What we need to know about Time Management

Our life – we wake up, we go to work, we meet, we talk, we pay bills, we clean, we cook, study, clean again, go to the gym, do the groceries, take the garbage out, laundry, walk the dog, feed the cat, feed the kids… I could write more but honestly, I don’t have time….. the rest of this article is waiting for me.

How many of us have fallen prey to the deception of a busy life without actually being productive? I know I have, a few years ago I was in the middle of completing my studies as well as managing the challenges of a full-time job and the combination of two left my time account in the red. I felt extremely busy, I had no time or energy in reserve for anything or anyone. I said “no I am sorry I can’t” to my social and family life and I denied myself the opportunity for some valuable R&R. Undoubtedly I was incredibly busy and suffering from the symptoms that came with such a life. However, do you know what the most significant discovery I made was? I was constantly on the go but I was not being very productive or even efficient. Being busy does not always equate to being productive!

We try to be skilful at juggling multiple balls in the air at any given time with a false sense of security, we think and believe we have it all under control. Yet, we find ourselves not entirely focused on the task at hand as our frantic attention is on the multiple additional items that compete with each other for the first place on the to-do list. When we are in this state of mind we experience a sense of frustration and a level of stress that tend to overwhelm us and we experience burnout. The end result of this is decreased productivity and an increase in incompetence.

So how do we deal with our busy life without compromising productivity? The holy grail of time management is prioritising. I know what you are thinking- “duh, you don’t say!” Though I would like us to look at prioritisation a little deeper. Stephen Covey states “Time Management isn’t really a misnomer-the challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves. The key is not to prioritise what is on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

Important Tasks

The crucial element of prioritisation is the ability to identify tasks that contribute to the end goal. Categorising tasks that contribute to the end result ensures the success of productivity. When I coach my clients on effective time management skills I focus on helping them identify the responsibilities that correlate directly to their end game. These responsibilities are referred to as important tasks.

Important and Urgent Tasks

It is not enough for us to simply identify items that are important and go about accomplishing them, we need to do more. We often fall into the trap of tackling items that we think are important but they do not add any value to the big picture. We do not focus on getting clear about what is really urgent and what isn’t because everything at times feels urgent. We must decipher what requires our urgent attention from the list of important tasks by how they directly impact the goals we are trying to achieve.

When we get clear about important items that need our immediate attention and concentrate on completing these task we create a positive momentum of clearing demanding to do lists without negatively impacting the end goal. This process can help us become focused. It cuts out all the unwanted noise that can derail us leaving us feeling frustrated and stressed. Therefore, we must look at scheduling our priorities based on their level of importance and urgency rather than simply prioritising what is on our schedule.

We all lead busy lives and we all have the same 24 hours in a day. When we have several tasks that are all marked important and urgent it can become confusing. Where to start and what to focus on first is critical and it can also be very overwhelming. Finding the connection between your tasks and your goals is vital. Work out what tasks add value to the end game and importantly to what degree they add value,this will help you focus on those important and urgent responsibilities that must be addressed first and then move down the to-do list. This is the art of prioritisation!

“The bad news is that time flies, the good news is you’re the pilot”- Michael Altshuler