The impact of effective time management February 1, 2009
Posted by Vincent in Uncategorized.trackback
Welcome to the first of six blog entries directed at the theme of managing your time. Incidentally, I aimed to have this entry out on the 17th January but was thwarted by family illness; not an irony but a matter of prioritisation.
Here’s my personal time management challenge: I have a full time job as a leadership developer within a large university. I am the single dad of a boy not quite 4 and he often has asthma requiring hands-on nursing. I run Morpheus Coaching outside of work hours where I do executive and life coaching face to face, on the telephone or using electronic technology. I run this blog and design and decorate wedding and birthday cakes. I travel the World during my holidays and am an active photographer (doing some paid work and some for fun) http://www.flickr.com/photos/26816965@N02/page4/. I am also studying towards an Masters in Coaching Psychology which I will extend to a PhD once completed. I also eat (and cook), exercise (I recently ran in a charity half-marathon), sleep (well), play with my son, watch tv and films, read books, shop and have healthy social life.
In no way am I setting myself up here as a paragon of virtue in the way I manage my time nor am I assuming a Guru’s position; I do however successfully and healthily pack lots into my life and in sharing my strategies hope to give some hints as to the way “I suck eggs!”
The impact for me of managing my time effectively means I enjoy many experiences and in a way that keeps me healthy, successful and fulfilled. Yes, but maybe I am wired in a way that lets me manage time easily? – not so… My natural tendency is to start lots of things and not complete them. Administratively (bills, paperwork, assignments letters, etc) I am naturally disorganised and I can become absorbed in just about anything I wish to. What I am saying here is that being a natural time manager is not part of my identity at all – I am naturally unfocussed, disorganised, impetuous and absorbed in the moment.
What I ACTUALLY do however is completely different to that. I make managing my time a discipline, part of my way of doing things – a set of behaviours I habitually adopt that allows me to do things differently and more effectively. It has become part of the way I behave not necesarily how I am.
I view time in blocks; fitting the most appropriate things into the block of time available – a good metaphor here is it’s like packing my grocery bags at the supermarket check-out – certain items go with certain others, some shapes fit perfectly and some items take almost take up an entire bag. Some need to be protected or they will get squashed out of shape or will get broken. A bag packed well will contain the largest number of items, safely and can be carried to the car without bursting or the handles breaking!
In the next part I will be looking at the ways I manage my time.
I really would like your feedback and contributions here.
Bye for now.
Hello,
This is a great article. Have you heard of “Getting things done” by David Allen? Great technique.
I wrote about it on my blog, http://www.volkerballueder.com – so let me know if that helps.
Cheers
Volker
Thanks for the feedback. Yes I am familiar with David Allen’s GTD work; I really realate to the down-to-earth approach he takes. There was a blog entry he made back in 2004 responding to a question about the lack of academic research into the effects of time management. http://www.davidco.com/blogs/david/archives/2004/04/why_no_research.html
I agree with his response in that time manages itself; it is the way we manage OUR time that matters. It does not have to be the provinence of those born able to plan and control with ease – it can also be achieved by adopting a set of sensible and practical habits geared towards utilising time taken to get things done – and of course that includes doing the right things, doing things right and doing the right things right!