“ Be quick, but don’t hurry.”- John Wooden
You don’t have a time management problem.
You probably think you do, but the reality is that everyone has the same amount of time. In fact, and you may want to take a deep breath here: you have plenty of time.
What you may have is a “purpose” problem.
When my clients ask me to help fixing their “time management” problem, I usually begin with an investigation into their purpose—because, typically, time management issues are a problem of motivation and mindset, rather than organization. Or what coach and author Steve Chandler jokingly refers to as an “intention deficit disorder”.
When we aren’t clear on what we are committed to and why, we tend to become “overcommitted” and lose focus.
Consider: the last time you went on a vacation and had to catch a flight, did you have a time management problem? Did you forget to schedule the flight in your calendar? Did you miss the flight because you didn’t leave yourself enough time to get there (read: the deadline that you were committed to)? Did you stop and talk with a neighbor while waiting for the cab and lose track of time? If your car had broken down on the way to the airport, would you have found a way to catch that plane?
Likely, your purpose, which was to travel and enjoy a vacation, was so strong that time management didn’t even factor in to your mindset. You didn’t let any distractions or other problems stop you from getting there.
If the purpose is strong enough, we easily create the energy and the focus to do what needs to be done in the right amount of time.
Purpose creates focus which leads to a lack of time management problems and an abundance of effective action.
Your time management problem is a symptom caused by a deeper condition called lack of purpose.
Do the work on getting very clear on your purpose.
Why are you doing what you are doing? What are you creating? How does what you are doing today fit with your purpose?
And above all create a purpose that fills you with enthusiasm.
In You Don’t Have a Time Management Problem – Part 2, we’ll look at how “time management problems” are caused by mindset.
Leave a comment: