As a time management and productivity expert, here are some of the things I believe that will help people to get more meaningful work done:
1. The most important thing you do every day…is decide what to do that day. If you don’t know where you are going, you are unlikely to get where you want.
2. An important part of deciding what to do, is deciding what NOT to do. You can’t do everything, you just can’t, so you need to put some things aside in order to make room for other things
3. Rest is important. We’re more productive after we step away and come back. Rest also helps create perspective, so we don’t get caught in traps.
4. When we can plan into the future and take our time on projects, life is easier. Doing things at the last minute hurts.
5. Saying NO, clearly, now, is much better than saying YES now, then screwing it up later.
6. There are high-value tasks, and low-value tasks. While we can’t always ignore or delegate the low value tasks, the less time and energy we spend on them, and the more time and energy we spend on high-value tasks, the easier, and more rewarding life is.
7. Most of us have some deep-seated, subconscious beliefs about time and productivity that are getting in our way, like, “I don’t have time to plan” or “I’m creative, not organized (it’s a false choice, you can be both).” No technique or tool will help until we get rid of these first.
Before you go off half-cocked trying to make New Year’s Resolutions to get more organized or stay away from FaceBook or make a to-do list every day, ask yourself the following questions and answer them as honestly as you dare:
1. What are your beliefs about Time Management?
2. How are they serving you?
3. Where are your biggest struggles around Time Management or Organization?
4. What sideways benefit do you get from that?
5. What bad thing are you afraid might happen if you got your act together and managed your time and priorities better?
6. If you got your act together, how would that feel?
7. How can you get that feeling now, before you change your systems?
Please feel free to answer in the comment section below and I will follow up with you!
David Kaiser, PhD, ACC, is Executive Coach to Extraordinary Leaders and CEO of Dark Matter Consulting (www.DarkMatterConsulting.com). Get a free white paper "Four Unusual Steps to Better Time Management" by clicking here: http://bit.ly/nSwkl4
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