Have you been to a time management course? Read a time management book or an article? And how much of the system you learnt or read about do you use? If you are like most people you will be using less than 5% of what you learnt in your time management course. Time is! It just is! 24 hours a day. 1400+ minutes every day. But first there is a mind-shift you need to take. Time management implies we manage time, BUT time can't be managed!
The typical mindset on Time Management is about applying techniques and tips - and you can let these tips or system take responsibility how effectively you are. Blaming your tools is not going to help you be effective. The key to creating an extra hour a day is changing your mindset to SELF-MANAGEMENT!
How to create an extra hour every day!How valuable would an extra hour every day be to you?
Ever found yourself saying, I will, when I find the time or, time got away from me? We'll this is for you.
I am going to take you through the 7 steps that will create an extra hour a day for you.
So let's go through the steps quickly. We will come back to each one over several articles.The seven steps are:
There is no such thing as time management!
Time is for spending.
Crossing the knowing-to-doing GAP
Ready FIRE aim
Achieving Focus and Effectiveness
Tapping your Energy
Don't mistake activity for achievement!
OK so let's get in to it. Step 1 - There's no such thing as time management!
Have you been to a time management course? Read a time management book or an article? And how
much of the system you learnt or read about do you use? If you are like most people you will be using
less than 5% of what you learnt in your time management course. And it's not that the content was no
good (it probably was good, but we will get to that later).
You see there is a key mental block that contributes to the situation here. Time management allows
you to think that you really can manage time. But you can't!
Time is! It just is! 24 hours a day. 1400+ minutes every day.
Does this mean all the courses and diary systems are no good? Not at all.
But first there is a mind-shift you need to take.
Time management implies we manage time, BUT time can't be managed! The typical mindset on Time
Management is about applying techniques and tips - and you can let these tips or system take
responsibility how effectively you are. Blaming your tools is not going to help you be effective.
The key to creating an extra hour a day is changing your mindset to SELF-MANAGEMENT!
What is self-management? Mark Victor Hansen, in the book The One Minute Millionaire, says it is
"accepting responsibility and not laying blame." I believe self-management is about acknowledging we
are responsible for our lives.
It is your choices that have created your life. Not your boss or your parents or the government or the
wrong time management system or anything else. Yes, those things have an impact, but how you
choose to see the circumstances, how you choose to interpret and respond is what determines how
effective you are and, ultimately, you determines your life situation.
This is scary and exciting at the same time. It can be scary to think about being totally responsible for
your life - but this means that you can choose to take control and create what you want in the future.
To create and extra hour a day you need to start by adopting a mindset of self-management where
you accept responsibility for your life, totally. Then you can start to see new options and opportunities
that will create more time.
Now you can choose to see those 'effectiveness tips and tools' as part of your self-management
toolkit and choose what will work for you.
Step 1 -- Not time management but self management.
Actions: In the next 24 hours.
Reflect on when you might have blamed others/circumstances in the last week & look for
how you contributed to the situation
Clarify your goals and values. Are you really clear about what they are and why you want them?
Remember to check out the rest of the seven steps.
Michael Erwin is a Time Creation Expert and Time Coach. You can find more time management articles and time management tips at http://www.time-management-central.net
