Women and Time Management

Henry David Thoreau, one of the great thinkers of the nineteenth century, once stated: “It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. What are we busy about?” From this you can deduce that Time Management is about getting control of your life while finding solutions to using time more effectively.

As we reflect on some of the excuses regarding poor time management, it is important to note a few pertinent facts. Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in the day. Why then do some people accomplish their tasks and even have time for relaxation while others are perpetually late, struggling to get “caught-up”, and always feeling stressed and unfulfilled, with barely enough time to sit and have a leisurely meal.

 Research shows that most people spend 20% of their time productively and 80% on tasks that are not really important or which could be done by someone else, and that 80% of their day is spent on those things or those people that only bring two percent of the desired results.

To bring about effective change we need to re-evaluate some of our thinking. In my post last week I mentioned that one of the reasons for poor time management is the mistaken idea that technology always simplifies our lives, yet although many women supplement meals with fast food, do the laundry twice as fast, use email, text instead of visit, communicate on face book, use the microwave, the vacuum cleaner and a host of other household gadgets they still have far less time than women did thirty years ago. Technology, like time, when not used judiciously only results in frustration.

The story is told of a boy who goes to work clearing a forest. He is quite distraught because although he is working harder each day he is chopping down fewer trees. His Boss asks him, “Have you taken time to sharpen your axe?” “No” he replied. I have been too busy.”

It is important to work wiser not just faster.

Here are some tips to get you working sharper not harder:

·       Prioritize:                                           Align your time, effort and energy with your highest priorities and first focus on what really matters most.

·       Establish deadlines:                           If not you will always be completing tasks at the last minute.

·       Ignore distractions:                            Do not allow unimportant interruptions to derail your plan for the day.

·       Develop a contingency plan:             Have a Plan B when executing any important undertaking.

·       Procrastination is your enemy:          There will not be more time later. Remember, there are never more than 24 hours in the day.

·       Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!         You are not the only capable person in the universe.

·       Get rid of clutter:                                Efficiency cannot flourish in chaos.

·       Execute one task at a time:               Multi-tasking does not reflect efficiency. It sacrifices quality for quantity.

·       Schedule time for yourself:                Without time for prayer, meditation, exercise, and nutritious meals, even the best-laid plans will fail.

  A car without gas will get you nowhere regardless of how fast you manoeuvre the steering-wheel.

                        Keep soaring!

Love and Blessings.

Ettie                                                                                        www.ereducationconsulting.com     eruth97@sympatico.com