Mind Management Angela May

It's not about becoming your own slave driver, trying to work as much as you possibly can during the day. Quite the opposite. Time management is about making sure you get all the things you NEED to do done in a reasonable amount of time - so you have time left over for the FUN stuff.

Everyone SHOULD try to manage their time to some degree, because otherwise time will become "lost". Before you know it, hours days and weeks will have slipped away. Life is short, and time management will help you get the MOST out of your moments, by helping you get the not-fun things done as efficiently as possible, and making sure you're free to take advantage of spontaneous opportunities that may come up. Not everyone needs to be compulsive and rigid about time management; it depends on the type of person you are, how much you're trying to accomplish, and how your days usually flow.

Level 0. No plan, no action list, wakes up and just works on whatever comes to mind or reacts to what comes up during the day. When appointments or time-bound tasks DO come up, often forgets them. Often feels like days and weeks "disappear".

Level 1. Keeps track of important deadlines and gets to most appointments on time, but without multiple reminders will "forget" events that aren't perceived as critical - especially social commitments. Either has no action list or an on-again off-again action list. Deadlines often "sneak up" on them and they end up pulling extra long shifts to get everything done on time.

Level 2. Keeps a daily schedule, but finds their days full of meetings. Often finds that they are working late trying to get their actual work done. Is often late to meetings and even later to "lower-priority" commitments. Often something will "come up" that will derail the schedule for much of the day. Loses sight of the big picture, does little or no long-term scheduling. Keeps an action list, but is struggling to keep on top of it. Often the personal life will suffer due to needing to work late or "catch up on things".

Level 3. Keeps a daily schedule, but carefully considers which meetings to accept. Builds in time to work through their action list and other "big rock" activities ("big rocks": the things that are most important to you -- health, family...). Guards these time blocks jealously. Keeps a rigorous action list and is good at setting and shuffling priorities to respond to changing needs of the day. Is on time to every meeting and will proactively warn members if there is an unforeseen delay. Will politely excuse themselves from meetings if they have another commitment to keep and the first one has run long. Schedules both their personal life and their professional life using the same system, and honours both as rigidly. Not only frequently checks on the day's activities, but is looking out weeks and months ahead.

1) Schedule EVERYTHING - work AND life in the same place

There is one exception to this rule: if you work the traditional "9 to 5" workday, where you're locked in and aren't able to schedule anything personal into your day, you can get away with using two systems - one just for work and one for everything else. But if you're at University (where you can go run errands during your 2 hour class breaks) or if you're self-employed, or if you work fluctuating shifts, schedule EVERYTHING using the same calendar system.

Estimate how long every task on your action list may take and pre-assign blocks of time to work on them.

If someone asks you to add something to your life, you must first determine WHEN this activity is going to happen - how will it fit with what you already have? How will adding it affect your other priorities?

If you find yourself with an unexpected block of free-time (such as a canceled meeting), IMMEDIATELY consult your action list and see if there's something you can quickly cross off there using this "found" time.

2) Build Structure where None Exists

 

Time management is about assigning order to chaos, but nowadays, many of us find ourselves faced with a large block of time where we are free to mange our time however we wish (as long as we get "the work" done). It can be liberating. It can be overwhelming. Your task in that situation is to create structure where none exists. Divide your day into 3 or 4 segments, which will revolve around what few time-based commitments you do have in your life ("make dinner", "pick up the kids", "go to club meeting"). If you have a project to tackle, list out all the steps required to complete it, assign estimated "hours" to each task (be conservative). Then go to the deadline (create one if none exists) and work backwards, assigning the tasks to the days before the deadline. Keep holidays and other prior commitments in mind.

3) Prioritize

 

One of the most important things about time management is learning how to say "no". If you're presented with an assignment or an opportunity, determine if this action is "worth" your time. If you must complete it, figure out the most time-effective way to get things done. Read more about Prioritizing here!

4) Work With a Good Action List

 

Action lists and time management go hand in hand. Time management is about finding blocks of time to work at your action list, and then getting those actions done as efficiently as possible. Read more about Action Lists here!

5) HONOUR THY SCHEDULE

 

Now that you've done all the work to plan your day, STICK TO IT.
Your schedule is IMPORTANT, treat it with respect and others will learn to respect it. Show the same amount of respect to others: if you're invited to a meeting, BE ON TIME and do your part to keep that meeting ON TIME. Remind people if the end of the meeting time is coming up, especially if you have another commitment right after it. DO NOT LET delay in one meeting make you late for the next!!

This is especially difficult to do when we schedule our "big rocks" . It is so easy to just shift your workout time around, sacrificing it for shorter term priorities. Take the time to define what is important to you and FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT WORK - do not sacrifice your big rocks!!!

6) Big Picture

 

You should always be looking at the big picture first: First look at your annual goals, then look at the big events coming in the next few months, then look at your major tasks and events for the week, then break it down to the commitments and free hours that you have that day.

If you're focused on tomorrow's "emergencies", you'll be able to catch them before they become emergencies. By looking at your long-term deadlines EVERY DAY you won't allow them to "sneak up" on you. As always, break your large deadlines down into smaller milestones, so you can either reassure yourself that you're working fast enough, or you can catch yourself if you're not.

There's obviously a lot more to say about time management and I'm sure it's a topic I will revisit often. The hardest part about it is that it's different for every person and every situation - YOU need to figure out what works best.