got through a single day doing all twenty of these items, but I usually do at least five or six, sometimes as many as ten. One day I’ll get everything habitual, and then … well, see the previous paragraph.
I learned you have to blueprint your day, every workday. For me, this is simply a prioritized to-do list. It helps me remember crucial tasks, and gives me a sense of satisfaction when I see all the items checked off at quitting time. Though I’m lazy, it’s extremely worth it to spend the five or ten minutes first thing every morning to do this.
I also like blueprinting the week ahead every Sunday night. Who’s picking up our daughter? When will the wife be late from work? What’s the dinner situation over the next couple of days (we both cook)? What’s going on next weekend? What’s on the social calendar? I don’t like surprises, so this really helps. It’s worth it.
Set aside a time for finances. I do this either Friday night or Saturday morning. This way I can get all the bills out at the post office during my Saturday errands. I also try to make a half-hour or so every Sunday night for a time to review goals. Just so I know what I need to be doing in the next couple of days, where I’m progressing or what needs work.
Work is crazy. There are a few things I do, to varying degrees of success, to retain my sanity. Only check email twice a day. For me, once in the morning, once in the afternon. That’s it. I admit though, this is hard. Even harder is to let the phone go to voicemail. Then pick up your voicemail when you’re ready. It’s rarely a crisis situation, but that’s not always what your mind is telling you. A common time stressor is a higher-up coming over with an urgent request or mini-project for me to do. A good tip I try to use is to ask them for a deadline. Not everything needs to be done immediately.
Avoid web surfing, especially of the aimless kind. Also, when you’re working on something, give it 100 percent of your focus. Eliminate any distractions. For me, a distraction is background noise, talk, clutter. Try to stay organized. Spend five minutes at the culmination of any major project or at the end of the day to put everything back in its place. It helps me to be lest frazzled, and it frees up time.
At home, you have to triage ruthlessly. I try to keep TV watching down to a minimum. Ideally, it would be none; realistically I watch about 90 minutes of TV a day. Another goal I want to establish is a two-week meal plan. It’s not written in stone, but at least it saves time and effort thinking of what to do for dinner, day after day. And on the weekends, I have an unofficial, loosely-enforced rule: one day socializing, one day working (on the yard, house, whatever). This is very important to maintaining sanity. And for that day of housework, it’s best to keep a running to-do list for big and little stuff. Go through the house, room-by-room. You’ll fill up two sheets of loose-leaf paper. Try it.
Sleep’s very important. Most of us are sleep-deprived. I have another child on the way, so I’m accustomed to it. But the best situation would be one where you get good quality sleep for eight hours a night. I’ve read 10 pm to 6 am is the best. And don’t sleep in or stay up late on the weekends, either. But you knew this already, right?
To save time when driving, take a few minutes and plan your trips and errands logically. You’ll save gas and frustration as well as time. Oh, and a great tip I read is to listen to informational CDs in the car. I know I’m in the car six or seven hours a week by myself. Do I want to spend all that time listening to negative news channels? I’d rather learn something new. Grow. Expand. The library has hundreds of these tapes and CDs. Check ’em out.
Finally, the best way to get all this time management stuff down is to keep a loose and flexible schedule. Allow yourself plenty of time to get things done. Don’t get stressed out. Something’s better than nothing. So if I sounded like I was beating myself up in the beginning of the article … I was, and I shouldn’t. Some time management is better than none, but there’s always room for growth. However, beware the law of diminishing returns, and make sure the daily life you create is one you enjoy.
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