We are men. We are women. We are mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and partners. And we all carry heavy plates onto which we cannot possibly fit one more thing.
When you say that you don’t have time for something, are you absolutely sure you don’t; or is the problem really a case of working inefficiently?
After all, 78% of us never plan our daily work.
When was the last time you stopped to think about all the things you have to do this week and actually added up how long it would take? More than that, when was the last time you actually gave yourself some time in your schedule to get those things done - rather than just try to cram them in?
Isn’t that a bit like telling twelve-year-old Billy on Monday to have his room cleaned by 8:00 Saturday morning for a fishing trip? And if it isn’t cleaned up, he doesn’t go.
Although he is busy during the school day and participates in regular after school activities, Billy doesn’t make good choices during the week that allow him time to clean his room.
However, he really wants to go fishing and all week long he is mentally stressed about the fast approaching Saturday deadline.
You can be sure that when Saturday morning comes around Billy will be stuffing his dirty laundry under the bed and hiding garbage in the closet to make the room appear clean. He rationalizes that he can ‘deal with the rest later.’
As adults, we really aren’t that different. We stress out all week long over approaching deadlines, only to end up discouraged and spinning in circles by Friday. We stuff our ‘dirty laundry’ into our desk drawers and hide unfinished work behind closed doors; and then rationalize that we can ‘deal with the rest later.’
There has to be a better way! And luckily, there is.
Michael Linenberger, author of Total Workday Control using Microsoft Office, suggests that we do take the time to mentally add up how much time it would take to complete our tasks each week and then actually schedule that amount of time into our calendars.
So for example, if I have 5 hours’ worth of tasks (phone calls, replying to emails, typing up meeting minutes, whatever) then I need to schedule 5 hours’ worth of time blocks into my calendar so I can get everything done without having to work into the night.
And then I need to really work on my tasks during those time blocks rather than check my email, surf the net or visit with co-workers.
Go ahead, give it a try. Write down all the things you REALLY need to complete this week and then do the math. Make appointments to get your tasks accomplished. I guarantee you will be surprised.
Until next time,
Happy Organizing!
