Before we kick off todays guest post I just want to give you a very quick update on How To Rich and Happy.
We’ve shipped out first batch of free books to San Antonio, Texas and 160 are going to a work group for unemployed people, so that’s really cool.
We‘ve also agreed to donate up to 200 more to a local charity called The Sharing Center that works with 50,000 disadvantaged people per year in Central Florida.
The pre-sale for How To Be Rich and Happy is coming to an end on Sunday, May 9th. If you have bought a book or as many people have, multiple copies, a massive thanks! And not just from John and myself either, but from the people in Texas that your generosity has helped.
If you haven’t got the book yet time is running out to get a first edition signed copy at the reduced price of $19.99, so what are you waiting for you have permission to click this link now and place your order.
About 2 months ago I got a call from somebody saying they needed help with time management. Me too I replied, if you find somebody good will you let me know. Needless to say they never became a client.
The weird thing with life coaching is people, probably not unnaturally, presume I have all my self development ducks in a row. I like to think I have most of my aquatic friends lined up, but the one responsible for time management has got a mind of his own and refuses to play ball no matter how nicely I ask.
So I was pleased when Anna Miller sent me a guest post on a topic that I don’t feel qualified to write and thus I am posting it here today. I’d welcome any tips or tricks in the comments on time management that don’t involve the words get things done, David Allen or tickler files.
Time Management For Muppets – What the Experts Never Tell You
There’s a reason they’re called clichés, and that’s because they’ve been used so often that they just roll off people’s tongues when they hear the cue.
And so when you hear time management, it’s only fair to assume that you’re going to be bombarded with trite sayings that have been around since time immemorial and which probably go over your head rather than register in your brain.
But if you stop to take a moment and think out of the box (my apologies for using another cliché), you’ll see that putting a different spin on oft-used clichés allows you to see things in a new light. For example, when you hear:
Time and tide wait for no man:
Don’t start thinking of ocean currents and the waxing and waning of the moon or even along the more obvious lines of this proverb that tells hours a day and that even if you’re the most powerful person in the world, you don’t get any more.
But then, if you add up all the 24 hours for every person in the world, imagine how much time that is – a number you cannot even count in your head.
So when you’re pressed for time, delegate to people who do have the time and the wherewithal to take care of the task. They may not be as good at it as you are, but when time is on the line and precision is not too big a factor, it’s time to stop being anal and allow other people to do the job as well as they can.
Remember, the key to creating time or conjuring it up out of thin air is to delegate, and delegate well.
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise:
Try telling this to someone who is always cranky when woken before 8 am. I’m a night owl, I always have been. I have seen the wee hours of dawn, but only because I was just climbing into bed after completing some work.
Just because the so-called experts tell me I should be up at the crack of dawn doesn’t mean I’m going to follow their advice blindly. I know what works for me – I can stay up for however long it takes to get things done, but once I hit the bed, I wake up on my own terms.
So if you’re an early bed, it’s all well and good to rise and shine. But if you’re a night owl, then set your own hours and get things done. The point is that the time is yours to decide what to do with it, so forget the cliché and just focus on getting things done.
Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today:
Come on people, who are we kidding? There’s a certain satisfaction about doing things at the last minute and getting it done well. Remember cramming for exams? Would you study as hard or diligently if you didn’t know that the clock was ticking and that you would have to face the sure humiliation of failure if you did not pull an all-nighter?
So yes, it’s ok to put off something for tomorrow as long today is not your deadline. And to all the time management experts who protest that this idea is a waste of today, this is my answer – use today to do the things that you love to do but which don’t really have to be done today.
When I was in college, one subject I really hated was Physics. But being a part of the science package, I had to take one course in it.
My trick to acing Physics was to leave the studying to when I was really desperate and so forced to concentrate, so in the remainder of my time when I was really supposed to be studying Physics, I would go over a subject I loved – Mathematics.
To me, learning Math was not a chore. And because practice makes perfect in this subject of numbers and figures and formulae, I was in a win-win situation. So when you want to put off something for the morrow, go ahead and do so. And to compensate, find something to do today.
And to sign off, remember this – there may never be enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.
Tim Brownson is a Certified Life Coach and has been unsticking people and helping them reach their true potential since 2005. If you would like to know how he can help you
When discussing time management, I think it is important to consider efficient (doing everything in the best way possible) vs. effective (doing what will create the desired outcome). Anna hints at this at the very end.
The technique I use (mainly when working at a computer) is to start the day by thinking of the 3 most important (not urgent) things I need to do that day. Then I write each on a separate post-it not and place them on top of each other so I can only see one – the most important one on the top. I’ll then work on that until it is finished. When it is finished, I screw it up (v. satisfying) and take a break. My next task is then waiting for my return.
If I’m interrupted at any time, the interruption is either more important than the thing I’m working on – in which case I write it on a post-it, stick it on the top, and switch to that task. Or it is less important, in which case I slot it into the post-it pile in appropriate priority order and then continue with the important task at hand.
Tips…
1. Don’t be tempted to write a huge pile of post-its. Try to limit it to 3 important things that you’ll be satisfied if they’re the only things you do today.
2. Quick tasks like processing email etc can be done between important post-it tasks (but set yourself a 10 minute time limit or you’ll be sucked in!).
@ Mark – I like the post it idea mate. With me though I’d need a post it to tell me to write my post-its!
I believe we tend to be too hard on ourselves when it comes to time management. It is akin to telling someone trying to lose weight that they will never be able to eat their favorite desert again. Most just won’t handle that news well and therefore, end up rejecting the entire process.
I find that scheduling too much time for my important activities allows me to have a cushion in case something comes up and a reward in case I get done early. When I finish early, I get to do some of the more time wasting things I enjoy (such as reading blogs of other people and spending time on social media). So, when I think something will take 30 minutes, I schedule 45.
What I’ve found personally to be more effective than time management is energy management; meaning taking advantage of times of day when you can focus very well, and dedicate that time on doing important tasks. Here’s a more in-depth article I wrote about the topic for Lateral Action: http://lateralaction.com/articles/productivity-ultradian-rhythms/
Other take on the topic I’ve found useful is the 80/20 principle, which in this case could be translated as 20% of work will generate 80% of results. Identifying that 20% will give boatloads of free time that can be then spent on more productive pursuits.
And lastly, Parkinson’s Law (Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.) is bound to cause some loss of hair when used to set tight personal deadlines, but it will force you to be effective and get things done.
//sami
Amen. I always see the ‘train yourself to wake up early’ meme thrown out there whenever time management comes up as a topic, and it just drives me nuts. As if we as a species all have the same internal chronograph.
I’ve tried a few times in the past and all it accomplishes is making me – and those unfortunate souls who must deal with me – miserable. In my hands, nothing is going to ever get done optimally at 6am. Now 1 or 2am? That’s an entirely different game… :)
@ Nicole – That’s a good point. To be honest I think we tend to be too hard on ourselves PERIOD
@ Sami – That sounds very similar to the approach of Jim Loehr and Tony Shwartz in The Power of Full Engagement. A very cool book, have you read it?
@ Sean – I agree, the whole rise with the sun evangelism that has sprung up over the last 5 years or so leaves me open-mouthed. Some people simply aren’t wired up that way and to fight it seems to miss the point imho.
@Tim, I’ve read and heard about it a lot and that’s the basis for how I manage “time”. I ordered the book already a month ago from an Amazon affiliate but haven’t gotten it yet.
//sami
@ Sami – Holy crap, I’d cancel the order and get it elsewhere!
Time management is the most important thing in anybody’s life because without it nothing would be done at perfect time and work is going on and on and this is causing your image,value and of course money in the market.