Time Management was a quality I prided my self on… until I REALLY became busy. I was having a conversation with my partner on the topic of Time Management, I was describing my old method of time management which was based purely on prioritisation and was inspired by a piece of advise which was given to me some time ago…
“Deep down inside.. You know what you need to do when it needs to be done”.
Be honest aware,aware, Aware
You must be honest with yourself about what needs to be done, being sensitive to how you are feeling, being aware of moments of procrastination, being aware of how you feel when things are left undone, being aware of how you are investing your time moment to moment. Being aware of any anxiety or stress which may come in the form of muscle tension, head aches, increased heart rate, high blood pressure, the overwhelming feeling of not being in control, a general lostness (if there’s such a word)
Making Time
“Deep down inside… you know what you need to do when it needs to be done”. Get clear about your priorities separate the important from the unimportant. Commit the important to paper and follow through with action. It’s that simple!
Ok it can’t…
get anymore simplistic then that could it! … I recognised and became aware of my own signs of stress . I noticed signs of stress such as muscle tension and shallow breathing. Have you noticed that foot taping thing that people do when sitting? Its a major sign that something is going on in a persons mind, I’ve seen people tapping away at such speed, it seem’s like they were attempting to drill their feet into the ground, its crazy but I know it can be so soothing, I used to do it all the time. By paying attention to my feelings I became aware of when I was miss managing my time. Unfinished business plays around and around in the back of ones head and the signs manifest in the body as stress and anxiety.
Don’t put your Shizzle off
What happens when we put our important important shizzle off, we get stressed and over whelmed. Generally when people are stressed, we look for comfort or relaxation of some kind or find distraction in TV and Computer Games etc, which may give our minds some temporary distraction. But the problem’s still there and stress and anxiety continue to build up.
If the pattern of not addressing the causes of stress continues, distraction turns into the formation of bad behaviours such as drug use or food and alcohol abuse and that foot taping thing.
Amazing Results
You know what, listening to yourself absolutely works – Goodbye stress. I defined my tasks i.e. I got clear on what was causing my stress I got clear on, what I had do and accomplish, I got to work. Defining and getting clear about the job at hand was easy, why because I prioritised my work load and my goals, I simply dumped every non productive activity from my day. I once had a very busy social life which consisted of chilling out with the boys smoking, drinking, clubbing, playing computer games I was the king of Street Fighter, the rest of my time I spent with the Ladies.
Yes my life was extremely busy even back then. I wanted to do so much more with my time, but I didn’t have time, something had to give. I dealt with my time management issues by getting clear about what I really wanted out of life. I prioritised, which meant dropping all non productive activities. Over the course of a few months I managed to free up so much time that I now had time gaps in my diary that had to be filled with something worth while. I didn’t want to full back into old habits’. My whole impetus has been in the area of human excellence/development so with my newly found free time research and study became the order of the day.
The “drop it” Method
After 30 days or so of total emergence in my research and study, I found my thoughts and habit had totally changed, its funny because I had formed a total distaste for my old lifestyle and behaviours, I had founded a magnetic attraction that pulled me towards my goals, and repelled me from distraction. I was more productive and I had more free time which I filled with hobbies Reading, Acting, Drama and Music, which is one of my major passions. Freeing up time gave me time to creatively jam with friends and enjoy my art; Music can have a real up lifting electrifying effect on the spirit.
By dropping all non productive activities I managed to stay on course with greater ease while having fun in the process, time management no problem, well that’s what I thought then. Fast forward three years, and the foundations has been laid for today’s work. Heavily investing time into my development, investing time into business, investing time to my new family and the hobbies/activities that I believe gives me the edge – time management has become more crucial. With such a busy schedule the “drop it” method which I used during a time of my life when my commitments to personal development, greater mental competency and the enhancement of my academic and creative skills out weighed my social and recreational commitments.
To drop all my old recreational commitment and lifestyle was a piece of cake, because deep down inside I knew that I was not using my time wisely, I could not continue to hide form the anxiety it created within me.
When I was miss managing my time , by over indulging in TV, Computer Games and all that comes with excessive partying and socialising, I couldn’t distract myself from the anxiety caused by time mismanagement. I knew
deep down inside that my goals weren’t being meet. prioritisation was easy, its simple really, I bought a diary and lived by it, each task in its rightful time and place, the most important first. A time slot to deal with smaller less pressing tasks and linking as many of my task together and making them as enjoyable as possible, such as reading when queuing in the bank, supermarket, park and some times reading whilst walking having a set daily routine for workouts, household chores etc – it worked fantastical!
How much of a dictator is too much
Now three year on now the same basic principle still apply. At this stage time management has to be implemented like a dictator. The necessity for a fluid structure is the key element to my continued success, in all areas family business social etc. a fluid structure is necessary because one can’t possibly plan for every eventuality in a day, even with the best time management system but you can set your course with a plan and a list of goals, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey has one of the best time management systems I have encounter – check it out!
Energise to make the most of time
Energy management is often at times a forgotten principle of time management, you know how it goes, you can have the greatest plan for the month, week, day and not have enough juice to get started on second tasks let alone tasks three and four.
With energy management in mind it is very important not to eat late at night no big meals after 8:00 in the evening and keep your large meals limited to the early portion of your day.
At this junction in time, time management has really taken on its true meaning, having to juggling a more complex formation of balls, balls being, family, personal development and all the activities it involves, business, perpetual education, social life.
Juggling glass
balls
Some balls bounce when dropped and some balls smash. Paying attention to the glass balls, what are the glass balls? Well your health is important, it is often neglected in our society which focuses more on beauty and comfort and taste etc rather then vitality and nutrition. The key word in health is vitality. Your vitality is one of those glass balls. Personally being a great father is one of those glass balls that must deserve special attention along with spiritual need of connection or relationship with the divine/god which is a glass ball that is closely related to health and well being.
Balls that bounce
Many of the events or balls that may seem major in the short term are actually minor in the long term, be sure to pay routine attention to your glass balls or your priorities whatever is important to you, it may be business, family, health, spiritual wellbeing, your perpetual education, social life. Some of these balls we can leave to bounce for a short time, others can bounce off to a role and full stop – to pick it up and throw it back into the loop at a later date.
Being a world class juggler of your time means that you will mess up and miss a ball or two at times. With persistence comes a new order or rhythm, it may not be perfect but it will be workable, you can learn from your past mistakes to make greater successes – eye of the tiger baby.
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- Jedi time management the philosophy of the force and time
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If you find this information helpful take part in the spirit of giving and share with a friend… each one teach one!
