#TimeManagement

Managing your time does not come easy for many, especially in this day and age with instant information, so much around us and so many things we need to get done. How often do we not ask ourselves "where did the day go?" or make a statement like "I don't have time to do this". We tend to make excuses or blame people and situations for the time we don't have. We could go into a deep discussion on what time really is, because we (humans) are really the only living organisms that speak of such concept as time. If birds could speak and we would ask them "what time is it?", they would say "well, it is now of course!". Eckhart Tolle has some interesting things to say about the perception of time in his book "The Power of Now" - read it. It may help you as it helped me. It gives great perspective on time, what it really is (or isn't) and gives power to what happens in this very moment, the present.

So we humans actually figured out a way to measure time through tracking the sun, document seasonal cycles and voila! Another label we created to complicate things in life. The reality however is that we need time to manage our lives or we would not be able to accomplish things. We would not be able to be in certain places on agreed upon times. And we need to manage our time better or it will manage us. Why you say? Well, for one I like to manage my time for sanity. It keeps me mentally sane. It will also boost your productivity and help you achieve your goals; whatever they may be. Then how about quality of life? Managing your time better will give you tremendous quality of life - because when you plan better, achieve your goals - you will enjoy your "off time" so much more. It is almost like a discipline that will teach you how make the best of every moment. The sense of accomplishment paired with solid organization will truly relief stress and remind you that everything is OK. I will attempt to share some of the things I do to manage my time on a day to day basis. Hopefully it will help you. They are not 6 steps for this or 7 things for that; I broke them down in 3 categories.

Set Goals: So first you have to set some goals for yourself - whatever they may be. You can't just wake up and start doing stuff. So set some clear goals that are measurable and have a dead line; "from X to Y by when"... They could be daily goals, weekly, monthly or even annual. Then align your actions on a daily basis that support that goal. Prioritize them, start with the hardest, and the things that can't be done in one day or are perpetual make it onto your planner. You see, you need some type of compass. If you know you have things to get done and you have identified them clearly, then it will give contrast to the things you don't have to do. To have this type of discipline and perspective will provide you with not only clear direction but peace of mind and calmness that we all so desperately need. So plan your work, work your plan.

Use Tools: You need sharp tools! So what works for me personally is that throughout my day, I have a lot of things that come up. I walk around with a small note book and jot down things I need to remind myself of. I also send myself emails (yes weird, but effective), because when I sit down to get organized, I see my emails and that will prompt me to think about or act on whatever I sent myself. I also use Siri a lot: "Siri remind me tomorrow at 8am to call the restaurant"... Then my notes turn into actions or reminders. I pretty much live on Outlook and it is on my desk top, Iphone and even my watch. I plan everything in Outlook. Even when my wife reminds me of a family activity or doctor's appointment, I add it to Outlook, because it will remind me and I can "forget" about it - in other words "park my thoughts". I also use color coding in outlook. I have yellow for phone calls, orange for to-do, purple for travel, dark blue for reminders and red for urgent. And you can customize reminders to remind you an hour prior, week or however long you want to be reminded. So buy a gift for a friend? Put it in Outlook the day you need it and remind yourself 3 days prior. I also use LinkedIn and Facebook and add birthdays in Outlook and add annual re-occurrences so it will remind me every year. Having this type of organization will relieve stress and keep you on track. Then I walk around with a planner where I keep track of conversations. Communication is a crucial part of time management. All the people I work with have their "own page" and I add all topics that I need to talk to them about. Then I religiously meet weekly, discuss all topics - then I cross them off. If follow up is needed I circle and then I log the date and location of conversation. I keep all my log books so I can go back periodically and see what we discussed and when. Again, this allows me at the end of the day to let all of that stress of planning go - it is in the hands of a proven system that works and is easy to manage. So my tools allow me to create, log, plan, organize and execute all the things I need to do.

Make Time to think: Lastly, you need time to think. So I schedule time to think. No one is stopping you from doing this and if you make it a priority, it will happen. It is important. At times I schedule this too in Outlook. These blocks of time are coded "green" for me. It is a pleasant color and whenever I see "green" in my calendar, I know it is time for myself with no agenda and I get excited. I also block full days and accept no meetings. In my job and my current role it is important to spend time in restaurants, so I need to plan it or others will drop meetings on my calendar. Don't let that happen. You see, hear and experience so much more by sometimes planning to do nothing - as strange as it may seem. Learn how to say "no" to invites and make time to think, get inspired, reflect, be introspective and spend time with others without an agenda. Speak to your people and find out how they are doing, ask questions and listen. Be "present" and you will be amazed with how much inspiration and energy you will be rewarded.

So by setting these goals, using the tools that work for me and sometimes planning for nothing has given me freedom and control of my own life and my career. Manage your time or your time will manage you. We all work hard. Let's make it fun and productive. Let's lead by example and share our experience with younger people who struggle tremendously with this issue. Educate yourself, ask other people what tools and tricks they use. Strive to be better every day and it has to be enjoyable or you are just "wasting your time"...