It's time again to talk about time. It's time for a reminder that time isn't a renewable resource.
My absolute favorite simple time management tool is this:
Don't touch anything twice.
When you read that email/text, deal with it then, don't wait.
When you take the clothes out of the dryer, fold them, and put them away.
You get the point. If you were to add up all the time you take to think about and take action on things you've already touched it would be a bit depressing. Like most of these concepts, there is no silver bullet. There will be exceptions. The point is that we can easily overthink things. This helps keeps it simple.
Try putting up a sticky note where you can see it consistently with this note:
What's
Important
Now
It subliminally tells us to focus on the positive by helping us prioritize our massive "inbox". One way to help is to think 2-3 responsibility levels above. When we put ourselves in the mindset of what those people are focusing on it helps us choose what's best to work on now.
Turn It Around
You may find it helpful, like me, to focus on energy management instead of the clock. When we feel good and have enough energy to get through the day we're less focused on our lack of time.
Do What Only You Can Do
Ask yourself: What is the most unique contribution I can make to the team/organization? Here are a couple of short podcasts from Andy Stanley on this subject...
Strategic Quitting
Paul Rulkens is another one of my favorites. His TEDx Talk on "Strategic Quitting" is pretty eye-opening.
Deciding & Doing
4 frogs sitting on a log. 3 decide to jump off. How many are left? Still, 4 because deciding is different than doing.
When we make a decision and don't tell anyone it isn't actually a decision. It only lives in our minds and others can't read our minds. Sharing engages the team!
The Multitasking Myth
We don't multitask, we task switch. It takes 40% longer (on average) to complete 2 tasks we're switching with and gets worse if there are more. Modeling good focus influences others to set up healthy habits and schedule focus time. Peter Drucker says; we either work OR meet, we can't do both.
Time is like having to spend all your money every day, it's a precious commodity, use it wisely. Create great habits and make today great!
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