Why Time Management is Bull – And What You Can Do About It
I recently realised it’s impossible to work 70 hours per week and have a relationship. I love my job, it’s linked to my identity. I love my girlfriend. Our relationship can only flower if there is time for it to grow. I need to get better at managing my self, working less and living more.
This is a long blog, but trust me, the time you spend reading it will be more than saved if you follow my advice.
Being self-employed like actors, or other creative people requires great time management skills. I recently realised that my new found motivation and energy kept running into a BIG problem, while I have been very active, I have not been accomplishing the big things. My motivation is getting used up by confusing activity for accomplishment.
I was very busy – being very busy.
I turned to my coach Forbes Bryce. Now I have the capacity to get shit done, I needed to develop my ability to really get the important shit done too. The trouble is that the urgent always gets priority over the important. There are 5 types of activities:
URGENT and IMPORTANT (UAI)
URGENT but not important (UNI)
IMPORTANT but not urgent (INU)
NEITHER important nor urgent (NINU)
MAJOR TASK (IMPORTANT but cannot be completed until broken down into smaller activities – so often left until last minute)
Things tend to get done in that order. And it means that the really important stuff gets left until last and the REALLY important stuff IS last.
Then something that Forbes said came back to me. It isn’t time management. We can’t manage the time, time is going to happen regardless of us. We all have the same amount of time. Time management is bullshit, you have to manage your focus, your attention and the energy you put into them.
This blog is about how I put into affect some task-focus management skills and experience great results from it.
In brief:
STEP 1: Create a default diary
STEP 2: Collecting The Time Requests
STEP 3: Categorise the Requests
STEP 4: Allot the Requests to my Diary
STEP 5: Break Down Major Tasks into Time Requests (Activities)
STEP 6: Allot the Requests to my Diary
So let’s get started:
STEP 1: Create a default diary.
Those that control their own diary suffer from their own advantage. Being able to plan what you do with your own time gives us lovely flexibility and freedom. But it also means that we often don’t have a structured working week, and so we can end up not working when we could, and working too much when we don’t need.
The first step to taking control is to create a default diary. Your working week is now going to have a shape.
Write this out on paper or in Excel or Numbers, or whatever helps. Put Monday-Sunday along the top and 0800 to 22:00 along the side. (or whatever you prefer – mine starts at 11 but goes to midnight)
Now block in any regular commitments. I have regular classes, regular coaching and regular visit to Forbes.
What other activities make up your time? I have blogging time, admin/business time, private coaching.
Block these into your diary: 1 hour per day for blogging (different times each day), 2-3 hours of admin/business time, 2/3 hours of private coaching per day.
Now regardless of what requests are made of my time, I can allot it to blogging, admin or private coaching.
STEP 2: Collecting The Time Requests
When a request for my time comes in, I won’t have time to respond immediately, so I need to collect it. I personally use WUNDERLIST, again because it’s cloud based, and I can share it across devices. It’s just a To Do list, but I use it to collect what I need to do.
STEP 3: Categorise The Requests
I have a way of thinking about the categories
INU – Tomorrow or later is fine.
UNI - Today is best.
IAU - Immediately or ASAP.
NIOU – Doesn’t need attention in the next few days.
MT – A Major Task - Needs Breaking Down in Activities.
STEP 4: Allot the Requests to my Diary
Reply to Andy – INU – Email him in tomorrow’s admin slot
Speak to Tom about Steps INU – Email him in tomorrow’s admin slot
Allot time to meet Lynn INU – Email her in tomorrow’s admin slot
Recall Analysis – Corrie IAU – Today at 6:30pm
Speak to Answer Service IAU – today 3-4
Complete Indiegogo Campaign MT – PLAN this.
Order New Cash Book – NIOU – Wednesday during admin time
Write Blog – INU – Tomorrow during blog time.
Get Toilet Roll – UNI – Grab at dinner time.
STEP 5: Break down Major Tasks into Time Requests (activities)
Major tasks, like raising money for my film, or preparing to direct it, or organising the intensive term at ACS need planning. Take your major tasks and break them down into smaller actions.
I consider anything that’s part of a major task to be INU unless it is actually UAI.
STEP 6: Allocate the Time Requests to Paper Diary and then Digital
Because the time requests for a major task are likely to spread over weeks, months or years, I then printed four months of blank calendars. Then one project at a time, I put all the Time Requests/Activities onto the printed pages of the blank calendars, for me, it’s September – December, based on when they need doing by.
I don’t put in the deadlines. I put in when I am going to do the work. If it’s a lot of work, I spread it over a few different slots. I can always reallocate them later. Deadlines to me aren’t relevant. Yes, I need to know when it needs to be done by, but that’s part of the allocation process.
Now I enter them from the paper copy onto the available slots through the weeks and months into my iCal.
Each Monday morning, I look to see if there are any new Time Requests for any major tasks that haven’t been scheduled.
BENEFITS:
I don’t worry about getting things done. (it’s collected or allocated)
I don’t worry about forgetting anything important. (it’s collected)
I have more time for myself.
I control how I spend my time, rather than the time requests controlling me.
I have more creative time.
I can free up time to spend with my girlfriend.
CONCLUSION:
Manage your focus. Manage how you see the requests on your time. Allocate them to the slots in your diary.
Try it. It might seem like a lot of work. But the benefits are liberating!