YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT PROBLEM MAY
NOT BE ABOUT MANAGING TIME
Your Time Management Problem
Article by Ling Wong
Photo Credit: Rose Jane
Magazine: Issue #19
Maybe you have tried all the “time management” tools and methods under the sun, and still feel that you need a 28-hour day.
The problem is, you may not be attacking your problem with the right tool! Your “time” problem may not be a “time” problem, so using “time management” tools and methods is not going to get to the bottom of the issue.
So let’s get to the bottom of it and solve your TIME problem:
Root Cause #1: You Lack Clarity
Without a clear vision/objective/goal, you don’t know what you need to do to achieve what you want so you try to do everything everyone tells you because they “sound good”. Without a Conviction, everything sounds like the right thing to do – yeah, they may be “right” but are they right for YOU? What is YOUR priority?
The Cure: Get clear on what you want your business to do FOR YOU. Design your business based on your passion, conviction, superpowers and vision. Map out your fastest path to cash that is in alignment with your Truth. Then you will know what you need to do next. Then make that ONE thing the non-negotiable item in your day.
Root Cause #2: You Lack Boundary
Of course, we need healthy boundary with other people so you don’t say “yes” to taking on other people’s shit; say “yes” to opportunities that are not aligned with your value and big vision; say “yes” to arrangements that infringe on your money boundary (time = money).
But more importantly, we often overlook the boundary we need to establish with ourselves. It can be much harder because it is much harder to realize that we are infringing our own boundary.
If you set “rules” and then break them, you are infringing on your own boundary. If you let your monkey mind take over and derail you with negative thoughts, fears and distractions, you are infringing on your own boundary. If you let yourself do things that don’t serve your big vision, you are infringing on your own boundary.
The Cure: let’s help you figure out what to say “no” to – both to others and to yourself. Imagine you have only 16 hours in your day, and you still have to sleep 8 hours (no cheating!) How would your day look like? What can you realistically accomplish (i.e. the important stuff that will make you feel that the day is well spent) and what can be dropped without a hint of guilt (because it would be humanly impossible to do 24 hours worth of tasks in 16 hours)?
Root Cause #3: You Are Letting Fears Take Over
Not managing our time well often means we don’t get to the important stuff. If we know the stuff is important, why can’t we get to it?
Because, very often, those are the important stuff that will move the needle and rock the boat… but our caveman brain doesn’t like that. Change is scary… even though that’s what you want.
These important things also often require us to put ourselves and our stuff out there. That can trigger the Fear of Inadequacy (what if I/my stuff is not good enough?) and the Fear of Being Vulnerable (what if I get criticized?) To avoid these fears, we procrastinate – aka spend time doing things that don’t matter – so we can delay putting ourselves/our stuff out there.
The Fear of Missing Out can also get the best of us – what if I miss a very important Facebook post? If I don’t read all the tweets I am going to miss something…
The Cure: when you find yourself procrastinating or doing “time suck” stuff, see if it’s a reaction to an underlying fear – e.g. instead of reaching out to potential clients you dawdle on Facebook because you are afraid of rejection.
Cultivate the awareness and acknowledge the fear, then try this 5-minute 6-step process to release it.
