The Clock's Ticking
What’s a bad habit we all have that we can break today? Tips, pep talks, and evidence from shrinks not required.
Let’s just examine me. I work full time as the chair of a university’s strategic communication and PR program. Most days, I feel like I work two jobs. You’d think that would be enough for one human being. But, I also own and run Clemons Consulting, LLC. I keep my kid engaged with Girl Scouts, drum lessons, and basketball. I make time for my husband and our relationship. I keep the household functioning. I sew and make crafts. I mentor current and former students and folks interested in business and PR. I coach professionals.
You probably think overscheduling is the habit we, ahem, I can break. That’s also a problem. But, most of what I do is pretty typical. It really can’t come off my plate. What do I really need to stop? Procrastinating. Is this you, too?
I’ve watched myself procrastinate as I scroll Facebook; watch the next news segment and the next; change outfits three times; piddle around the house. I’ll fess up: I’m easily distracted. When I do focus on a task, it seems to take too long. One expert says my behaviors reveal two of five typical reasons people procrastinate: I might be too confident of my ability to complete tasks and, no duh, I might feel that what I’m doing is not moving forward.
But, I never miss a deadline. So, it’s all good, right? Not so fast. Experts say that even though I don’t see it, my health, relationships, and success are suffering.
I’ve spent much of my adult life researching and reading about how to plan and manage time; get organized; and stay productive. You might say this is the final frontier I need to conquer on my quest to “become.”
I’ve discovered four solid strategies that are helping me plan my tasks and my life instead of letting my tasks and life plan itself.
1. I create a schedule to accommodate the way I like to work. In the mornings, I handle family and household duties; respond to email; mess around on social media; piddle; organize; work out; and take sewing lessons. My brain doesn't get going until after I eat lunch. Then, I’m on fire between 1p.m. and 6 p.m., when I hunker down to think about and work on big projects. In the evenings and on Sundays, I assess how my plan is working and make adjustments.
2. I carve out chunks of time to do related tasks together: make phone calls; pay bills; grocery shop; take meetings. Check out my friend Amanda Miller Littlejohn's brilliant piece on batching and theming.
3. I have planned my entire year—all of 2018—using Google calendar, like this couple. I include fun things I want to do for myself and with the family. I also include free time to do nothing, if I want.
4. Using Ryder Carroll’s bullet journaling process, I have broken the year into quarters, months, weeks, and days. That way, I can see and tackle a few tasks each day.
Since I’ve put these systems in place, I can see my life, visually. I can prioritize and say no to what isn’t useful to my long-term goals. This clears space for what fulfills me.
Over the years, I’ve read more than a few books on time and task management. Here are ones that have helped me get to this point.
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron
The War of Art, Steven Pressfield
Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind, by 99U and Jocelyn K. Glei
The Success System That Never Fails, William Clement Stone and W. Clement Stone
Refuse to Choose!, Barbara Sher
As Oprah says, “one thing I know for sure” is that time cannot be managed. You have to manage time in ways that work for you. And, if we make it to the end of 2018, we all will have had the same 525,600 minutes. Let’s make the best of it.