How do you choose to spend your time?
Unless you have been able to clone yourself, you have the same 24 hours in a day as the rest of us to get your “to do list” completed. And these 24 hours never seem to be enough. The quality of our lives at work and home is greatly impacted by the small and big decisions we make every day about how we spend our valuable time.
We all understand that (1) we have time, (2) we use up time, and (3) we cannot get that time back. In my work as an Executive Coach, I find the challenge for others and for myself is our ATTITUDE ABOUT TIME and the CHOICES we make in how to spend it.
Whether you choose to do something that improves the world or just sit on the couch playing Solitaire OR CANDY CRUSH on your iPhone. Do we ever look back and ask ourselves – did that activity “measure up”?
We are all very busy, but does it matter how MUCH we do if what we are doing is NOT what matters most?
So what matters most to you?
Aligning how you spend your time on what you value and your aspirations will feel as if you have expanded the amount of time you have.
So to work toward improving how well you use the time you have is to know yourself and know what you want out of the day, the activities that you pursue and out of your LIFE.
Coach’s Suggestion to spend time on what matters most:
STEP 1: Take a few minutes to write down:
- The MOST IMPORTANT roles in your life
- How you define success in each of those roles
- The specific ways you can spend your time in support of each of those roles.
STEP 2: Fill your calendar with these MOST IMPORTANT activities
While there is no shortage of books, theories, articles, tips and tricks for time management, I believe that the many calendars and time management programs are only as good as the commitment of the human that will run the tools. The more we understand what we want out of the “time” that we have and ask ourselves whether we are living our lives that way, the happier and more productive we are.
Enhancing time management skills is one of the goals commonly seen in leadership development coaching.
Click here to learn more about the Excelerant Leadership Coaching Experience.
Above is a summary of Christina’s well-received talk on time management essentials given to business leaders at the Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation May Meeting on May 21, 2014. Click here to watch a video of Christina’s presentation. If you attended, let her know what “ah-ha’s” you may have had. Or if you are reading this post for the first time, what are your thoughts?
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