Life Management

None of us feel we have enough time, but we all have the same number of hours as everyone else. Planning to get things done is about knowing what we want to accomplish and how long things take to do. Time management is a misnomer. You can’t really manage time, only how you handle it. Hopefully, some of these tips will help you use it more successfully.

Action Steps – Making BIG Tasks Smaller

OK, from the last post you have a calendar, but that only includes the big rocks. What if you have a project that can’t fit into one time slot- for example a research paper to write, or a large project you want to accomplish. How do you get that into your calendar? Here are some steps to get things done that are too big for one time slot.

1. Break your project into action steps

   What do you have to do to get it done? Don’t worry if they are in order

2. Put the steps in the order they have to be accomplished

   What has to be done before the next part can be started

3. Guesstimate how long each step will take

   This may need to be adjusted if you find out things take longer than you think, but remember, you are the boss of yourself so be as tough as you need to be, but give yourself some grace too.

4. Take into consideration the 5 Minute Rule and Margin (below)

   Adjust your steps, order and time allowances if necessary.

5. Put all of these steps onto a calendar

   Allow the time each will need and in the order in which they need to be accomplished.

6. If the steps need to be done in a given order, remember to keep them in that order

   You may want to put an order number on each step so you don’t get the cart before the horse.

The 5 Minute Rule

I mentioned this in another post, but one of the neatest things to discover is the 5 Minute Rule: many tasks take less than 5 minutes to complete and most larger tasks can be broken down into 5 minute pieces. Even if some bits take longer, you can get things done by doing the little pieces without a lot of effort.   In 5 minutes or less you can:

• spray and wipe down the counters in the bathroom
• spray and wipe down the counters in the kitchen
• empty the dish drainer or dishwasher
• dust the living room (or bedroom, or family room)
• Declutter  or straighten a room (OK maybe not all of it, but in time you will keep it clean enough so that you can do this in 5 minutes or less)
• Load the dishwasher

These are just some examples. The point is to use your time wisely by first knowing how long the things you do all the time take, then fitting the other things around them.

Make a game of making things into 5 minute (or less) tasks. Then enjoy getting them done around other things.

Overcoming Overwhelm

Big tasks often give us overwhelm. Sometimes we just don’t know what to do or where to start and run away rather than deal with that feeling of being overwhelmed by the task at hand. Breaking large tasks down into smaller pieces can make it much more manageable. Often, all we have to do is get started to move forward.

One trick for this is to set a timer on undesirable projects. Example: You have to clean your room. You have broken it down to smaller bits, but even they overwhelm you. Take the easiest bit (let’s say its picking up the dirty clothes off the floor) and give yourself 15 minutes. No matter what, you only have 15 minutes. Set a timer. Promise yourself you will give your best for 15 minutes and get in there and pick up the clothes. I’ll bet you get it done in far less than 15 minutes and you will feel good about yourself. Maybe you can pick up the dirty dishes too. Not done in 15 minutes? Too bad. Stop and come back tomorrow or later today to complete it.

Continue on this way until either the job is done, or you are no longer overwhelmed by it and can bash ahead.

Margin

Another really important concept in time relations is margin (important in other areas of life too, but we will start with time).

Allow in your calendar for margin: time for the stuff life throws at you.

An example: I live near a train track. If I only allow for the 10 minutes I need to get places without any margin, I would always be in trouble if I need to cross the tracks and a train comes. STUFF HAPPENS- allow for it. This will reduce a lot of stress. Margin allows for needing to change clothes because you spilled your coffee or a shoelace breaking or traffic jams or trains.  If in week 1 you were slowed by a train, then you know to add that time into your travel time- whether you need it or not. If you get there a little early, you can plan to do one of your 5 minute tasks.

Always plan to be places 10 minutes early.

Allow more if you don’t know the area into which you are going or the ease of parking, etc. It gives you margin, far less stress, and shows respect to the people in your life. Being on time says you respect them (and yourself) enough to plan to be on time.

If you have extra minutes, you can think about what you want to share or what you want to cover in a meeting. Being the first one at a meeting puts you in a position of authority. If you are waiting for someone in a position of power, it makes you look in control of yourself.

Reward yourself for good margin by having a good book with you

that you only get to read when you have extra time due to being on time or early. Or you can spend the time to review your master to-do list to see what needs to be done (or get it done if you have the time and are able to do it while waiting).

Want to learn more about Margin?

This is the book where I learned this concept. The principles are true regardless of your spiritual perspective Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives

Managing time starts with knowing how long things take to accomplish. The easiest way to know what you do and how long it takes to do it is to keep a log for a week. Write down everything you do and how long it takes you. There is no right amount of time. Be real. For example, my son needs 20 minutes to wake up whereas I can hit the ground running. Neither is right or wrong, it’s just the way it is. He has to take that 20 minutes into account when planning his morning or his day will get off on the wrong foot or late, or both.

Being late all the time is often a product of not being realistic about how long things take. I am sure I am not the only one who had it in my head that things took less time than they really do and was always running late. But another reason to know how long tasks take is so you can actually get more done.

Think of it like a puzzle. If you know how long things take, you can fit it into a time slot that size. Emptying the dishwasher takes the same time as my water kettle takes to heat, so I can do that while I am waiting for my tea water in the morning.

After a while, you will know from experience how long things really take. Then you can fit the puzzle pieces together more effectively.

Use a Weekly Calendar

Download this weekly calendar.

Week 1: Just record your times. There is no correct amount of time. Be real. If you forget, pick up again when you remember. If you forget to record your times a lot, it may take a couple of weeks to get a good idea of how long things really take.  Also notice where things look longer than you expected and why.

Keep track of everything you do for a whole week because the time to do things may vary for many reasons, including procrastination. Keeping the calendar and using it will help you eliminate a lot of procrastination if you are honest with yourself about how you are spending (or wasting) time.

Week 2: Start with a new copy and put your set time commitments on it- like work or meetings, classes or groups that have a set time and are not movable. Don’t forget to include travel or preparation time. Put the time you get up and go to bed. Include time to clean up each day and time to unwind at night before going to sleep. Include meal prep, eating and clean up.

Now, add the things you WANT to do. (Is it getting full yet?)  Put these in pencil so if something comes up, you can move them around.  Adjust the week as necessary, but do not remove the necessary things. (Of course, you may use a computer to do this.)

Why Use a Calendar?

Using a calendar helps you develop the practice of thinking of time as the measurable thing that it is. Managing time means being aware of how you are spending it.

Remember, time is a commodity, but you only get so much. A calendar will help you stay on point to get things done that you want (or need) to accomplish.

Think of the calendar as a time budget. You can’t spend what you don’t have. You may need to move a study time to go out with friends, but you have to move that study time to somewhere else on the calendar.  If you are out of time for the week to be with friends, you don’t have time to go out. You can’t spend (time) that you don’t have.

In the post, Planning to Get Things Done, I will talk about making the calendar work for you to get things done, so you are managing time, not just spending it.