Every week I hear comments about being "too busy" or
"having too much to do." We live in a time of stress and
tight schedules. We are on the run, with too many options
and too many responsibilities, and sometimes it feels like
we MUST do them all TODAY!!!!
Often, I hear people ask for help with "time management"
when what we really need is a system for LIFE MANAGEMENT.
And here is an outline I often share with my clients. I
call it the Life-Management Progression and I think it is a
powerful concept that has implications for every area of life.
As I see it, we go through various "stages" of managing our
lives to achieve our goals and create the things we want in
life. I see us working our way up the pyramid, from the
least-effective (but most common) strategies to strategies
that are profoundly and effortlessly transforming:
1. TIME MANAGEMENT is the most common and the least
effective way to run our lives. We don't own time and it
cannot be managed. Time just "is" and it flows quickly.
What we can manage are things like our activities, our
choices, and our personal environments. If you don't
actively manage these things, other people will certainly
try to manage them for you, with frustrating results.
2. ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT has the virtue of being "do-able".
We can choose our priorities and manage our actions through
the day. Practice "single handling" whenever possible. Do
one thing at a time and do it well. Avoid dead-end
activities at all costs! Use a daily calendar and a weekly
planner. These are rather crude tools, but they are a
powerful beginning.
3. ENERGY MANAGEMENT is what most people are actually
hoping for with time/activity management. They want to get
more done with less effort and have something left for "me"
at the end of the day. Manage your energy. Sleep well, rest
often, be efficient. Do your most important work when you
are most awake. Put your best efforts into your most
important priorities and let things of secondary importance
get secondary effort. It's not the quickest or easiest path
to the good life, but it's a great start.
4. SPACE MANAGEMENT - Now things get interesting! Manage
your environment so it's hard for people and things to
interrupt you. Close the door, turn off the phone!
Eliminate anything that annoys or frustrates you - fix it,
replace it, or junk it. Make your office, car, kitchen,
bedroom and bathroom "perfect" for you. Paint the walls,
replace your desk! Take action to make things better, more
comfortable, more inspiring. You'll get more done and have
more fun doing it.
5. YOUR PERSONAL ECO-SYSTEM - This is what we're
looking for! Create a life-system that "pulls" you forward.
Surround yourself with things and people who inspire you
and make you happy, who give you energy, and who make you
productive and joyful. Even your computer should make you
smile! Fill your life with people who challenge you to be
your best. Be pro-active in every area of life so you live
well and can do the work you are called to do!
Over 100 years ago, Henry Thoreau made his famous
observation that most people live "lives of quiet
desperation" and I think it is high time we changed that.
It is entirely possible to lead a life of high productivity
and simple joy. It is possible to be focused, rested and
"on purpose" most of the time. It is not easy in our busy
world, but it is possible and you deserve nothing less.
"having too much to do." We live in a time of stress and
tight schedules. We are on the run, with too many options
and too many responsibilities, and sometimes it feels like
we MUST do them all TODAY!!!!
Often, I hear people ask for help with "time management"
when what we really need is a system for LIFE MANAGEMENT.
And here is an outline I often share with my clients. I
call it the Life-Management Progression and I think it is a
powerful concept that has implications for every area of life.
As I see it, we go through various "stages" of managing our
lives to achieve our goals and create the things we want in
life. I see us working our way up the pyramid, from the
least-effective (but most common) strategies to strategies
that are profoundly and effortlessly transforming:
1. TIME MANAGEMENT is the most common and the least
effective way to run our lives. We don't own time and it
cannot be managed. Time just "is" and it flows quickly.
What we can manage are things like our activities, our
choices, and our personal environments. If you don't
actively manage these things, other people will certainly
try to manage them for you, with frustrating results.
2. ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT has the virtue of being "do-able".
We can choose our priorities and manage our actions through
the day. Practice "single handling" whenever possible. Do
one thing at a time and do it well. Avoid dead-end
activities at all costs! Use a daily calendar and a weekly
planner. These are rather crude tools, but they are a
powerful beginning.
3. ENERGY MANAGEMENT is what most people are actually
hoping for with time/activity management. They want to get
more done with less effort and have something left for "me"
at the end of the day. Manage your energy. Sleep well, rest
often, be efficient. Do your most important work when you
are most awake. Put your best efforts into your most
important priorities and let things of secondary importance
get secondary effort. It's not the quickest or easiest path
to the good life, but it's a great start.
4. SPACE MANAGEMENT - Now things get interesting! Manage
your environment so it's hard for people and things to
interrupt you. Close the door, turn off the phone!
Eliminate anything that annoys or frustrates you - fix it,
replace it, or junk it. Make your office, car, kitchen,
bedroom and bathroom "perfect" for you. Paint the walls,
replace your desk! Take action to make things better, more
comfortable, more inspiring. You'll get more done and have
more fun doing it.
5. YOUR PERSONAL ECO-SYSTEM - This is what we're
looking for! Create a life-system that "pulls" you forward.
Surround yourself with things and people who inspire you
and make you happy, who give you energy, and who make you
productive and joyful. Even your computer should make you
smile! Fill your life with people who challenge you to be
your best. Be pro-active in every area of life so you live
well and can do the work you are called to do!
Over 100 years ago, Henry Thoreau made his famous
observation that most people live "lives of quiet
desperation" and I think it is high time we changed that.
It is entirely possible to lead a life of high productivity
and simple joy. It is possible to be focused, rested and
"on purpose" most of the time. It is not easy in our busy
world, but it is possible and you deserve nothing less.
No comments:
Post a Comment