I'm starting to think that there is no such thing as Time Management.
It might be surprising to hear that from someone who considers themselves a Time Management Coach but I have come to realize that trying to "manage your time" is just about as elusive as trying to chase happiness. Speaking of which, the often overly structured ways we are told to manage our time is usually not very inspiring or happiness-inducing. I'm always on a mission to find accessible ways to manage how we spend our time toward what truly matters to us. I want to figure out (and share with you) how we can be deliberate and organized without loosing the enthusiasm and connection to what is makes us really come alive. In this post I elaborate on three aspects of our lives that I believe are more accessible for us to actually "manage". This is more of a philosophical post and I hope you enjoy this thought experiment! More tangible ways to implement these will surely follow as I always want to connect big ideas to more concrete and "implementable" tips. Here goes... In order to live lives that are truly on purpose and meaningful we need to learn how to manage: Energy, Attention, and Expectations We need to find sustainable ways to manage our ENERGY levels. From the basics of making sure we re-charge through rest and by eating well, to being in loving relationships and doing things that feed our soul and make us really come alive; we need to become aware of how and where we actually "spend" our energy. How purposeful are you regarding where you direct your energy? What relationships do you want to invest your energy in? What types of activities leave you drained or exhausted? And what kind of exhaustion is it - the satisfied and accomplished kind of exhaustion you can feel after putting in a lot of effort into something you really care about, or is it more of an deflated kind of exhaustion you can get from working really hard at something without having as sense of doing anything of importance or making any progress? It is important to become aware of what fills you up and energizes you and what amount of energy you are willing to spend on different things in your life. You can then make choices that help you find a sustainable way of living. That leads me to the next area to manage - attention We need to make deliberate choices about where we put our ATTENTION. Although sometimes closely related to where we put our energy this is a little different. When we can keep focusing our attention on what is mostly aligned with where we really want to be headed, we will make more progress. Rather than allowing whatever circumstance we are in pull and push our attention around, we become more deliberate in what we decide to focus on in this moment - cultivating deliberate presence. We stay on the path we have committed to, rather than taking mind-less detours out and about and around... Unless, of course, we choose to go on a more hap-hazard and random exploration. In which case we put our attention on "going with" and being open to what might come our way. One way many of us don't leverage our attention in the best way is by multi-tasking. Although we might fool ourselves into thinking we are paying attention to multiple things simultaneously, what we are really doing is constantly task-switching. In other words; we keep putting our attention on something different every minute or moment... This constant re-focus actually makes us waste precious time and energy, and overall we make less progress. Another thing to watch out for is any mindless activities like web-surfing, facebooking (yes, I'm making it a verb ;)) or watching random TV. Unless of course you decide that that's where you actually WANT to put your attention. Being able to direct our attention is truly a super power worth investing in! Not only will it help you make more significant progress toward that which you have set out to accomplish, but it will also help you become aware of what is really happening in each moment. You will be more present and truly experience your life, rather than life just swooshing by... Another aspect that will help you consider how to truly spend your time on what matters is to: Become aware of and manage EXPECTATIONS Often we are trying to live up to expectations without even being conscious about it. Expectations are embedded in our culture, society, relationships, and embedded within our own beliefs. One way expectations show up is when we think that we (or someone, or something else) "should" do something, or "should" be in a certain way. At some point we adopted (consciously or not) a rule or belief that things "should" be in a certain way. We expect things a certain way or it is not "right". We also carry many expectations of ourselves and what we are assuming others are expecting of us - whether they actually do or not... What I suggest is that we reflect on those "shoulds" and determine what expectations are actually valid and important vs. which ones we want to question and better align to what matters to us. We can learn to be more clear in communicating our expectations with others, becoming more transparent and explicit around our expectations and what they can expect from us. When we get more deliberate around setting boundaries and become more honest (to ourselves and to others) about where we are willing to invest our energy and attention, there is less confusion and we can more easily align our action with our goals and intentions. Wow, that's a pretty meaty topic! There is much more to contemplate for sure - but, for right now, what are your thoughts!? I'd love to hear what you think - either in the comments below or by shooting me an email ([email protected]) Have a wonderful weekend! - I hope you get to put your attention on things that re-energize you and that you can revise some expectations to be more closely algined with what really matters to you!
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Applying micro Agile and Scrum principles from books and other places of inspiration to our daily lives - as a way to live more on purpose, at peace and inspired!
This morning I was on a Facebook "chat" meant to help a small group of us to focus and get something done within a short hour. I committed to two things:
When I was done with my little morning routine to start my day off on the "right foot" I only had about 15 minutes left to focus on my writing task. OK, let's DO THIS! Without much hesitation I flip up a random page in one of my go-to books on Agility ("Succeeding with Agile" by Mike Kohn). With a stroke of serendipity, the paragraph I land on is about the importance of delivering "working software" within a sprint. For my mini sprint (of which at this time I only have about 10 minutes left), my "working software" is to be a useful article on how to implement this principle in your daily life. Here's what I want to ask you: How often do find yourself "busy with" something one day, and still "busy with" that same thing the next day and sometimes still the next week? The principle that Kohn is pointing us to here proposes that you get very real about what you can realistically COMPLETE in a time period (such as a sprint, or a day), and making sure that the result is something that is actually provides value (is useful). Once committed, you keep focused on the work required to deliver THAT value. Staying away from distractions. Staying focused until the work is DONE. To apply to your life, consider what VALUE you are working toward delivering (today or this week, depending on your "sprint" length). What you are going to COMPLETE in that specific time-frame that is of value to you or ensures a significant step toward something that you consider important? Ops, time's up! (in my sprint...) Hoping that this in fact provided some value! |
AuthorAs a Holistic Time Management coach Ulrika reflects on ways to live our every day on purpose - with agility. Archives
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