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Many
people want to be coached to manage their
time better. I say NO! to that. You cannot
manage time anyway; it just keeps ticking
away no matter what you do.
What you can do is manage yourself based
on the two concepts I keep mentioning:
self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Following
are four principles to maximize the time
that you have. They take time to incorporate
into your life at the habit level. Don't
give up. Keep practicing.
1)
Good Enough
Accept that no human being is meant to
do everything. We all have our uniqueness;
things we do better than others and vice
versa. Perfection is not a human condition.
Cut yourself some slack and adopt the
concept of "good enough". You
can rework your resume 50 times. Is it
really so much better than a much earlier
draft? You can shop for the perfect dress
endlessly? Wasn't the first one you tried
and liked as good as the 15th? How much
time did you spend past "good enough"?
Demand higher standards of excellence
where it really counts.
2)
Specialness
Concentrate on excelling in what you do
well, what you would enjoy doing better,
and new areas you would like to learn.
Delegate, hire, share, partner with people
who complement you or can fill the needs
you have in areas you don't enjoy or do
not know that well. Don't ever berate
yourself for not being able to do it all.
Appreciate your talents and excellence
and flaunt them. They are you, yours and
very special. Let others have their specialness
too. The results will not only save time
but enrich and free you.
3)
Energy and Time
Know and honor your energy levels. Are
you a morning person, do you have an afternoon
slump? Your time will be best used if
you pace the tasks you have to do based
on this knowledge. Do the most challenging
at your peak energy time. Build in your
Joy Breaks both as rewards for finishing
a formidable task and to refresh yourself
at low energy periods.
4)
Focus in the Moment
Develop habits that help you focus on
what you are doing in the moment. Do not
allow yourself to think of what you have
to do next while you are doing what you
are doing. Put a "do not disturb"
sign on your door and do not take phone
calls. By putting everything else out
of your mind while focusing on the task
at hand, you will be using your time efficiently.
If you get stuck on something, take a
break. Move to something else, get the
information you need to continue, change
scenery, stretch, whatever it takes, but
don't sit there stuck.
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more articles by Dorene Lehavi
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