Time Management – The Seven Deadly Sins
When it comes to running a business, juggling all the competing priorities and staying focussed on the job, we can all slip and become a little sinful. Really – where does the time go? You have a ‘To Do List’ a mile long, the phone keeps ringing, your website is down, there are deliveries to ship, mail to open, bills to pay, places to go and people to see. Is it any wonder you sometimes head over to the dark side!
Have you been indulging in any of the following 7 Deadly Sins of Time Management?
Lust – What about me?
You are busy. You have so many balls in the air, and often lust for more, that it’s no wonder you let a few drop here and there. Yet the ball you most often drop is ‘self-care’. When you find yourself with a little spare time you never seem to spend it on yourself. Instead you fill it with another task or chore and you ignore health.
Strategy: Start scheduling time for your own mental and physical health, or whatever else it is that you lust after – success, happiness, family time – will also suffer.
Gluttony – You don’t say No
When you say Yes to all the requests that come your way, two things happen:
- you will quickly run out of time; and
- the requests will keep coming because you are the Go To Personal who always delivers.
There just isn’t enough time to do everything, and be everything, for everyone.
Strategy: Learning to say No is challenging and will take persistence. Next time a request comes your way, just pause for a few seconds and think ’is this the best use of my time’? If it’s not, then give a polite ’No, I’m sorry, I can’t commit to that right now, but I will come back to you if that changes. And remember – every time you say Yes to someone you are saying No to yourself.
Greed – You were told you could have it all. So, what happened?
You might think that you can have it all. You might even think you need it all. Wrong. You don’t need to have it all. Chasing the lot will leave your time tank on empty.
Strategy: Identify what is most important to you and then just chase those things. By focusing on what’s most important, and forgetting the rest, you remove the distractions and free up time for the good stuff.
Sloth – You don’t know where to start and so you don’t
You know you need to manage your time smarter, but you have 1000 excuses as to why today is not the best day to start.
Strategy: Let’s face it, there’s never going to be a best day to change poor habits or time sucking routines. But you do need to pick a day. Find the space to reframe – take control and circle a date in your diary, or you will put this off forever.
Wrath – Don’t get busy, get productive
We need to stop the glorification of ‘busy’. When asked how we are, we tend to tell people we ‘are busy’. But just what is it that is generating all of this busy-ness?
Being constantly ‘busy’ isn’t a badge of honour, it’s just a bi-word for being ‘unproductive’.
Strategy: Next time someone asks you how you are don’t answer ‘I’m so busy!’ , instead have a suite of positive answers such as ‘I’m great, I am getting so much done!”, you will be surprised by how people respond, as well as the boost it will give you.
Envy – look at her…
You compare yourself to others in your circle. You know, the ones who seems to manage it all without raising a sweat. Or you jump online and end up with ‘Social Media Envy’ – why does their life look so much better than yours?
Strategy: Stop second guessing your own actions based on your perception of how amazing someone else is. Set your own goals. Identify your own Values. Live your own life.
Pride – You don’t ask for help
Trying to do it all while attempting to maintain and grow your business success is not sustainable.
Look at this through a different lens – if you were to burn out you would be replaced by a team of people managing the many facets of your life. So, if it takes a team of people to replace you, how is it that you thought you could manage to do it all on your own in the first place?
Strategy: It’s OK to ask for help. It’s OK to expect help. It’s OK to pay for help. Start seeking help when you need it.
Some or all of these 7 Deadly Time Management Sins will have resonated with you, so next time you catch yourself walking along the path of darkness just pause, rethink what you are doing, and change your course.
