Before I started writing this, I logged out of Facebook, closed my Google page and put my phone on vibrate.
Yesterday I fell prey to a time management “no-no” and had to get myself back on track. However, it did inspire me to write this blog, so maybe you’ll reap the benefit of my erroneous ways. 🙂
What I’m referring to is how to manage your time better. Do you find that you have a to-do list but you barely make it through the first one or two tasks? There are a couple of reasons this happens.
- Number 1: You’ve underestimated the time it takes to complete a particular task OR
- Number 2: You’ve gotten sidetracked from your task, making it difficult to complete it on time
Today I’m going to be focusing on #2, how to stay on task. The key to staying on task and managing your time is to identify your “time-stealers.”
We all have them. Things we do that take away from what we should really be doing. Whether it’s surfing the Web, making or answering phone calls, emailing, texting, chatting, daydreaming or watching tv; it’s something we do that takes us away from the task at hand.
Yesterday morning I had two things on my to-do list, in order of priority:
- Work on clients’ video project
- Make reservations for baby shower
My new rule is to take care of all my personal emails and phone calls at night, as I have identified those things as my “time-stealers.”
And although my second task was a personal one, it was easy, so I thought I’d just quickly look up a restaurant or two for the shower. However, I wasn’t very familiar with the area in which the shower will be held, so I got on to do some quick research.
A couple restaurants sounded great so I checked their websites. One looked a little too casual, the other, too trendy, so I checked their menus and price lists too. Surely, they had photos so I could get a better sense, but alas, not so helpful. So I started checking reviews. The reviews were mixed so I kept digging.
And I have a friend who lives near one of the restaurants, so I quickly emailed her….and it went on and on and on. Guess what? I found THE PERFECT restaurant. Fantastic! Not really.
When I was done, I had twenty minutes left before I had to pick up my kids from camp. Ridiculous!!
My time stealers did just that, stole my time, and I had practically nothing to show for my day. Here’s what you can do to avoid this mistake.
- Identify your “time-stealer(s)”
- Make a pact with yourself that you will not indulge in this (or these) activities while doing other tasks
- Set a consistent time of day, or week, that you WILL spend on your “time-stealers”…because then they are not stealing time. ie. Don’t accept or make phone calls until after 8pm. Or don’t open your personal email until the sun goes down. Or DVR your favorite shows and spend Sunday evening/night catching up instead of a show a night.
- On a related note, I also find that when I do complete my personal tasks at night time I am much more efficient, as I’m simply tired! If I had started my restaurant search at 9pm I likely would have made a decision my 9:15. I don’t have an hour and a half of energy at night…but certainly can spend plenty of time and energy during the day for that kind of stuff!
So try this out for a week. Identify your “time-stealers” and put specific parameters around them. Did you get more accomplished? Were your days more productive? I’d love to know.
