Posts from the ‘Time Management’ Category

Get Out of Overwhelm with Strategic Time Management in 3 Steps

Overwhelm and time management go hand-in-hand don’t they? So often we think of all the things we need to, should have done, wish we’d have done, and would like to do as if they were one thought and all went together.

It’s no wonder that overwhelm comes in! We are processing four things at one time!

Needs, Shoulds, Wishes and Woulds.  Naturally, it seems that we, as women, then tackle that list and take of the Needs first.  What needs to be done.  Yet, again, overwhelm steps in.  We are women, mothers, wives and girlfriends, professionals, best friends, house doctors, housekeepers and chefs all in one!  Our Needs list, that list of things we need to do, is never ending.  Yes, we tackle our list but we all know, it is never ending and there is never enough time for what we want to do.

With a toddler, another baby on the way, a household to take care and a business to run I find I am turning to my past experience and training as a Project Manager more and more to help me stay out of overwhelm, get things done strategically and still feel relatively sane at the end of the day.  Below are three things I am proud to share with you.

1.  What Am I Trying to Accomplish?  Quite literally this is how I start and end my day.  With the never ending list of things I need to do, I created my high level goals, now paired down to three things, for which I work towards each day.  One is work related.  (What am I trying to accomplish?)  Another is hobby related.  (What am I trying to accomplish?)  The third is lifestyle related.  (You guessed it, what am I trying to accomplish?)  They are big lofty goals that I can only envision require a lot of work and discipline.  In the end, I know that these things will make feel more accomplished, be something I am proud to have done and do and will overall raise my level of satisfaction.  (Quick note: I am generally one of the most happy and peaceful persons I know, yet I still strive for more simply because this is what I enjoy.)

In the end, my day focuses around what am I trying to accomplish for that day and that week.

2. Be Fair With Yourself and Time.  As if you could control how fast time flew by, let’s just admit that things take longer than you anticipate.  They always do.  Things always take longer which is why I hate “just doing something quickly” because I know it never ends up that way.  (I have another full blog written about “Just” that you can read from here.)  In any event, it’s fair that things comes up, things take longer than expected, that a simple project is interrupted many times, and that instead of this simple task taking two steps, it will take ten.  None of which could you have known until you got started.   We are always rushing around as if we are late but how could we not be with so many different responsibilities Really though, the moral of the story is to be fair to yourself and the time it requires to get anything done.  As natural multi-taskers, we don’t have the luxury of the world stopping so we can complete something.  Be fair to yourself, create small manageable tasks and celebrate each accomplishment.   These small tasks, if you do it consistently, will get the bigger stuff done too. 

3. Use Your Resources. I can’t tell you if using your online calendar and you phone calendar, journals and notebooks are the answer for you.  What I know is what works for me.  I know I am very visual and love lists.  I have them all over the place.  For scheduled things, they go in my online calendar which syncs to my phone.  I would be lost forever without it.  For my goals, I use notebooks (for long-term tracking) and index cards (for daily tracking) for to-do lists.  This may start to sound silly but the index cards are a visual reminder for me to remember what I want to do that day.  The notebooks do the same just on a larger scale.  I also use Evernote (a great productivity app) to capture all those other lists.  These are those lists of things and ideas I would have no idea what to do with elsewhere but know 1) I need to get the thoughts out my head or 2) will want the information in the future.  I delegate what I can or what I know will drive me nuts.  I use my resources as tools to help me stay organized and on track.  Use what you know works for you.  Trial and error and consistency will help you get past the minutia of details that stops you. 

Best of luck!

**image from ThingsThatSing