Time management is such a key topic for our personal and professional lives. Thinking about how to improve, a couple of thoughts:
• Track your time for a day or a week. Write down everything, personal and professional (meetings, phone calls, texts with kids, etc. include the 15 minutes chatting with a colleague that you ran into in the hall,)
• How much time do you spend simply waiting for the next crisis? Or are you proactive and checking things off the list?
• Be honest with yourself – do you put off things that you don’t like to do and say, “I was too busy to get to it?”
Once you identify what’s really happening, determine:
• When are you most productive? Take advantage of that time for optimal results.
• When are you least productive? Use this time for the stuff that takes less effort or just helps you recharge like taking time connecting with colleagues informally, reading online newsletters, adding important items and dates to your calendar, or just getting more organized.
• What are you willing to try that is different? If it doesn’t work, try something else.Not making any changes and hoping to improve really won’t do anything.
Remember: Look within first and determine how you might shake things up a bit. Keep trying. It’s all part of the path of development.
