Managing Time
Time is a funny thing. Our culture operates as if it as a transaction or commodity—something we can save, spend, waste or give. We seem to have both too much and not enough of it, depending on the circumstances. Following the recent “spring forward” time change that many of us in the United States just experienced, I’ve continued to think about time and its impact (see my previous blog on clocks and time for other insights).
We are constantly managing our time, and often overload ourselves or manage our own interests, needs and fun right out of our schedules. Time management is a multi-million dollar industry, with calendars, systems, training, books, and more that are designed to help us get the most out of every minute and ensure every minute counts. And as it is with many tools and techniques, it’s about finding the ones that speak to you and meet your specific needs. Below, I offer some of my own tried and true time and productivity optimization strategies for you to explore for yourself:
Begin with the end in mind by identifying what you want or need to accomplish and why it’s important. Having a solid understanding of the outcome and purpose can help keep you focused and productive.
Align the most important or urgent work with the time of day you are most energized or creative. For instance, if you are a morning person, pack the early part of your day with the “must do” items on your list, and save your less energetic hours for more routine tasks.
Know your productivity “style”. Are you someone who likes to have ample time and work in regular increments until the task is completed (a marathoner)? Do you wait until the very last minute, only to work overtime to accomplish the goal (a procrastinator)? Do you prefer to have a shorter and manageable timeframe for focused work (a sprinter)?
Set an alarm to stay on track. We can get caught up in whatever we are doing in the moment and forget to move on to what’s next on the list—setting an alarm can remind you that there are other things to attend to or to simply take a break.
Schedule your independent work or activities. We frequently put events or time on our calendars to signify when we need to be somewhere or with someone else. Consider scheduling your own thinking or working time, laundry, cleaning, exercise, reading, or whatever else you engage in during the day—it will help you get a visual sense of what is planned and how it can be managed.
Set realistic expectations for the time available. So often we think we can add “one more thing” to the list of to-do’s in a given time period, and by doing so we feel rushed or sacrifice quality.
Try not to multitask. Science again and again shows that our brains are not really wired for actively focusing on more than one thing at a time (at least not well)—give yourself time and space to focus on one thing before moving on to another.
Allow yourself unscheduled time. Time to “not do” and just “be” is sometimes more impactful than productive time.
By adopting some new (or re-engaging with old) approaches to managing your time and how you think about it, you may find that the hour you recently “lost” doesn’t have the productivity impact that it had in the past and that your schedule has more flexibility than you think. Ultimately, you may find that you have more time (and energy!) for the people and experiences that matter most.
