time | management time
 Many people want to be coached to manage their time better.
I say NO! to that. You cannot manage time anyway; it just
keeps ticking away no matter what you do.
What you can do is manage yourself based on the two concepts
I keep mentioning: self-knowledge and self-acceptance.
Following are four principles to maximize the time that you
have. They take time to incorporate into your life at the
habit level. Don't give up. Keep practicing.
1) GOOD ENOUGH
Accept that no human being is meant to do everything. We all
have our uniqueness; things we do better than others and
vice versa. Perfection is not a human condition. Cut
yourself some slack and adopt the concept of "good enough".
You can rework your resume 50 times. Is it really so much
better than a much earlier draft? You can shop for the
perfect dress endlessly? Wasn't the first one you tried and
liked as good as the 15th? How much time did you spend past"good enough"? Demand higher standards of excellence where
it really counts.
2) SPECIALNESS
Concentrate on excelling in what you do well, what you would
enjoy doing better, and new areas you would like to learn.
Delegate, hire, share, partner with people who complement
you or can fill the needs you have in areas you don't enjoy
or do not know that well. Don't ever berate yourself for not
being able to do it all. Appreciate your talents and
excellence and flaunt them. They are you, yours and very
special. Let others have their specialties, too. The results
will not only save time but enrich and free you.
3) ENERGY AND TIME
Know and honor your energy levels. Are you a morning
person, do you have an afternoon slump? Your time will be
best used if you pace the tasks you have to do based on this
knowledge. Do the most challenging at your peak energy
time. Build in your Joy Breaks (see last month's
newsletter) both as rewards for finishing a formidable task
and to refresh yourself at low energy periods.
4) FOCUS IN THE MOMENT
Develop habits that help you focus on what you are doing in
the moment. Do not allow yourself to think of what you have
to do next while you are doing what you are doing. Put a "do
not disturb" sign on your door and do not take phone calls.
By putting everything else out of your mind while focusing
on the task at hand, you will be using your time
efficiently. If you get stuck on something, take a break.
Move to something else, get the information you need to
continue, change scenery, stretch, whatever it takes, but
don't sit there stuck.
Note: The suggestions I make are not one dimensional or
simple. The questions I suggest you ask yourself have
multiple answers and may be different on different days. I
suggest you keep them all in a file or notebook and refer
back to them regularly. You will gain a lot if you do.
Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and
Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals and
Business Partners and teaches teleclasses on techniques to
break through barriers to the next level. Dr. Lehavi offers
a complimentary coaching session so you can experience how
coaching can work for you. Visit http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com
| 
