Over the past week, I have been busy with clients and projects. It’s been a while since I was this busy, and I was reflecting on the way that I handle tasks, actions and time now compared to my earlier experiences.
Sometimes it feels like time is elastic. I used to laugh to myself when I was dealing with people who had lots of time on their hands; such as retired family, often, they would be talking about the busy day they had planned. I would ask them what they were doing, and they would talk about the two appointments they had to attend. Meanwhile, I would be reflecting on the 11 meetings I had that day (not that I’m proud of that!) Those 11 meetings showed how ridiculous my calender had become. I had no time for any thinking or planning unless I worked more hours – which I did! Then I was too tired to make effective decisions or sleep properly. What a vicious circle! The retired people had it right!
The more free time we have, the more we fill it with things. It’s great to have a mental cleanout of where our time goes now and again to make sure we are spending it in the way that works for us best.
I love the story of the rocks, sand and water – if you don’t know it watch this video, it’s only a couple of minutes long.
Since my health issues over two years ago, I practice, yoga, walk and meditate every day. My morning health routine is the first thing I do every day, as well as taking six different medications for my heart and cancer (my breakfast of champions!) I learnt the hard way what my priorities in life are.
My rocks are my family, friends, my husband and my health. My sand is my clients, my travel, my home, network, and my water is everything else.
When it comes to allocating the time in my day, I keep two things in sync. The first is my calendar. I book my time out for my morning routine, Family, friends and time with my husband, my client and network appointments. The second are things to get done which are created as tasks and tracked visually alongside my calendar so that I can see at the glance where I can fit them in.
Whatever method we use using time well is a discipline. We have to keep at it and keep reviewing it to make sure that what we are using is working. There is no substitute route to be a great time manager. If we are a great time manager, we have spent our life well.
Love this Christine 🙂 x
Thank you. Always more comfortable to read than live but good to keep in front of mind.