Time, Time, Time – What’s Become of Time?

Did you know, time management is the most Googled training and development subject today?  You’d think with all the smart phones and planning devices we’d have this one down by now – surely? 

Time management is really a dichotomy – can we really “manage” time?  On one hand we cannot really manage time – as the old saying goes, ‘time waits for no one.’ On the other hand, we can manage our priorities. It’s almost as if time is a free gift voucher we can redeem at any store – we just need to budget, spend, and invest wisely because there’s only so much time on the card; trouble is we don’t know how much!

 

Subjects that are within the same family as time management are work/life balance and stress management.  If you were to ask me my top tip for work/life balance or for stress reduction, I’d say be clear on your priorities in each of your roles in life.  No-one likes to work with or for a bent-out-of-shape workaholic; we much prefer to work with or for people that are balanced; who have a sense of clarity, calmness, and purpose.  

 

Priorities are those things that matter most.  Pause right now and ask yourself:

• What your highest priorities are for this week in your work role
• What are the vital few things that if you get them done this week will make the biggest difference in the work you do?
• What about your roles outside of work: perhaps as a husband, a father, a wife, mother, son, daughter, friend, or community member? 

We have to be very intentional about focusing on and completing priorities. It’s almost as if the busyness of life works against us, bringing everything faster and faster.  We have all these communication devices, yet we seem to effectively communicate far less.  Its almost as if life out of the box, plug and play, default living is go, go, go, rush, rush, rush – now, now, now.  We have to swim upstream to get the things done which matter most in life.

 

Have you mastered best practices for email, phones, interruptions, procrastination, and meetings?  These five most common time challengers need to be mastered to help us be as effective and efficient as possible to squeeze maximum juice out of not only our working day but also our personal time.  That’s an interest thing about life isn’t it?  If we only put in 70% today, we don’t get 130% tomorrow.  Life doesn’t work like that.  If you’d like a list of the best practices for email, phones, interruptions, procrastination and meetings that we have picked up from our experiences and from serving clients all over the world now, let us know.

 

So time is a dichotomy – it exists outside of us; it marches on without our acceptance or instruction.  Our choice is how we invest and spend our time. Great leaders, great spouses, great parents, great friends, and great community members all discipline themselves to focus on what matters most.

 

ABOUT NEWLEAF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT (newleaf-ca.com)

We deliver seminars, keynotes, coaching and online to help people and organizations better manage themselves, lead others, and build business financial intelligence.