Time Management for BOTH sides of the Brain
Posted on July 01, 2010 by April Welch, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.
If you struggle with schedules or structured time management give this article a quick read & see what solutions you may want to try!
One Sunday I found myself using the quiet morning to get caught up on some reading {both via the email in-box & the stack next to my chair}.
You would think by now I’d be used to the organizing advice out there. Yet, as I read through a blog someone had written on time management I found myself frustrated.
The title, meant to get the reader’s attention, was something along the lines of “10 tips for time management”, and the first tip dealt with the concept of looking to yourself for taking control of your time.
Since this is along the lines of what I teach my clients I was eager to read on.
Each tip after that proved to be the typical ‘do it this way’ kind of tip … such as
“schedule 1 hour each Sunday evening to plan your week”The problem with this type of advice is, while it is good in theory, what happens when folks fly by that Sunday evening without even a thought of planning their week?
Once Tuesday hits {& they feel overwhelmed} the first thing they remember is how they didn’t follow the advice.
The subsequent guilt begins, quickly followed by the internal dialog sporting the anthem of ‘failure’.
Jumping to my organizing philosophies regarding time management … here are a few ways to get a handle on that overwhelming schedule.
1) Who’s in charge? You or your schedule?
For many clients, when I propose this question the answer is their schedule. Followed by an immediate inquiry of “what can I do?”.
Yes, life is busy.
Yes, demands of a family or career or both are a tall order.
However, remember that each and every thing you do IS a choice.
Often my clients will need to take an overview –
what does their month look like?
Is there a balance?
Simply looking to the week ahead is not always enough to get a real handle on the time management clutter.
2) Start with what you know…
When you hit that moment where you say to yourself
“there has got to be a better way!”
I would answer “Yes there is!”.
One of the biggest dilemmas folks have is where to begin or how to find the energy to tackle their ‘stuff’ {whether it’s physical or mental}.
This can be done by using a paper calendar or planner & plugging in the commitments you already know such as meetings, sports schedules, social plans and using it as a tool for reference.
{Which means you just refer to it when you need a sense of direction}
But wait a minute, what about those folks that feel suffocated by such structure?
Where are the “Free Spirited” personalities suppose to fit in?
Rarely does a calendar system relieve their woes!
Again, visiting the concept of start with what you know.
Maybe paying the bills on time is the challenge or remembering to do things that you don’t like doing?
Establishing a reminder system instead of a traditional calendar can bring some relief. Many bill companies (credit cards especially) will offer a reminder email a few days before the bill is due, simply setting this up will help bring the due date to mind when its getting close.
Also taking on a team effort – maybe getting the garbage out on the right day is hard to remember, ask a neighbor if they will get the garbage to the road if you bring the empty containers back to where they belong.
Use that creative side for creative solutions!
The great part about finding creative solutions is that even those who feel they can’t handle a traditional calendar system, may be able to unveil a more systematized side of themselves they didn’t even know existed!
Warmly,
april
