On one of my coaching calls this week we addressed an issue that many people are struggling with right now, so I thought that I would write about it. Thank you Judy for being willing to talk about the challenge you’re having because it’s opened up a way to help more people with the same issue.
Although the issue relates to time management and getting things done, it actually is about more than that. To me it’s about how you’re using your energy. What’s draining you, what’s energizing you and how does that help you to accomplish the things you want to accomplish (or not)?
There are very few people these days who would say that they don’t have a lot to do. You have certain tasks that you want to complete each day, and that would certainly keep you busy enough, but add to that the many other interruptions that present themselves during the day, things like:
- A client or customer calls and needs urgent attention
- Interruptions from co-workers/colleagues who want to ask you something, or just want to chat
- Meetings
- Phone calls from family or friends
- e-mails – do you have your e-mail software open all the time?
These are just some of the things that can stop us doing what we set out to do. And before you know it, the end of the day has arrived and you’re frantically playing catch-up.
You’ve probably tried to implement various systems and time-management methods to manage your time better, but they may have left you feeling even more overwhelmed as you try to learn and implement a new system that just feels like more work. That has certainly been true for me.
I think the answer lies in two fairly simple approaches:
Be aware of your energy patterns:
Become familiar with your energy cycles and when you feel like you are most productive. For example, if your energy is higher in the morning and that’s when you feel most productive, that may be the time that it’s best for you to do your creative work – writing, putting proposals together, working with numbers, etc. If your energy is a little lower in the afternoon, that may be the time when you sit back and make phone calls, and make time for your clients.
Recognizing your daily energy patterns is important because it helps you to really make the most of your day. You’ll find if you try this approach that you will actually accomplish so much more because you’re not fighting to do something creative that needs lots of energy during a time of the day when your energy is at its lowest.
Set boundaries on interruptions
E-mail is an interruption – particularly if you leave it on all the time and find yourself checking it frequently. It’s much better (and more productive) to schedule specific times during the day to check and respond to e-mails. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening before you leave, for example. I do know that this can be difficult to implement and we think that people will get upset when we don’t respond to their e-mails right away. But really people don’t get that upset – particularly if you tell them that you are implementing a new system to help you be more efficient and that system requires you to check and respond to e-mails just twice or three times each day. They will get used to it. If they need you urgently, they can pick up the phone.
Phone calls – let people know that you return calls between certain times of the day. Let them leave a message with what it is they need so you can be prepared when you get back to them. If it’s urgent, then perhaps you give them your cell phone number. But if they start to call you when it’s not urgent, you’ll have to set a boundary and tell them you can’t deal with it until the set time you have for returning calls.
Friends/Family/Colleague interruptions – you don’t want to cut yourself off completely and never have time for a chat, but you don’t want to do it if it’s making you feel stressed because you’re not getting things done. Again, you can set aside times for this and let people know when you’re available.
These are just some of the ways that you can start to take control of your time and your energy. Don’t try to implement them all at once though. Try implementing just one at a time and when you feel comfortable with that, then you can move on to the next one. So, for example, you could start with the e-mail and not move on to anything else until that’s working for you.
Re-claim your energy now. Try these techniques and they really can give you your energy back and help you feel more energized, productive and satisfied at the end of the day.
Tags: Life Balance, Life energy, time management
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