Time management tips: strategies for effectively managing time and increasing productivity

How many times have you thought about being more productive? How many times have you berated yourself for not being productive enough? And how many times have you seen the activities of others and wondered how on earth they do it all? Well ~ I hope this blog will help you find some peace.

Your worth is not just productivity

MOST importantly there is something that you MUST know ~ your worth is not measured by your productivity. Your worth is your presence. Productivity is an outcome of that presence and is much less important. I spend so many hours with my lovely clients helping them regain a sense of worth and an understanding that their worth is beyond measure.

Trying to assess what we do and how much we do is like trying to nail jelly to the wall! Take the pressure off yourself. You’re probably doing a lot better than you think. Remember that your feelings are not always aligned with your facts. I can see the facts much more clearly than my clients because they are often too close to them! I can see how hard they work; how hard they are trying to get things right and how many people they are doing a really good job for!

It’s more than just managing time…

When we think about our managing time, what we often forget is that we are also managing our energy. That varies with people, times in life and family circumstances. I’ve spent decades learning to manage on very limited energy and helping my clients do the same.

Managing energy and time is like managing a monetary budget. We have to be aware of what things cost and the value of them to us. Therefore, I often suggest clients observe how they feel through the day and then through the week, and to consider the following:

• Are there times when they are full of good energy and raring to go?
• When are the less energetic times and how do they affect them?

Then I suggest that they make a list of the tasks that need to be done ~ only the essential ones ~ and allocate them to times when the right levels of energy are available. So, for example, I know that my best mental energy is in the morning, so I do most of my detailed and hard work then. I have client sessions then and structure my time around my energy. You could estimate how long a task should take and assign a time to do it in your day or diary. Be realistic about this, and maybe divide it into smaller time slots to get through it slowly and sustainably.

Tasks will keep coming so don’t feel bad about that… life is a series of things to do and that is a great privilege. For diligent people there will always be a significant To-Do list and that should be viewed as a good thing, not a pressure. If you view your responsibilities as a joyous set of tasks, then you realise how fortunate you are to be able to do them. You might need to go more gently at things than you wish but you can still make progress.

Consider these ‘maybes’:

• Maybe you’re already productive enough?
• Maybe you need to think more calmly about productivity and stop comparing yourself with others.
• Maybe you don’t need to be perfect when you can be very good instead.
• Maybe you’re able to make some adjustments that enable you to make the most of the time and energy you have which will give you more peace.
• Maybe you could reduce the lists you make to take some of the pressure off yourself.
• Maybe it is time to realise that other people might be looking at you and wondering just how on earth YOU do it all.
• Maybe you could delegate a bit.
• Maybe you could be aware of your energy drainers and ‘waste of time’ tasks, eliminate them and use that time more wisely.

I hope this helps. If you feel overwhelmed and stuck in a cycle of procrastination and perfectionism, then message me and book a free 30-minute call to help you along the way to a more joyous life.