Effective Time Management #2How To Develop Effective Time Management The other day, I was driving in my car and listening to my voicemail messages on my cell phone. The first message was from an old friend from school and the second message was related to work. I really wanted to call my good friend back, but I felt that the business call was more urgent. When I tried to think of a good night to call her back and have a nice long chat, I realized that I couldn't fit it into my busy schedule until 5 days later. "I just don't have the time," I thought in frustration. "There is never enough time." As I pulled up to a stoplight, I took my eyes off the road and glanced around my car. I noticed that the carpet needed to be vacuumed and the interior tied up. There was a soda bottle cap in one of the cup holders and a paper straw wrapper balled up on the floor and in the backseat, there was a sweatshirt and baseball cap from my last trip to the beach. "This car is a mess," I thought. "But, I don't have the time to clean it." That made me a little sad, because I always like it when my car is newly cleaned. Somehow, it makes me feel good about myself. When it is freshly waxed and gleaming in the sun, I am proud to walk up to it and get in the driver's seat. And, then, when I see the steering wheel and dashboard shining, my car feels almost brand new again. I remember that I spent years making car payments and now the car is mine. I feel grown up and responsible and proud of myself. It is almost as though cleaning my car's interior cleans up my interior, too :-) So, to think that I didn't have the time to clean it was a bit concerning. As I drove home, I had the vague feeling that I was neglecting myself. Every day, I was trying to do too many things, and I wasn't really doing any of them all that well. I didn't have effective time management. My mind was always thinking about what needed to be done next. Even though I was doing more and more in order to feel more accomplished, I couldn't remember the last time that I had done something that meant something to me. In other words, I was doing more and more, but I cared less and less about what I was doing - definitely not effective time management. It was time to slow down and develop effective time management. It was time to focus on doing things that strengthened my connection to others and to do things that made me feel good about myself. 1. If you are swamped, and you are trying to think about too many things at once, then focus on doing just one thing at a time. Write down a list of all the things that need to be done, and check off the list as you accomplish each task. Pretend that you are a drill sergeant, and literally line up your problems in a systematic way. Drill sergeants are excellent at getting things under control and lining them up in a logical, efficient manner. Create a single file line and then, one at a time, focus, take aim, and shoot down each problem. This is a great way to achieve effective time management. 2. Put all of your energy into focusing on the task at hand. When you are 100% focused and dedicated to the current problem, you will bring all of your energy, positivity, and creativity to the situation. And, when you are operating from such a positive frame of mind, you may be able to turn a task into an opportunity. For example, if you have 10 client emails to respond to, just focus on the first one and put the others out of your mind. Stop worrying about how much time you have to get all the emails written. When you give your full attention to just that one email, you will write a better and more complete answer. You will think of the potential questions your client might have and you will proactively address them in your email, before the client even asks. By writing a thorough answer, you just reduced the liklihood that your client will send a second email with follow up questions, which saves you time in the future - very effective time management! Plus, your message will better convey your intelligence and expertise, which will help you stand out in your client's mind. They might even be so impressed, that they may get excited about you and recommend you to others. For me, I normally would have returned that business call while multitasking. And, as a result, it would be a safe bet that my mind would not have been fully engaged and I would have said something like, "Let me call you back and we can talk about this in more detail later." That would have meant a second call, taking up more time, all because I wasn't really focused. Instead, I went home and sat down at the table and gave the call 100% of my attention. In a matter of four minutes, everything was resolved. 3. Don't think about which tasks are the most important vs. the least important. Don't worry about wasting your time on the wrong tasks. If you are thinking that you should be doing something else, then you won't be focused on what you are currently doing. When you are focused and enjoying the moment, that is when happiness finds you. Something like going to the drycleaners might end up being the most fun and memorable task of the week. It is about bringing your best self to every situation. Were you the best customer you could be? Were you as polite and considerate of others as you could be? Did you talk to the person behind the counter? Even better, did you wish them a good day? It is all about what you bring to the situation and learn from the situation that adds value, depth and meaning to your life. When you are actively engaged in just one task at a time, you bring everything that you have to the current situation. You save yourself unnecessary stress, it stops your mind from racing, and it allows you to be the best person that you can be. That is what effective time management is all about!
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