A different take on time management
What are your 3 biggest challenges right now?
It’s a question I regularly ask participants in my programs and one on one coaching. It’s a question, I am sure you have also been asked over the course of your leadership, career and life.
The responses I get are usually pretty varied because, as you know, not everyone faces the same hurdles. However, there is one challenge or frustration that tends to get regular airtime—Time Management.
In our fast-paced world, where the pressure to do more with less is constant, and the expectation to be remarkable in every role—leader, partner, parent—is high, managing our time, your time, my time can be tricky.
So, I’m sure it won’t surprise you that tens of thousands of books have been written on the subject, and that it’s one of the top things people search for on Google. If you do happen to google tips for Time management you will get a plethora of advice, ranging from prioritising ruthlessly to finding the perfect planner. These tips are, of course, helpful, but sometimes they’re not always relevant to your specific situation. We all have different roles, responsibilities, energy levels, and differently wired brains. We all have unique circumstances and ways we like to approach things.
That’s why I believe the best starting point when it comes to “Time Management” or “Prioritising your time” is to take a coaching approach. Instead of trying to apply one-size-fits-all advice that may or may not work for you, it can be super helpful to ask these 10 questions:
- When it comes to time management what is it that I specifically want?
- What is working for me?
- What isn’t working for me?
- What is my real challenge?
- What do I really want instead?
- What are some potential solutions? What have I googled that might help? What have I seen others do that I would like to try? What could I choose to do differently instead?
- Out of all of the options what is the ONE thing I could do?
- What small and specific actions could I put in place right now to get this happening?
- Who could support me to achieve this?
- How will I celebrate my progress and momentum?
When it comes to time management or anything we are wanting help with, many of us jump straight to potential solutions and ideas before defining what we really want and the challenges that are likely holding us back.
These questions will help you identify your real desires and challenges first and then the things that will work specifically for you.
If you are a leader, they are great questions to ask your people either before or after a one on one catch up.
Trust as always this has been helpful in some way shape or form.
Kylie