If you are in sync with time you need no time management
In my opinion the term “time management” is nonsense and misleading because you can not manage time, it always runs in the same cycle, and you can only manage your activities. Regardless of what we do with it every day has 24 hours for each person, whether we control it or not. The moon and the sun are going set without out our management
In the past people lived in sync with time
In the past people still had a feeling for the right time. They did many of the activities at a particular time. They knew when to put seeds in the ground and even the right kind of seeds. It works I experienced it.
Also traveling had to be in time to have a safe journey. Did you know that if you cut a tree on a particular day, the wood will not burn? People in the past knew about and used it for building houses, for example.
The whole life was in sync with the natural cycles of the universe. And it works like all in nature miraculously. Many discover it again these days and use this ancient wisdom. Especially, farmers, gardeners, and people interested in natural health.
In India, the Panchang calendar is still in use, for example, and China and other countries, especially in Europe many people want to keep the knowledge alive as well. It is astounding how precise this all works without time management. If you are interested, here is more information, and you can discover more > The Power of Timing a guide to living in Blissful Harmony with Natural and Lunar Rhythms.
Slogan of the busy world
In the busy world today, we hear the slogan ” time management ” more than ever. No wonder, because the distractions in private and everyday work are becoming more and more due to digitization. Reply to new emails, to scan the latest tweets and posts and leave a like. People act more compulsively.
We all know it from our experience that a day can pass quickly. People who are creative and love what they do forget the time. Why not? If it is getting late you can have a “Catnap” the next day. But if a to-do list rules your day, it is even not a bit worked off. On the contrary usually, more tasks are added. The quality of some work suffers, and you are getting demotivated and stressed.
I never had to-do -lists; in my opinion, this also came with the term “time management.” But my tasks got done anyways.
Do not let a to-do -list dictate your life. The word alone can kill creativity. Especially, for example, writers, bloggers or artists need to be able to follow their intuition. Thinking of these lists can keep from unleashing your creativity.
The goal is to use the time given, to do the important things first and push the less critical issues back a little. With proper self-management, people can be in time and learn how to schedule activities better in their lives.
Here are tips for better being in time and introduce you to methods that can help you with the implementation. It will help you achieve your goals and tasks more efficiently.
Start the day in balance
Most successful people begin the day with meditation and exercise to be grounded and in balance. A time also to visualize and to rehearse activities of the day. It will help to focus and be more productive. Robin Sharma’s new book “The 5 AM Club” may interest you
Set the right priorities
To set the right priorities is sometimes tricky? Do not worry; you’re not alone with this challenge. When prioritizing your tasks, you must always keep in mind which one you need to do most urgently. A good advice Brian Tracy did give in his Book: “Eat that Frog” The title Idea came from the quote of Mark Twain: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
Accomplish these critical tasks first. All other items on your to-do list do later. It keeps you from procrastination. Bringing the things behind you that get you out of your comfort zone can be motivating.
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” – Mark Twain
Make multiple small tasks from big ones
Sometimes it is confusing if you have a big amount of tasks ahead. It does demotivate before you even started and you procrastinate. Think about how you can divide the amount of work into single ones, take small steps and then gradually work them off. You will see that the whole project does not seem so impossible anymore.
In this way, you benefit from more effective activities and are on time.
Give the time thieves no chance
Who did not experience this? Concentrated, you sit at your computer and do an important task. On Skype, somebody is chatting, the phone rings or displays incoming e-mails. Each time you get interrupted, it takes a while to focus on your work again. Each interruption costs valuable concentration and at the end of the day, you only accomplished a fraction of the work.
Therefore, it is crucial that you avoid unnecessary interruptions as much as possible. Even if it might feel weird, steadfast say “NO.” You can also hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door, and turn off the phone.
Also, perfectionism is a big-time thieve of many people. Sure, you should do things well, but perfect is not necessary for many areas. Do things easy, excellent and fast, and you will feel better about it. To do things perfectly takes forever. Done, is better than perfect.
Take breaks
Breaks are important. If you do without it, you are unfocused, and mistakes happen. It may even hurt your health! Make a habit of taking your breaks and meals at a particular time. Try to figure out how to integrate them well into your daily routine; it will give your day structure. Do not forget the Catnap that helps to be more focused and productive.
Do these tips sound logical to you? How can you integrate these tips for better activity management into everyday life? Here methods that provide a meaningful structure.
The NOT-to-do list
It may sound counterproductive, but a NOT-to-do list can come handy. How does it work? You write down all the tasks that keep you from working. Do not start them. It can be reading private emails or surfing on Facebook. You know best what makes you distracted over and over again. You will see that if you work with this list, time thieves will say goodbye to you automatically. Try it out!
