Identify Your Time Stealers
This is a post I did over at Declutter It! that I thought you would find useful:
There are so many things in our lives that can steal our time away. I’ve had many days where I have asked “What in the world did I accomplish today?” Some time wasters are completely out of our control and we just have to learn to go with the flow.
Do you find yourself thinking or saying some of these phrases:
- “I need more time!”
- “Maybe I can survive off of 4 hours of sleep tonight.”
- “Oh man, I’m late again. This is getting old!”
- “Where did my day go? I don’t feel like I did anything.”
Our time is so precious. We only get that one day once. We can’t wake up tomorrow and re-do the day. I know that sounds like a “Well duh!” statement, but I feel too many times we don’t realize that. We don’t realize that we need to make every day count for something. Even if you had a horrible day you can still gain something out of it.
What Robs You of Your Time?
But what about those days that we do have control over? What is it about those days that still causes us to feel drained and defeated? Here is a list of things that can rob you of your time:
- A Messy Desk
- Procrastination
- A Cluttered Home
- Unrealistic time estimates
- Not setting deadlines
- No planning
- Lack of nutrition
- Unclear goals
- Open door policy at work
- Negative attitude
- Long phone calls
- Distractions all around you
Possible Solutions to Those Time Stealers
I could make this list a mile long but I’ll stop there. Stop and think for a minute what things are robbing you of your time. Write them down and then write down some possible solutions.
If a messy cluttered home is the culprit, make a plan to get your home organized. You can either do it yourself or hire some professional help, like a professional organizer. You can find an organizer in your area by visiting NAPO.
If the problem is an open door policy at work, change it. Tell your staff that your door is open from 9am-11am and when your door is closed, they either need to schedule an appointment with you or send you an email. If you show good time management skills, maybe your staff will follow.
If the problem is a negative attitude, try to determine why it’s there in the first place. Are you negative because it seems like you will never have things at least the tiniest bit under control? Are you negative because you start out everyday stressed out because you can’t find anything?
Try to determine the root of it and then lay out a plan to change your attitude. For example: Make it a goal to organize one room a month. If it’s your work that is creating the negative attitude because you are overloaded, try mapping out a plan to finish things and get caught up. If you feel overwhelmed and don’t even know where you would start, enlist a third party to help like a friend or a time management expert.
There are ways to take back our time, but if we don’t first define what is stealing it away in the first place, then you can not create a solution.
Tags: office-organizing-solutions, organizing-tips, time-management-tipsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Productivity, Time Management
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