Poor Time Management - Why Does it Seem to Be the Default System?

Poor Time Management

I'm convinced, is our default time management system. Why is it that we have to make a conscious effort to manage our time better? Is it because we get overwhelmed or because we just are not thinking?

No matter how good we are at (normally) managing our time well, we can all slip up at times and can all do better.

Take Meal Preparation For Example.

When you're cooking dinner are you also catching up on the news of the day, whether it's on the TV or coming from your child (preferably the latter)?

Could you also be doing a load of laundry (maybe as you're spending quality time with your child)?

What about wiping counters or going through a drawer (again, they could help)?

Could you be working on lunches for tomorrow?

Making tomorrow's to-do list?

Working on the grocery list?

And so on, and so on, and so on.

It's a simple matter to retrain your brain to identify opportunities to fill.

Now Don't Picture a Robot with 10 Arms

All cleaning something while waving wildly. That's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is to use very small blocks of time to conquer little things that only need a small amount of time to complete.

I Remember One Time

I was trying to quit smoking and when I felt the need to smoke I would do a small chore instead just to keep busy. My house was never cleaner-not even after I was finally successful at quitting.

The Point Is... Do You Waste Time?

If you're honest you could probably name a dozen ways you've wasted time just today. I've caught myself doing the same thing, while cooking dinner, of course I have lapses (e.g., waiting for something to boil or waiting for the oven to heat up) and since I have a TV in the kitchen to catch up on the news (pulling double duty) it's easy to get involved in a news story and end up with my chin on the palms of my hands, elbows on the counter, just watching instead of using my ears to listen and my hands to wipe counters or get ahead on chopping something.

I Really Had to Work

With learning to think in a more functional manner. I, too, suffered from poor time management for a long time. It wasn't until I took control of my to-do list that my world really started to turn around. I could easily see what needed done, what I needed to schedule time for, and how I was progressing.

That Made All the Difference in the World

Because I could see not only what I needed to do but how I could group things together so that I could make good use of small chunks of downtime.

Visit me at http://www.theremustbeabetterway.net or http://www.squidoo.com/poortimemanagement for more examples of poor time management and some pretty simple fixes. While you're there be sure to check out my favorite time management tool.