How's Your Time Management?

by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger

18 Jan 2007 10:11 AM

If I was to name one skill that I have had to cultivate and build upon in the course of my adult life, it would be time management. As a single parent of three, often working several jobs, running a household, parenting, volunteering, etc.--juggling and managing time is the thread that holds my precarious world together. Running our own home businesses takes a great deal of multitasking and planning--not to mention wrestling time and trying to stay motivated and efficient!

Periodically, I like to do a "time management checkup"--just looking over my day and my activities to see if I am really handling things decently, or if they are handling me. Remember that old saying, "Are you working hard or hardly working?" Well, sometimes I wonder if I am managing time or it is managing me. I definitely don't believe that a person is naturally better at managing time than another--I think it is a skill built out of necessity, practice and determination--and there's always room for improvement.

For me, at the root of time management, is an individual's priorities. By keeping a keen eye on what your priorities are, it can help to guide you in making choices about where and how to spend your energy. If your family and children come first (or church, education, business, whatever), then you will feel productive building your life and other activities in order to support those priorities. Watch out for time wasters! In my life, time wasters are television, commuting time, telephone conversations, and personal e-mail. Of course, three of those (excluding commuting) are either soul-feeding or relaxing so I've learned how to do other things while I'm doing them--for example, I work on article ideas, lists and editing while I'm commuting and watching television, or allow myself a little television while I'm cooking supper.

I know that multitasking isn't always healthy, but sometimes it's a necessity. By doubling (or tripling) up on some activities, it leaves me with more time to spend lingering over supper with my kids, or creates pockets of unclaimed time to go for a walk or out to a movie with friends. I don't think time management is about deprivation and overextending ourselves, it's really about creating balance, productivity and creativity in a person's life.

I'd love to hear other people's tales and tips for time management--do you have some tips to share? Challenges that you're still working on? How's your time management going?

Related Articles: Making Productive Use of Down Time

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