This life is striving for the freedom to expand. When this is taken away, one’s face will become long and joyless in spite of a perfectly organized life.-Sadhguru
Conclusion
The conclusion is, keep anything that holds you from doing your work away from you. Do not let the to-do list dictate your life or kill your creativity. Feel when the time is right for certain activities. It is better to get in a good routine and not to forget “to be” in time.
What about you? Do you have a good routine to do your work? Do you
I loved this post! Your take on time management is quite liberating in the way it returns some control and accountability to our actions. The rest of the post has great information that needs to be shared. Thanks for a great read!
Hi Barb,
I am glad you loved the post. I think there are enough restrictions and to do things for us. If we go conscious through our day and give structure to it, we can be in time and creative. The word time management alone makes many people stressed out. We are not a factory we are human beings.No wonder that so many are depressed. We need to align with the rhythm of nature again to have more joy.
Thanks for your visit and comment.
Hi Erika,
Absolutely fascinating post, and I obviously must try harder on my non-time-management LOL.
One of the biggest problems I face is that I spend so much time flitting from task-to-task because I’m usually waiting for “someone” to do their part of the job.
Example (1) my best client promised to send me work on Tuesday, I kept that day free for them and the work didn’t arrive – because someone let THEM down, so Tuesday was semi wasted. But then when it finally arrived two days late, they needed it done according to the original plan! Of course, they’re actually lovely and THEY don’t pressure me, but I feel pressured because I wasted Tuesday and it shoved everything else in the week “out”.
Example (2) My Dad is 96 and worried if he’s paid a particular bill because he can’t find it on his bank statement. So he rings me for help (and I can’t ignore that call), I call the help-desk for him, they’re too busy to speak to me (twice) so I have all that stuff scattered over my desk until the support desk are free.
And so the whole day goes on…. Today it was 5pm before I actually settled down to paying work and now it’s getting on for 1am and I’m only just getting ready to wind down for the day with a 7am start.
I’m clearly doing something wrong because, YES, I do feel like a factory at everyone’s beck and call. Even taking time off makes me feel stressed because of the list of jobs waiting for me, and I prefer to plough on instead and knock a few off the list which feels better.
Sorry – rambling and ranting here! I’ll slow down, re-read and try very hard to implement some of your tips because I need to do something!!
Joy Healey – Blogging After Dark (even the name tells a story….)
Joy Healey recently posted…Make More Sales – 7 Tips
Hi Joy,
what you write here is proof that time management does not work 🙂
But I know what you mean and I think it is a problem for many.
We want too many things fast and it does not work this way. This is why I said we lost the feeling for the right time.
I did experiment with this, my husband always wants things done right away and fast. For example, it often happened that he wanted me to call for something and I had the feeling the time is not right. He even did get upset with me if I did not do it right away. A few times I did what he wanted and it never worked out, but when I did it when I felt the time is right, it easily worked out. Same with other things. I am sure everybody can feel this if they pay attention.
It is good sometimes to say no, or ask what if? We have the power to change what we think and how we feel. Not better to let go and do something else instead of convulsively trying to do things and get stressed out? I know, not easy, but good to pay attention and try to change it. We can not manage time, but we can manage ourselves. Read this maybe it helps a bit? 🙂 https://www.erikamohssen-beyk.com/better-mind/control-your-thoughts-and-emotions/
Thank you for writing about your experiences and for your comment
Erika
Hello Erika,
You have touched a very important yet interesting topic. Cursing time for own’s own inability to cope up with the time has become a fashion these days, lol!
I usually do not find any difficulty to keep up with time mainly due to the fact that over the years I have got used to multitasking and perform all the important activities without rushing or feeling the need to ‘manage’ time as they say.
Meditation helps a lot (from my own experience I can testify this) and may be those 20 minutes with the self, going deep within, has some subtle results.
Tuhin recently posted…Family Road Trips and Why I Will Always Remember Them
Hi Tuhin,
it seems you do it right. It is true daily meditation will help a lot to keep calm even if all around is stressed out.
Not everybody is able to do work like this. May more people take time for meditation instead of wanting to manage time.
Thank you for your visit and insightful comment.
Erika
Time management is a little bit confusing with all the work and unexpected work that surprises us from day to day, because me too have time management for myself. But sometimes because of unpredictable activities that comes to my life. It’s better to think of what to prioritize when you got an unexpected vacant time. By the way what a fascinating post. I am learning a little bit from your experience.
Paul,
It is confusing if we listen to all the slogans. As I said in the article time cannot be managed it is your activity that you need to manage. If you give your day a structure, prioritize and keep it, you will get most things done in time.
Thanks for your visit and comment.
What a nice word. Thanks for the wisdom you have from me.