In yesterday’s post, you saw my own life balance board (or as I’ve named it in my PC files, my “balance beam” board. Remember in gymnastics class, how hard it was to balance on the one or two inch wide balance beam?). Today, I’m sharing my terrifically creative sister-in-law’s board; she is a creative design professional. She’s the one who got me started, so here is her own version.
If you missed the post that explains all this, go here first.
If you went to your doctor or naturopath and said you had a pain, but didn’t say where, what it felt like, how long it lasted or what’s been happening lately with your diet, medications or exercise, how could you begin to figure out the solution. Or you’re asked to provide a proposal for services, but you’re not allowed to do your needs assessment.
Time management is also a complex topic. Diagnosis and goals are step one. Most of us miss out on these steps because we are so stressed or pressed for time that we jump right over this important piece.
Consider possible reasons your time is out of control:
And the list could keep going, couldn’t it? That’s my point.
So then what IS useful is to answer questions about your relationship with time. Start with these for your diagnosis.
This gets at what gets in the way? What obstacles are you seeing? Get very specific here, so you can narrow down whether your solution is about you, the products you use, or the skills and process you use.
And your “one small step” is as small as you need it to be, so that you’ll say to yourself: “Oh, right. I can do THAT.” And so begins your journey, one step at a time.
I’m walking down the hallway at my gym/club, hearing my sneakers squeak, and looking around to see what’s happening at 7 a.m. I love seeing the sign “No cell phones in the gym,” because my time there is my quiet time, uninterrupted by the outside world. A bit of an oasis even. It’s quiet and I get to slow down my brain a bit and read while I ride the bike. The bike and reading are my reward, after I’ve done the harder, less interesting part of my routine.
I also love seeing the tennis players as I walk down the hallway, because they are inspiring. I played tennis for years into my 20′s until knee problems shifted me to other exercises. At the club, the majority of players at that hour are in their 60′s, and there’s a group that’s closer to the age of 70.
Book-ending this morning scene are the moms with kids, and a few dads with kids. I see them as I’m leaving the club, walking down a different hallway, showered and ready for my day. Moms and kids, running around, lots of noise – and many talking about how late they are running. Different energy. Different experience in my morning.
I can feel the difference in my early and later experiences in the hallways of the gym, can you?
Later, it’s faster pace, more hectic, everyone already ramped up and falling forward into their days. Earlier, it’s a calmer world, gently waking up to our day, perhaps even working in some reflection time.
On the two days I don’t go to the gym, I try to recreate this calm, this anchoring, this gentle waking up – because that’s what works for me and is what’s necessary for me – a big component to my self-care.
The exercise has the added benefit of getting more energy and more of the cobwebs out of my system, and does it more quickly than reading and other approaches. I just read a reader’s question on Women with ADHD which asked if others wake up in the morning with a blank slate. Ah – My issue is never a blank slate in the morning! I strive to slow down my thoughts enough so that I can ground myself for the day. Exercise works. Reading is pretty good. Quiet time is useful.
Which way works for you? What is your usual morning routine? What does your routine need to DO for you? And is it doing that? If not, observe yourself tomorrow morning and your regular routines or rituals. What works? What’s not working? What do you need and how could you rearrange your morning to get some small piece of your own oasis, however you define it?
With appreciation to my coach for working this through with me.
Ever feel like your day is out of control? This blog article is about organizing your days at home, with ideas for tools to help keep you on track and questions you’ll want to answer before buying or using the free tools.
*Are you comfortable with software and apps, more so than paper? Are you often on your device?
*What’s important to keep track of?;
*Where do you think you get bogged down?;
*Who else needs to see the calendar or to do’s (and what technology do they use if you think you’ll need to synchronize);
*How mobile do you need to be;
*What technology do you prefer – type, size of device – or do you prefer paper;
*What “view” is most useful to you (daily, weekly, monthly)?;
*How easy does the software look; pricing; setup time; intuitive?
*Can you sync up or otherwise backup all this wonderful data you’re about to put into your tool? Comfortable with that?
A tool can be useful because you get a place to start, a method to keep track, a structure.
A tool can work against you, in a sense, if you don’t know what you want it to do, or if you spend more time setting it up and reorganizing items instead of doing them.
A balance, as with so much, is important.
If you’re not sure what you want, but you know you’re a software person, then take a look at each tool. They are quite different looking even though they do similar things; by reviewing each one for a few minutes, you may figure out what you like or don’t, narrowing down your choice.
Click on the graphics to go to their sites.
As I write this, I can barely see through the white snow out my office window. The lake doesn’t exist. The white birch trees have disappeared. A snow day! Excitement, giddiness, a throw back to school days. And that’s the problem. This can also happen if the doctor’s appointment is cancelled. Or your client rescheduled, so you are in your office for the day.
Especially when we have a surprise gift of extra time, we can get so incredibly distracted by how great we feel with this gift. We make a list a mile long of what we’re going to get done with this extra time.
And then we chip away at it, and chip and chip … getting little things done but nothing we really wanted or needed to finish.
Decide if this will be a ‘vacation’ day or a ‘power work’ day.
Get clear on how you want to use the time. Otherwise, you’ll float through the day, trying out both and not being happy at the end of the day with how you feel. Commit.
Be clear on what would make this is a useful and productive day.
If you decide this will be a day to get a lot done, then take a minute or two to select the one or two projects you want to complete. One is even better; then after it’s done, select a second one. Selecting one or two gives you clarity on what is truly important today. And you’ll be less likely to overestimate how much you can get done. Your head won’t be as cluttered because you’ll only have those two items running around in your head. Clutter affects your productivity and clarity of thinking.
“Is this how you want to use your time?”
Find a way to keep your goals at the top of your mind. A post it note. An auditory reminder – watch, cell phone, egg timer. On the pc, shut down your browser and email. Use it as a reward for when you are a half-way point, rewarding for efforts, not just results.
If you find yourself wandering off track, find a phrase that works to get yourself back on track. You’ll need to experiment. Mine is “Was this really how you wanted to use this time?” Clients have used: “What was #1 today?” and “Susan Fay, where’ s your head at right now.” And a side benefit: over time is that this thinking becomes an automatic process.
How much time is left?
Take those breaks; they give you a sense of how much time has passed and what time of day it is. Working through lunch will give you a false sense of how much time’s gone by and you won’t get a brain break, which makes you far more productive.
I like the www.timetimer.com at my desk. It shows me how much time is left, rather than what time it is. A quick glance means less of a break in my concentration.
