Time Management Learned?
What would be possible if you managed your time in a way that works for you?
“How we spend our time determines how we spend our lives.”
Here we are at the beginning of 2015 and many people have set resolutions that include goals of spending more time with their family, having more time to pursue their interests, achieving better work and life balance and work on habits that improve their health. More and more people are craving more time, but they aren’t efficient or effective in organizing their day, week, month or year to make that happen and achieve their goals. That’s why I’m sharing this with you.
Psychologist and time management coach Sarah Reiff-Hekking put it this way, “How we spend our time determines how we spend our lives.”
One of the difficulties we run into related to time is that we all perceive the passing of time differently. Science tells us that some of us are born with brains that are better at planning activities and noticing the passage of time compared to others who perceive time as either “right now” or “sometime in the future.” The good news is that time management can be practiced and learned, just like any other skill.
Dr. Sarah says that she explains to people what would be possible if they manage their time differently. “It all boils down to four areas that in my experience, make us feel either good or bad about how we spend time.”
* The feeling of being in control of how you navigate your day. That’s called “perceived control over time.” The more you feel in control of your time, the happier with you’ll be with your life overall.
* The ability to set goals and priorities. Research tells us that pursuing goals can create a feeling of purpose and control over your life. Goals help increase self esteem, confidence and the belief that we can make things happen. Goal setting also adds structure and meaning to our lives, helps build social connections and allows mastery of new skills. Having meaningful goals also helps coping with difficulty and can strengthen our connections, which helps accomplish things together.
* The systems or “nuts and bolts” of managing time. These include skills such as using a calendar, a To Do list and planning how to accomplish tasks in a timely manner.
* Reduce procrastination and overwhelm. We all feel overwhelmed at times and may put things off, leading to problems later on. To truly feel in control of your time, it’s important that you know when these feelings are likely to come up and have effective strategies to deal with them.
What would be possible for YOU if you managed your time in a way that works for you?
Sarah Reiff-Hekking, Ph.D. is a coach who helps smart people who know what to do but aren’t doing it, figure out a way that works for them.
Dedicated to your health,
Dr. Mache Seibel
mmseibel@healthrock.com
233 Needham Street, Suite 300 | Newton | MA | 02464
