Time management for the right side of the brain – a ha!

This is a subject that continues to beleagure me (so how *do* you spell it?) time management for times of right brain activity.

  And I am very aware that my time management is undermined by setting myself more tasks that I have time for.  Basically because I underestimate the amount of time they take. 

 I had no idea thse two things were related. 

I’ve just fnished watching Time Management for Anarchists: The Movie and that’s the source of the ah-ha moment.  Make it a creative project to find out how much time each task will take to make future planning more effective.  Thanks Mike!

Time management – is it an owl vs lark thing?

I’ve just read a blog post that suggested getting up early as a time management tool.

I have to say that when I get up early I achieve more, and I don’t think it’s the extra hours in the day because I often have to have a nap late in the day to catch up some sleep.  It also happens to suit my life and family.

And to suit my life and family I’ve converted myself from an owl to a lark.  It’s not my natural style at all, but it does seem to work in terms of productivity.

What I want to know is – Is this working because of  personal style?  Is it an owl vs lark thing, or is there really something in getting up early to increase productivity?

Time Management – decluttering

I have reorganised my office.  All of the files.  All of the supplies.  All of the furniture.

Yes I know I am a hoarder.  That’s another issue!

Nevertheless it was a huge task and has taken weeks in spare moments. 

I am down to the last little items.  But I have to say that the one huge motivator has been to divide the job into small bites.  If I can see success, no matter how small, I am encouraged to continue.  I look, today at the clear floor in front of the cabinet and I am spurred on again to attack the last piles in front of the bookshelves and then it is finished.

It is the cabinet I look at above my computer screen and already I am enjoying the calming effect of tidy spaces and lack of the overwhelming clutter that used to face me every day. 

Small bites, I thank you!

Time management – daily investment

I was brought up by children of the depression.  Or maybe they just had common sense.  Invest now, be safe later was the credo for life, not just financial things.  Anyway I seem to have taken it on board.  I don’t always practise it , but it seems to be there in many of the things I do.

Sometimes it’s not easy to do.  Especially if I am busy and stressed.  Especially when it comes to time management.

Given a few peaceful hours lately, I have introduced the habit of setting time aside each morning to list the activities for the day.  It is working well.  Helps me focus on what I should be doing and not being distracted, because I know there is time set aside for that distraction, whatever its category may have been, like research or opening emails, or reading.

I must remember to keep it flexible, because I know in the past that I get stressed if things don’t get done.  “Hey, there is always tomorrow.”  “One day soon you’ll get some free time”.  “Re-prioritise” 

But I know that this investment is going to pay off, because it not only keeps me on track, but it’s also a visual record of what my priorities have been, and therefore a useful planning tool for future review times.

Time management – more than just Task Management

It helps to think of time management as task management.  That way it’s easier to keep the connection between goals and the actions needed to attain them.  And that connection is vital to staying focussed.  It’s also vital to priotitisng each day, each hour and to staying in the present.

I see one disdvantage, or perhaps it’s an adjustment that must be made in thinking.  When we think of time management in terms of that goal — task connection it tends to focus on the tasks of work and creating and producing and success.  It tends not to focus on personal goals and their tasks.  And while we stay focused and prioritise and stay in the present, we may be reducing stress, but not necessarily attending to personal balance and stability and health. 

Well it has been that way for me. 

I think we all need to remind ourselves that personal health and sanity are goals too.  If we attend to those as part of the prioritising process then any time/task management will be more sucessful in the long run. 

Time spent exercising, relaxing, having fun, getting fresh air and enjoying the environment are worthy goals.    An the same process that has us implementing the tasks to achieve goals in the areas of production/creating/business applies.  We find ways to make them enjoyable so that we are motivated to do them.  We find ways to fit them into the daily schedule.  And we find ways to achieve them efficiently and effectively.  And we get great satifaction out of the enjoyment and the success of our efforts.  The same can  apply to the personal ones as well. 

I’m off to the gym where, along with the development of coordination and muscle structure and fitness, I am learning the self-talk words to use to make the effort enjoyable – the latest are “easy” and “I can”!!

Time management – Solid blocks of work

I’m going to devote this month to time management.  Mostly because it’s a challenge I’ve been working on these last couple of weeks, but because it will always be a challenge.

Why?  I think it’s because I alternate between periods of intense creative excitement and periods of calm, rational organisation, and I’m hoping time management (which really should be termed “task management”) will help to even those two out. 

The concept I want to explore these days is letting go of multitasking.  I think it’s what happens during the excited creativity, though I’m not sure.  I’m finding, however, that if I can dedicate a time period, and at the moment it’s half an hour, but may extend, to one task, then that task gets completed and I feel more satisfied. 

Multitasking reassures me that at least things have been attended to, even if some of them aren’t finished, but I think it’s an escape from having prioritised less than rationally.  Because I have to learn by doing, I’ll see what happens with the current experiment.