Time management… the elusive skill. Or is it? We all have 24 hours in a day and it is our choice on how we use them.
If you feel that you need more time than 24 hours a day. If you are overwhelmed on a daily basis it is time to take control.
Begin by setting yourself up for success. In the book Never Check E-mail in the Morning: and other unexpected strategies for making your work life work (Fireside 2004) author Julie Morgenstern’s competency of creating the time to get things done includes avoiding e-mail for the first hour of the day.
Think about it. You have your day planned for success and the first thing you do is check e-mail which leads to responding to those items. It means that you have allowed others to plan your day or priorities. Then before you know it half of the day has gone by and you haven’t even touched your to do list. Morgenstern states, “…if you postpone your most important task, it hangs over your head all day, weighing you down with dread and guilt. If you knock it off first thing in the morning, the relief buoys you up all day long, literally energizing and boosting your productivity as you tackle the rest of the items on your to-do list.”
So take a page out of Morgenstern’s book and this week don’t check e-mail for the first hour of your day and see what happens. You might be surprised that you find a few extra hours in your day, increase your productivity and feel more balanced.
I would enjoy hearing back from those that try this.