Tick Tock… Tick Tock…. 2 minutes to go and the next appointment will start. 3 minutes and the bus will be here…. 8 minutes its time to pick up the kids… 5 minutes late for the grocery delivery…..
Hmmm, who would have thought that a post like this would pop up? As you know for every positive there is a negative. We are still in the first quarter of 2018 and it is worth discussing both sides of the coin when it comes to time management, this post will focus on when time management makes life feel like it is an uphill battle.
We all know that time management is a great skill and tool to use in this day and age given everyone’s multiple roles inside and outside of work and elsewhere in their lives. It is difficult to keep up and on top of things without some form of time management. And I am definitely one to promote time management, however, I will also be the first to admit there are times when it may not be working. In times where there is rapid change and constant time demands it is vital to take the time to analyse and explore why something is not working.
Things to consider why time management is not working for you:
- You are so heavily booked that adding anything extra to your diary feels like a burden. You might be great at time management there are slots here and there that you keep booking in items and activities, however, you get to a point where there is no flexibility and fluidity in your life and you will feel like you are in the rat race whether you are or not.
- You are stressed and looking at what you have planned using time management and this makes you more stressed. Explore what and where the stress is coming from and then deal with that first, then review how much and where things are scheduled in.
- You are exhausted, possibly because you are overbooked or highly stressed or something, somewhere in your life is causing the increase in stress (illness, family, finances), where there are high levels of stress, time management can work, however, it will create a further sense of exhaustion when there is no downtime to switch off to recuperate, therefore, the exhaustion and the cause of the exhaustion is not dealt with.
- You don’t allow enough downtime in the scheduling of your time or you use your fantastic time management to constantly achieve and move at a rapid pace and forget the need in life for downtime.
- You use it as a way to avoid certain activities…. this could be anything from exercise, family time, appointments with the accountant or the dentist.
- You feel like you are missing out on life, this can be as mentioned above because there is a lack of flexibility and fluidity in your life due to the approach to scheduling in your time management. This feeling of missing out could also limit the exploration of new possibilities in life, big or small.
- It is time for a change. Feeling frustrated with your life, what your life looks like based on how booked up and organised you are, or not, could be a sign that something, somewhere in your life needs to be changed. It is worth exploring, it might not be the time management.
- It is the way you approach time management and how you do it. Again it is worth investigating further.
- You have difficulty saying ‘NO’.
- Someone else has control over your time management. It is all good and well to have a PA or admin booking everything for you, but you need to take control of your time and if that means blocking out times prior to the PA or admin doing this, then ensure that you take the lead on this.
As you can see, time management works but there are times when it will feel like it isn’t. There are also times in our lives when time management is not the priority and whatever is will need the focus. As we take control of our lives, being aware of the positives and negatives of time management and how it can work for us and against us will help with prioritising what is important at any given time and being able to shift and change as required will reduce the stress of too much structure.
Have a great day
Bronwyn
