Archive for the ‘Time Management’ Category
Time Management: Focus on Only What is Important
Do you have enough time to do all the things that you really should be doing today? Or, like most people, do you find yourself laboring under a mountain of “to dos”, never getting through it and then find that you simply haven’t done some of the things that you really wanted to or should have done? Are you a slave to others’ demands at work? Are you trying to juggle job and family responsibilities and finding that you’re getting neither done properly? Are you one of these people who has to take home work at the weekend to “catch up”?
One of the biggest problems with the modern pace of life is that we don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to get everything done. One of the most frequent questions that I am asked, when I propose that people slow down, “smell the roses” and give themselves the space and time to be inspired is “are you seriously suggesting that I slow down when I don’t even have the time to do what I’m supposed to be doing at the moment?” Yes, I am – we all need to give ourselves extra time to do the important things and let the things that you should not be doing just pass us by. How much time are you wasting on stuff that should never be given your attention in the first place? How many emails do you read that you shouldn’t bother reading at all? How many emails do you receive that don’t require your attention – as you know, particularly in large organizations, the majority of emails you receive are either not worth reading or shouldn’t have been sent in the first place – how many emails in large companies are CCed to everyone in existence in what amounts to compulsive ass-covering! And how many of us get a kick out of feeling important because of the number of emails that we have to deal with?
Many years ago, in the days before mobile ‘phones or emails, a good friend, the Executive Chairman of a well-known company, went through a difficult divorce which left him, one Friday afternoon following the final court hearing, with sole custody of two children aged 9 and 11 years. That Sunday evening he decided that his children were his first priority. He called his fellow Board members and told them that he wouldn’t be in on Monday – for three months! Three months later, he arrived back to an office piled high with paper (remember, this is pre-email), left the office again, returned with a roll of trash bags and dumped every single thing. Of all the paper in that room, only one issue came back to bite! The moral of the story – he spent most of his time on things that did not require his attention.
Not only do we allow others waste our time, we’re experts at wasting our own time. How much time do you spend on negative gossip – the sort where you revel in others’ bad news or misfortune? I will readily admit that chit-chat is useful – we often learn important things at the water cooler that we’d otherwise never find out. But negative gossip is a waste of your time and energy. How much time do you waste wallowing in the bad news on the inside pages of the newspaper – who murdered, assaulted or raped whom? Not only is this a waste of your time, it actually confirms to you that your normal “not-too-bad” life is OK! How much time do you waste surfing the ‘net or joining groups on Facebook like “I’s sick of people cheering every time I go out on my balcony”?! How much time do you waste channel-hopping at night? How much time do you waste thinking negative thoughts, worrying, imagining the worst scenarios? How much time do you waste bitching about work colleagues, maneuvering or jockeying for position in your organization instead of doing what you’re paid to do?
Cut out the crap and you’ll find that you’ve got lots of time to do the important things – with some left over for a little reflection, meditation, self improvement and, most importantly, to do some of the things that really turn you on. How will you know what’s crap and what isn’t? Well, a clear and present mind is as sharp as a razor’s edge – it knows the difference between something worth doing and something that you should simply let pass. Indeed, a clear and present mind is the one sure way of ensuring that, not only do you cut out the crap, but that, while you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, you’re fully doing it.
In other words, you should fully do one thing at a time. The female of the species often says to me “but what about multi-tasking” (perhaps, as modern neuro-psychology progresses, we’ll find out that this gendered ability is more myth than fact – but that’s another day’s work)? Well, when you’re multi-tasking you might be doing three things in one minute. That means, perhaps, one thing each twenty seconds – that means that, for those twenty seconds, you fully attend to what you’re doing.
Life is made up of moments – each moment a unique opportunity to fully do what you’re doing, to fully focus on that moment and to disregard the things and people that have a habit of diverting us from the opportunity of the moment. The opportunity? To live life to the full, be fully present, be more effective, more productive and more turned on, moment to moment. When you do that, not only will you get all the important things done, you might just find that there are even more important things that the universe can do for you.
