Sorry if my directness offends you. But it’s true – people these days go around announcing how “crazy busy” they are, as if it’s a badge of honor.
“Sorry I’m late… I have so much going on.”
“Oh sorry I didn’t get back to you… it’s that crazy time of year.”
Ok, none of us is perfect, and sometimes we really are sorry for being late or letting something fall through the cracks.
But for some people, this is their modus operandi, their daily refrain. They’re not truly sorry… that’s just their rationalization that it wasn’t their fault.
Are we supposed to be impressed by their “crazy busy” schedule? What, have they been in secret meetings with the Pope all week? Are they constantly in demand by the President, TV news stations and Hollywood, all while raising and home schooling 5 kids and starting a foundation for at-risk teens?
Ok, I get it. To-do lists can be endless, life can be hectic, jobs and families can be extremely demanding. But come on! Being late and keeping people waiting, not RSVPing, not responding to friends and family… it’s just plain rude.
We’ve all got the same 24 hours in a day. Same as Oprah, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, and Arianna Huffington, to name a few. It’s important that we learn how to better manage our time.
Otherwise, we’re playing the self-important but helpless victim. Going around saying “I don’t have enough time” or “I’ve got so much on my plate” is doing us far more harm than good. It cements the notion in our subconscious mind that we don’t have a grip, that we really can’t handle it, that we’re drowning.
It does not send the message “I’m in such high demand,” but rather “I’m in over my head.”
If you find yourself using busy-ness as an excuse for letting things fall through the cracks – or worse, glorifying your busy-ness - it’s a sure sign that things need to change.
Here are 7 tips to help improve time management:
1. First of all, commit to changing your addiction (or your habit) of being busy. It’s really not a badge of honor. Your health, your state of mind, and your friends and family will thank you for it. But changing this habit takes commitment and persistent effort.
2. Redefine success. Working extra long days and being on many boards or volunteer committees, does not make you a better person. Learn to say no. Be discerning with your time.
3. Create and follow a system for getting and staying organized. Create files or compartments in your email account, on your hard drive, and in your home, so that you can quickly find something when you need it. Most people are far less organized than they think they are and lose time trying to find stuff they’ve allowed to get buried.
4. Get in the habit of putting everything on your calendar – events, workouts, to-do items, ideas, errands, everything. If it’s not scheduled, it doesn’t happen. Sure, allow for some spontaneity once in a while, but don’t default to it, otherwise you’re always in reaction mode and things fall through the cracks.
Idea/tip: My husband and I both use Google calendar and send each other meeting requests to make sure an event is on the others’ calendar and we don’t double book. We also keep a Google “family calendar” with each person’s events color-coded for that person, so everyone in the family knows who’s doing what and when. Think it sounds a little over the top? It works!
5. Plan each day ahead of time. Schedule 10 minutes early each morning (or the night before) to plan your appointments and tasks for the day. Schedule time for you on your calendar too! For example, workouts, yoga, reading to your kids, late-night glass of wine with your honey, etc.
6. Be realistic about your time. Don’t be in time denial about how long it takes to get something done. Delegate, outsource or defer household chores and/or errands if you need to. Don’t keep others waiting because you aren’t realistic about traffic or other hold-ups. Cushion your scheduled events with an extra 15 minutes on your calendar. There’s no prize for fitting the most things in.
7. Be honest, come clean and don’t make excuses. If you’re late or you forget to RSVP or you drop the ball on something, don’t gloss over it with “Oh sorry… the traffic was really bad” or “Oh I never got your email” or “sorry but I’ve just been so crazy busy… it’s that time of year you know!”
It’s always that time of year. Let’s stop making excuses and start taking ownership and responsibility.
None of us is perfect. I certainly forget things or fall into time denial sometimes.
But let’s stop glorifying busy. And start getting real.
