Tweet

Time Management is Bogus

Written by: Craig Jennings

Article Overview: We really don’t understand the problem. You don’t have enough time. Or, You have all the time there is.

Time Management is Bogus

We really don’t understand the problem.

You don’t have enough time. Or,
You have all the time there is.
In fact, time is unmanageable – it just keeps tickin’ along. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Time should be manageable, but it’s not!

Thousands and thousands of pages have been written about “time management.” The trick, of course, is not reading but doing. We think that this comparatively short little piece includes all the direction necessary.

The problem: We can’t manage time. We can manage ourselves, providing we agree that “we have met the enemy, and they is us!” Have a look at this “enemy.” And focus on answer #2 above.

When we look at how we manage our own time, most of us see a mess.

Endless do-lists
Broken agreements with others
Broken agreements with ourselves.
Frustration, anger and a sense of helplessness.
Quotation: “Time is the currency of our lives. How we spend it tells much about us!”

One answer -. Consideration vs. action.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet points this out as a dilemma in his famous soliloquy. I was struck by its pointedness when I revisited it today.

“To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them.”

And, from more modern times, this quote from Conrad Hilton:

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

So, what can we do to stop thinking and get into action?

Bag the endless do-list. We construct them with the best of intentions, but they’re hugely disempowering. What does a do-list really mean? To me, it means that I’m giving myself permission to put it off until later! Can you smell the BS? Here’s a rule: INCLUDE ON A DO-LIST ONLY WHAT YOU PROMISED – TO SOMEONE ELSE OR TO YOURSELF - TO ACCOMPLISH TODAY. DO THAT ONLY. DO IT RIGHT NOW.

Surprise! When we follow this TODAY rule, we’ve now solved problems a, b, and c. above and maybe d.

Identify one thing which is important but not urgent in your world – around your business, your relationships, whatever. You might call it an opportunity, and you know how many times opportunity knocks! Make a space for this opportunity, in time, in your day, on your calendar. One hour a day, 5 days a week, is outstanding.
Give up detailed prioritizing if you’ve been having self-management problems. Just make a commitment to yourself and the world that you will keep your promises and tackle one “Important, not urgent” opportunity item each day.
Be like steel about this. The whole world will try to keep you from managing this! Watch this happen. Your own demons, and the forces of disorganization will attack. Here’s how you strike back.
· Don’t answer the phone(s).

· Close your door or take your laptop to Starbucks.

· Promise yourself you will not end the day without completing this process and the actions associated with it.

· Keep that promise.

· Give yourself an Attaboy when you do.

· Tell someone else how you kept your promise.

· Discover how great you feel about your business and yourself.

When you discover that you’ve put something off, just slot it in tomorrow’s “Important But Not Urgent” time slot, and tackle it a second time with renewed energy.

We’ve addressed “how to do it.” But we haven’t addressed “what to do.”

In the next newsletter, we’ll tackle Goal Setting. Here’s a preview.

Imagine you’re riding a bicycle. You’re sitting on the seat, pedaling like mad. But no-one has control of the handlebars! And no-one is looking down the road ahead.

Many small business owners will tell you that they’d like to spend more time guiding the business, but they just don’t have the time. They just try to pedal faster.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you need a strategy – one which runs over years, not day by day.

For a more powerful focus, I offer classes on running a business, about starting it, about keeping it going, about making it work. Check out my business bootcamp which meets in April and May. Click on this URL http://www.craigjennings.com/classes.html and have a look at the options – some free and some not.

Suggestion: Do It Now!

Related Articles
  A Free Online Home Business
  Something you have, not something you do
  WARNING: If You Have A Blog, Beware Of The Comment Spammers
  Video Forensics: Standard Operating Procedures
  Protecting Your Company From An Online Data Breach

Article Tags: time management



Related Forum Posts
No B.S. Time Management - A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Your Intial Mistakes Business - Hi, When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those learnings have helped me time and again. Some of the mistakes I made were - i. Wrong Time Management ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct iv. Giving too much when it was not required...... I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow. Regards
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
Which kind of industries are you interested in? - Ecological or E-business or Investment or Finance or Management or Non-Profit or Retailer or others.
Books that should be written - [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7] I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this. I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else. As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally. Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Your Local Small Business Online Marketing Funnel

Think Time

Are You My Mentor

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.