Time management isn’t just an issue for busy executives. When you’re in the volunteering stage of your work-life it is a much needed skill. Volunteers often over-extend themselves and also feel that they should be able to complete 99 tasks and projects at home just because they are not “working” in an office.
In my many coaching hours I’ve seen that women often leave the workforce in search of more time at home–but when they get there they are even more stressed out than they were with a paid job. The competing forces of children, husband, aging parents and household management (and often much more) make “me time” fleeting and To Do lists long.
How do you inject some method into the madness? Executive Coach Roy Assad of Florida-based Human Capital Group shared his simple but powerful method for “breaking through” the clutter. –KAS
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The majority of us are living lives that have hit – or are exceeding – the threshold of complexity. We have endless to-do lists scribbled on sticky-notes that occupy every available surface of our lives.
When we see another person strolling along with an attitude that screams “No worries,” we wonder, “How do they do it?”
In this era of the information superhighway, multi-tasking, media saturation, Wifi hotspots, and being plugged in 24/7, peace of mind isn’t something that comes naturally. You’ve got to work for it just like you work for everything else.
There are a few simple strategies that will help you break through your chaotic outer life to the other side of inner calm:
1. Make a list of all the “incompletes” in your life.
2. Make a list of all the things you tolerate in your life.
3. Make a list of all the things that are repetitive in your life.
Incompletes are things that still need to be done and are hanging over you. They can be big things like I haven’t spoken to my daughter in a year and I need to call. Or they can be little things like I need to change the light bulb in the lamp on my night table. List everything. Don’t worry about how you’ll fix it — just write it down.
The second strategy is making a list of things you tolerate. We typically tolerate people – like that person who always brings your mood down when you get together, yet you agree to spend time together anyway because… well, you’re not exactly sure WHY but you’ve never done anything to stop it. That’s tolerating. Put that person on your list. And sometimes we tolerate things, like an old car with no heat or air, or a house that’s too small for our family. Again, don’t worry about how you’ll fix it, just write it down.
Finally, make a list of all the repetitive things you do every month that you’re going to do next month and the month after: get a haircut, pay the rent, change the oil in your car, change the filter in your air conditioner. Spend some time with this list because it’s important to include everything. Don’t skip anything, no matter how mundane or silly it seems.
Once you have your lists, create three folders labeled as follows:
1. Things I am doing NOW
2. Things I am NOT doing now
3. Things I am NEVER doing now
Now go back through your three lists and write each item on a separate piece of paper. Then put each item in the appropriate folder.
A word of caution about the folders: The NOW folder can only be filled with items that you’ll actually do – today, now. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can do more today than you really can. Otherwise, you’ll feel guilty and that defeats the purpose of this project.
Everything that doesn’t go into the NOW folder goes into one of the other two. The NOT NOW folder is for things you intend to do in the next few days or week. The NEVER folder is reserved for far-fetched things that are neither urgent nor immediately important.
Once you’ve filed everything into your folders, your job is to complete what’s in the NOW folder. At the end of every day the NOW folder should be empty. This will give you a great sense of satisfaction because you’ll actually see what you’ve accomplished that day.
Each morning, review your NOT NOW folder to see what you are choosing to do that day. This is a deceptively simple mind trick you’re playing on yourself. Instead of beating yourself up for things you couldn’t find time to do each day, you’re telling yourself that you choose to do certain things and choose not to do other things.
Once a month, review what’s in your NEVER folder, and see if there’s anything you want to move into the NOW or NOT NOW folders, or perhaps you can simply let go of these tasks altogether.
If you commit yourself to this easy system you’ll begin to see your attitude change dramatically. You won’t feel overwhelmed anymore, and you’ll face each morning with a sense of possibility and wonder — instead of stress and dread.
Originally posted on: 9 lives for women
