By: Balance and Joy Life Coach, Sheri McGregor
People think of effective time management as ruled calendar sheets, wristwatches with alarms, and everything timed for perfection. Those may work for some, but let’s face reality. When chained to a desk, and the clock leaves no wriggle room for spur-of-the-moment change, people feel stressed. The mere thought of being late or not completing one thing in time for the next can cause anxiety. Besides, life doesn’t work that way. If it did, we wouldn’t know the old saying about the best laid plans. . . . Inevitably, a customer or colleague arrives late, traffic holds you up, or tasks take more time than expected. The home front may also interfere with your schedule: your child gets sick, the dog decides to wander the neighborhood, or your kitchen pipes break and flood the house. You may feel like there’s just not enough time.
In my life coaching sessions, self-employed and work-at-home clients say there’s not enough time in a day. They seek more effective time management and stress relief. We discuss work-life balance, and the realities of a busy lifestyle as they relate to two of the most overlooked aspects of time management skills: flexibility, and gratitude.
Flexibility is a key component to any time management strategy. That means prioritizing so the important things get done first. Getting the most important items complete, or nearly so, allows us to cultivate a flexible attitude. This, in turn, not only gives us opportunities to get more done, but creates an atmosphere of being open to what happens, reserving worry, and going with the flow.
Here’s one example: Regardless of being in the middle of an important budget analysis, you set the folders aside and keep your commitment to a businessperson with whom you’ve scheduled a telephone meeting. But once on the call, she says she needs five more minutes and will call you back. How do you react? (Be honest!)
In a busy day in which you have managed to remain punctual, irritation is a natural reaction. You may even wonder if five minutes will become ten. This thought creates anxiety. Maybe now the call will go longer than the time you’ve allotted and, like dominoes, bump all your events forward. So, you spend the next five minutes anxious, stressed, and irritated—which won’t help you connect sincerely and effectively when your customer or colleague phones back.
To fix this dilemma, be aware of your thoughts. Instead of getting hung up on what might happen, stay in the moment. You can’t be certain the call will now go longer than planned and ruin your schedule. Instead, keep focused so it won’t. Then, look for something to make effective use of your time now.
With a positive perspective, five minutes of waiting is a gift. Manage your mind to manage your time. Use your time wisely. An attitude of gratitude reduces stress, and keeps you moving forward rather than stalling you in anxious thoughts.
In five minutes, you can put away some unfinished business, such as a couple of books or a folder from the day before. Empty your trash can, perhaps. Or, remove past months’ sheets from your date book, and insert the next month or two. Five minutes is just enough time to put stamps on a stack of envelopes ready to mail, or wind up the cord to your cell phone’s ear buds left in a clump after the morning commute. Pick something small that doesn’t require huge amounts of mental energy that will need another big shift when the telephone meeting restarts. Five minutes of effective time management pay off.
Be flexible, stay in the present, and think of any extra time spans as gifts. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude when it comes to time. In this way, you’re not only using smart time management techniques, but you’re coping with stress.
Copyright Sheri McGregor 2009 All rights reserved.
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