Getting time to say “Uncle!”
So my local chamber was looking for a speaker to speak on “Time Management.”
“Uggghhhh” I thought to myself. Another boring seminar on setting reminders and due dates and blah, blah, blah. Then I found myself trying to get to the root of effective time management. Why is time management so difficult? There are so many books, websites, and specialist on the matter. For me the root came down distraction. Those who are able to drown out the distractions get the most done at the end of the day. Here are three things to help fight your distractions:
- Knowing your goals -because at the end of the day, we get done what we want to do. Your goals should be what you want. If they are not, then you need to change your goals to match according. If you’re goal is to make as little money as possible, well then time management is easy. If you want to become the next President of the United States of America, you’ve probably got some heavy time manage ment goals ahead.
- Don’t fight biology -did you know that our bodies are designed to succeed at certain tasks during certain parts of the day? Think about when you were a kid at school and the clock read 2:30pm. Do you think you’re focus was at 100% then? Probably not. This means you shouldn’t try to tackle the “high focus” tasks towards the end of the day.
- Define your boundaries -Once you’ve got a plan, let your team know what that is. This will allow your teammates to follow the time management system that you’ve got in place.
So, I decided to take this new found knowledge and share it with the chamber. -Yes, I decided to speak on the matter myself. I hope not to bore anyone there. Here are my actual notes from my keynote if you are feeling gnarly:
Know your goals
- Work backwards from your end goal (500k) big numbers seem unrealistic (21 work days in a month) -if you’re goal doesn’t help you achieve this, why are you doing it?
- Deathbed tasks-Tim Ferriss 4 Hour Work Week (1-2) You need to see success.
- Sometimes you have to rework your goals and your energies. Let’s assume you don’t. Goal setting is another ball of wax.
Don’t fight biology
7 to 9 AM: Best for Passion
9 to 11 AM: Best for Creativity -your brain has secreted stress hormone cortisol which allows it to focus more.-Sung Lee, MD, secretary of the International Brain Education Association Write a presentation.
11 AM to 2 PM: Best for Tough Tasks – get through your list! Tackle voicemails and emails.
2 to 3 PM: Best for a Break -wait to take lunch now. -Your body draws blood away from your brain to your stomach. -exercise to get theblood away from the belly to your brain. water helps
3 to 6 PM: Best for Collaboration – work with a team member tasks
6 to 8 PM: Best for Personal Tasks
8 to 10 PM: Best for Relaxing
10 PM onward: Best for Snoozing
Define your boundaries
- Be deliberate on your time zones (I do emails/voicemails from 10-12)
- Leave room for error (interruptions never stop)
- Accountability from people close to you.
Will, As I was viewing the Chamber website yesterday, I saw that PAY was having you as a speaker today on time management. Then, by searching just a little bit, I found this page with some great tips IN PRINT to help me with my time management. I am very visual so in the essence of using my time wisely, I chose to print your advice, take it to heart, and chose to stay home this morning and get some work done. Missed your live presentation but your printed ideas sound awesome and I plan to incorporate them into my daily routine. Thanks.
Hi Mary,
We had a ton of fun today and I’m sorry you couldn’t make it out. But I’m glad that you were still able to extract some good information. I hope you have a productive day and even more productive after some time management tips! Take care, maybe I’ll see you at the next course!