Are You Always Running Out of Time?
Wow, can you believe we're already halfway through August? Time's flying by at super speed, leaving a pile of unfinished tasks in its wake. Is time on fast-forward mode or what?
That's not why I don't get stuff done on time. The real reason is way easier, I just suck at managing time. When I listened to Running Out of Time by Paramore and felt like they were calling me out, I knew I had to make a change.
For me the inability to manage my time comes down to two reasons.
1. I tend to be a sheep without a sheepdog.
Meaning I have a tendency to lack direction. This results in bad planning or no real planning at all.
I also have a bad habit of ignoring facts such as not paying a bill on time even though I know how many days I have until it is due. Let's blame that on my self diagnosed ADD!
A person that falls into this category might not do well with estimating time. Such as not knowing how long it takes to perform a certain task and wind up being late for an event.
2. The second reason time can get away from me is because I am a perfectionist.
Some of you that know me personally might not think this is true as some of my work or projects can be lacking.
Some of the characteristics of a perfectionist are
- worrying what other people think
- fearing rejection
- taking too long for a simple task
- overthinking projects without taking action
- depressive spells
- short tempered
- high stress levels
- thinks they can do it all and do not delegate
Are you surprised by any of these? Do some of these characteristics sound like you?
A perfectionist can easily get caught up overthinking and then giving second rate work because the mental energy has been spent.
So how does one go about overcoming these obstacles and become efficient when managing time?
The key is establishing fresh routines and shifting your perspective on life in general.
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To overcome sheep without a sheepdog a plan is needed.
One should start with a daily list of tasks. Limit yourself to 8-10 a day. After the list is complete give each task a category.
- Important and Urgent
- Important and Not urgent
- Busy work
- Waste of time
Beginning a new challenge can be well, challenging. sandwich your new habit with two of your morning routine daily habits, like drinking your coffee (established habit) making a daily list (new habit) brushing your teeth (established habit)
Proceed through your list according to importance. Don't forget to work something into your day that is just for you and will fill your cup. Something I have been doing for myself is putting on an instrumental song from spotify. During the length of the song I dance. My moves aren't great or structured. I dance to my feelings, if I am stressed my body moves into it. Doing this gets me feeling connected to my body and lets my feelings flow.
You can expect obstacles to arise and may want to note them onto your list. Setting boundaries and learning to say NO are necessary to stay on task.
Remember not everything on your list has to be done by you. You can and should scan your list to see what could be delegated. Talking to you my fellow perfectionists and moms!
The rest of this month I challenge myself and you to begin to actually manage your time.
