How to Upgrade Your Time Management

Uncategorized Aug 17, 2020

 

 We are all super busy! Life moves quickly and when we don't manage our time effectively we feel the stretch even more. One of my favorite quotes is "the pressure you feel comes from loving a careless life." If we are not intentional with how we spend our time, projects and to-do's can get away from us. We feel the constant weight of all those undone tasks and unread emails. The antidote to the pressure is taking time management seriously.

 I learned about this years ago when a generous mentor of mind I looked up to offered to help me with a project. We set an appointment to get together so he could help me with it. A few weeks later I was at home and the phone rang. It was my mentor! First thing I heard was "Joey are you okay? Where are you?" My stomach dropped. I had completely forgotten about our appointment. I felt horrible! I had not only wasted his time but the project was now behind. That was the day my view of time management shifted. I started using a calendar, learned about effective prioritization, and how to utilize block time. I'm excited to share some of what I've learned with you today.

 

I believe there are three main mindset shifts we need to make when talking about upgrading this part of our life:

1. Your Time is a Resource

For the purposes of this illustration think of resources as 1- Finite (there is a limited amount) and 2- Freely invested in whatever we want. Thinking of your time as a resource helps put where you invest you time into perspective. 

Think of money for a second. If I broke down into a pie chart where you spent, saved, invested and gave away your money last month I could observe several things about you from just studying the size of categories in your pie chart budget. I could tell how much money you spent on food, entertainment, personal development tools, family/friends, philanthropic endeavors, etc. From this data I could make an accurate prediction of where you'll be in 10 years financially (eg. how much you'll have saved). In addition I can make a fairly accurate estimate of what you value in your life. What's important to you. Because where we spend our resources reveals our future and our values. 

Now take that same example but swap money for time. Same pie chart of how you spend it last month. But instead of money it's how much time you invested in sleeping, eating, entertainment, developing relationships, working on your business etc. I can infer the same two things- Where you'll be in 10 years and what you value. Again- how we spend our resources reveals who we are. Remember this next time you say "I'm SO bored right now" or "I've got an hour to kill." Think instead how you can invest you time best so you can live out your values and create the future you want.

2. Stop Thinking You Are Time Poor

Don't do it! This is such a limiting mindset. When people say "I'm just so busy I would love to __________ but things are crazy I just can't!" what they're really saying is "I would rather blame the way I spend my time on other people/things than take responsibility for my goals and dreams." You have to take your power back. Taking psychological responsibility of your time and the projects you're working on will bring confidence, productivity, and joy back to your work and personal life. Whenever you catch yourself thinking there's just not enough time left in the day, don't fall into the trap of blaming someone else for the way you spend you time.

Use this tactic whenever given the opportunity to start a new project or increase your time commitment to an existing one.

  1. Evaluate the opportunity. Ask questions. Understand fully what the project entails and what exactly your role will be.
  2. Ask yourself- based on what I already have going on right now, is this worth making time for? Does it line up with my values and goals? Do I feel passionate about the actual work involved?

If the answer is yes for most of the above questions it could very well be a worthy endeavor. Notice how those questions put you in the drivers seat. They assume you are already working on projects that bring value to your life. Remember you are not time poor! You have the power to share your day, week, year and life. 

3. Your Greatest Tool: The Word 'No.'

This is a scary one for some of us. People pleasers find it difficult to say no because it sometimes means they have to change their identity in relation to others. If you're the 'go to' person for specific tasks/projects in a group of people probably means you've been doing it for years or you have skill in that area. News flash: Just because you're good at something or you've been doing it since your were 13 doesn't mean you have to be responsible for it now! Don't be afraid to change apply for a different role at your company. Don't let fear of what people will think stop you from starting a business. You will never realize your potential if you're living inside the expectations and obligations people have put on you. The other reason I see people struggle to say no is because they think it will be more work! Life is just easier when we stick to our patterns of behavior. Well unfortunately that approach is not going to carry you to the promise land my friend! Clarify your goal, eliminate all distractions, and get to work on your milestones. That is the simple formula for achievement. 

Remember- for most people their biggest hurdle in upgrading their time management is not getting more done in less time. The challenge most people face is eliminating unimportant tasks/distractions so they have time and energy to put into what matters.

 

I know these concepts seem simple. Their purpose is to highlight the unhelpful way you potentially are viewing your time, and help you shift your mindset into a better way of thinking. If you want a more practical training on how to implement time management into your life let me know in the comments below. Remember- you got this! The moment you start being more intentional with your time you'll start to feel more in control. You'll lower your stress, and get excited about the projects you're working on. And ultimately feel more free in your day to day life.

Stay awesome!

Until next time,

Joey

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