—————————————————-
Willie Horton, an Irish ex-accountant and ex-banker, has worked as a success coach to business leaders and sports people since 1996. He moved to the French Alps in 2002, from where his free weekly Self-Help video seminar is sent to thousands of people worldwide. His Online Personal Development Self Help Workshop is used all over the world, clients say it’s life-changing. Info: http://www.gurdy.net
Career Coaching – Overcoming Procrastination – Part 1
Overcoming Procrastination – Part 1
Almost all of us are guilty of procrastination at one time or another but when it becomes a habit and interferes with our progress or productivity it can be a harmful habit. When we recognize that it is just that, a habit, we know that these behaviors can be changed with a little coaching and guidance.
Definition of Procrastination: the habit of putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time.
For many people, there are underlying reasons for procrastinating. In this series, I will discuss them and help you find the motives behind your behaviors and offer advice on how to overcome them.
Feeling Overwhelmed
Information overload can lead a person to putting off a task. Your mind can only process so much information before it begins to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated to take any action.
If this seems to be your problem, here are some simple solutions to beating that over-worked and overwhelmed feeling when presented with a task.
- Write down the benefits of completing the job and assign yourself a small reward for following through to completion.
- Break the whole thing down into smaller steps or tasks. Performing the task in smaller increments will allow your brain to process the information and workload one step at a time and it will relieve the stress when you can see it as a series of tasks instead of one big job.
- Write it down. Many of the reasons people feel overwhelmed are because they think “I will never remember all of this”. Put it on paper and keep it handy while you work.
- Check it off. Check off each one of the tasks as you complete them. This will boost your motivation and it will give your mind a visual of the progress you are making.
- Enjoy the benefits and rewards you have earned!
Set aside time to really enjoy your accomplishment and the associated rewards. Do not spend that time worrying about the next task you will be presented with. Clear your desk, clear your mind and just celebrate a job well done.
By recognizing just how good it feels when you finish, you will soon begin to associate THAT feeling with any new tasks instead of the apprehension that you have experience in the past when presented with a challenge.
Career Coaching – Fast Tracking Your Career One Step at a Time
Career Coaching – Time Management
If you are a career oriented individual setting goals should be a routine you are very familiar with. Reaching those goals is another matter. Time management is a challenge that many people struggle with.
You know the path you want to take. You know what you have to do to reach your ultimate destination in life. You just need to learn how to prioritize and focus on implementing the steps you have set out for yourself. There are not enough hours in the day to work on everything at once. Trying to do it all at one time will cause undue stress and will actually be counter-productive in the long run.
The old saying “The hurrier I go the behinder I get” applies when you have set a pace that is impossible to maintain over a long period of time. Be realistic in what you can comfortably accomplish. Remember that life is a journey and it should be a pleasant trip. I like to think of goals as ladders. If you have 5 ladders that you are trying to climb all at one time you will climb one or two rungs on the first one,hit a bit of resistance,jump off and climb one or two on the next. If you continue on this course of action you will never reach the top of any of those ladders. Instead you need to choose one ladder and climb it to the top before tackling the next one.
Take a good look at your ladders. Decide which ones require immediate action and which ones require ongoing attention. It is possible to tackle more than one at a time but only if they are related or do not conflict. For example, if one of your goals is to continue your education by taking a 10 week night class you could combine that with your goal of becoming more physically fit by walking at least part of the way to class. These two goals do not conflict and are very doable without causing more stress. I would, however, not consider adding a goal to attend a weekly networking event to the mix. This might interfere with the homework you may need to complete and create a feeling of being overworked.
Remember to keep your life in balance. You have to schedule in some downtime for relaxation and recreation. This is just as important to your success as hard work is. Maintaining relationships with friends and family, performing well at work and striving to improve yourself and your situation is a great balancing act that requires careful coordination. Do not allow your focus on one area to upset the balance of your life as a whole. If you are having difficulty managing your time or prioritizing your goals a life or career coach can help you achieve your goals while keeping your life in balance.