I’m quite excited. This week, I’m giving a new workshop about time management to university students. It’s such a great initiative to support new students as they’re juggling new responsibilities: Attending class, submitting assignments on time, studying for finals, working their full-time job, raising a family and still having fun with their friends.
We all have 24 hours in the day and yet, some people just seem to be in better control of their time. What sets them apart? How do they just do it?
One activity will focus on how we’re spending our day. Did you ever review where your time goes? If not, do it for a typical week.
- Record what you’re doing in a weekly tracker like the one shown below. Sleeping, getting ready, commuting to and from work, checking emails, catching up with a colleague, going for a run, helping your kids with their homework, eating out with your partner, meeting your friends at ladies’ night and so on.
- Track your time in 15-30 minute intervals.
- At the end of the week, review it.
As you’re reviewing your week, ask yourself a few questions:
- Are there any surprises?
- Are there any time wasters or distractions? Can you avoid interruptions at work by having regular update meetings with the person needing you? They can collect their questions and ask you in one go, giving you more time to work on your tasks. Do you find yourself checking specific websites every 5 seconds? If so, you can use temporary site blockers like Rescue Time and Freedom. Receiving too many calls? Let all calls directly to voice mail and answer them once you’re done with your task.
- What would you like to do differently? There are certain things you won’t be able to change. For example, you can’t cut your commute to work unless you’re working from home. But can you change the way to work to avoid traffic jams? Or if you know traffic is building up at a certain time, can you set off earlier to avoid it?
- Can you group certain activities together? Take your commute again. If you’ll be driving alone for a while, can you use this time to call your friend or listen to an audio book? Can you combine a guilty pleasure with a need-to-do activity like watching your favourite soap while ironing the laundry?
- What activities took longer you would have estimated? We all know that traffic can vary from time to time and from route to route. Factor this in your journey, if you aren’t already. But what about other tasks like working on a project with a colleague, helping your kids with their assignments or completing work around the house? Plan a cushion when you’re setting time aside for these tasks in the future.
- Is there something that you’re doing too much of? Or too much of one thing at the expense of another? Social media is a great way to waste time. If it relaxes you, go ahead and check Facebook for 20 minutes. However, if surfing the web leads to neglecting other activities, do you really want to continue this behaviour?
- Just like the previous question, ask yourself what am you’re not doing enough of? Is that spending quality time with your loved ones, doing something for yourself? How can you integrate more of that into your schedule?
- Finally, which activities have the biggest (positive) impact on you and your life? These are the ones that bring you joy and pleasure, help you achieve your personal goals and represent your values. Are you happy with them as is or can you incorporate more of these in your life?
I’d love to hear how you’re tracking your time. If this is a new activity for you, what did you learn about yourself and how you’re spending your time? What was one of the biggest revelations for you and what are you going to do with this knowledge? Leave me a message below!
Until next time,
Agni