Episode 150: Creating Work Life Harmony: Being Intentional About Time Management
Do you feel you do not have enough time in your day? Amy covers actionable steps that you can take to better control your calendar and your day in this episode. Be ready to dig deep and unlock what you can control and can't control in your day and develop a plan of action to create more space and fulfillment in your day.
---
Watch the episode here
Listen to the podcast here
Creating Work Life Harmony: Being Intentional About Time Management
This is another solo episode by me to talk about the struggles I'm seeing in many people and organizations when I'm out networking and talking to professionals and leaders. We've talked about overwhelm. The next thing that I'm hearing is not having enough time. It can seem busy all of the time. If you've been struggling with this, you are not alone. We all go through our days and do not realize that other people are struggling with the same things internally because we show up with a smile or greet people. If someone asks us for help, we give them the time. When we give away our time, it starts affecting our internal energy, and we may show up unintentionally in a way we don't want to.
What's important for us is to make sure that we are being intentional with our time. In my book, Business Balance and Bliss, there are lots of tips. I have a whole chapter called Being Present. I’m talking about how we unlock these tools that are right inside us, allowing us to control our day rather than letting it come at us.
What I want you to do is think about what the thing that you are struggling with the most is. Some of the things that I hear are that I have too many meetings or interruptions or that I prioritize what I need to get done during the day. Somehow, at the end of the day, I haven't gotten it done, and I'm not even sure how, or I'm trying to leave work or finish work by 5:00 or 5:30. What's happening is I'm not finishing until 7:00. I get home, I'm hungry. I don't even get to enjoy the outside in these summer months.
Setting Boundaries And Avoiding Multitasking
It's important for us to think about what it is that we can control. Part of this is setting boundaries with ourselves and the people around us. This can be hard if we have never done this before. If we are a yes person or a people pleaser, it's hard. If we have too much on our plate and we think we can multitask, which is not a thing, what happens is that we're not getting as much done as we think. We are getting done.
Let's start with multitasking. When we are multitasking, our brain cannot focus on multiple things at one time. We think it can, but I want to prove to you that it can't. If you are on a conference call and you don't have your video on and you're still checking your email or doing some work while that call is going on and you think you were listening and hearing what you need, except someone calls out and says, “Amy, what do you think about that?” I realize that I got distracted. I thought I was multitasking. What was happening was I was no longer paying attention.
When that happens, I have to recover and ask, “Can you repeat that?” I wasn't paying attention. Secondly, I'm stealing time from the people on that call. It is important that we figure out how to get present, whether we are doing it before a meeting or before we're about to do our own work. We can focus on one task at a time.
There are multiple things you can do. I'm going to give you some suggestions here, but what I want you to think about is what one of these things seems doable that you could put in place as a goal in the next 30 days and try to do each day. You can start building this up for yourself and feel like you can make more of an impact on the things that you are doing in the day and make sure you're accomplishing it.
First off, we don't want to multitask. In order for me not to multitask, I need to set up a list at the beginning of my day and talk about the 1 or 2 major priorities that I need to get done that day. I can set that time in my head that needs to get done. I can do that in multiple ways. I can go ahead and start working on those things, or I can block time on my calendar to do my own individual work.
What I hear a lot when people do this is they block the time. However, when they block that time, someone comes in and interrupts, or they get a phone call, a text, or an instant message, and they get distracted and do that. What I'm going to ask you to do if you choose to do this as one of your actionable items is that you do not allow distractions during that time.
If you are client or customer-focused, you want to think about yourself as your own client or customer. You are doing this. You can show up better for the people around you. You know that you got certain things done now that you needed to get done. You don't show up frustrated. You don't show up with your attention. Feeling off that, you want to make sure that you are completely focused. In order to do that, I've got to turn on my Do Not Disturb on my phone or computer. I’m making sure that I'm not seeing notifications pop up that might distract me during a meeting or doing the work that I want to do during the day.
That is one way we can do that. I would also suggest, because I hear this all the time, that I started to block my calendar. I still didn't get these things done. When you're thinking about how much time to block your calendar for, I want you to think that if you think it'll take 30 minutes, block an hour. If you think it'll take an hour, block two hours. Double it. Make sure that you have enough time. If you end up having extra time, you'll figure out something to do with that time.
Getting Present And Resetting Throughout The Day
It's important not to underestimate the time to do a task but to overestimate it to ensure that you can accomplish it and that you don't start compressing your day or don't get to get that done. That is one thing that you can do. The other thing that you can do is to make sure that you've cleared the space in your head. You can do this meeting or work and be present.
Time Management: It’s very important not to underestimate the time it takes to complete a task. Instead, overestimate it to ensure you can accomplish it without compressing your day or leaving it unfinished.
This is an important thing because we let the day steamroll us all day long. We go from meeting to meeting to meeting. If we are frustrated or stressed from one meeting or one experience and we don't take the time to get present or silent before we go into that meeting, what happens is that energy gets carried into the next meeting. It's important that you take a few minutes and get present before you go into a meeting or before you do your own work.
That might mean that because you weren't multitasking during your last experience, meeting, or time you were doing work for yourself, you were checking email during that time. You can clear it out and feel like you're good before you go into a meeting or do some work. You're clearing space so that you can be present.
The other thing that you might do is close your eyes for two minutes and get silent. What I would suggest is you take your phone, and you make sure that you set the alarm on your phone for two minutes. You're not peaking while you're doing this. You take that two minutes, and you get silent. You close your eyes, tap into your breath, and allow yourself to process and regenerate that energy that you need to focus. This is how we clear space in our mind so that we can be present in our next experience and be fully actively aware of what we are doing and not feel like we don't know what we did.
Whether we're meeting with someone else or doing our own work, we're going to take two minutes. Those two minutes might be to get silent. That two minutes might be spent listening to some music that's going to change your energy. Those two minutes might be spent walking if you're remote around your house, outside. If you're in an office, walk around the office. Get out of the office for a moment and get some fresh air that you can reset. This does wonders to make sure that you are monotasking and completely focused on what you need to do.
The way our brain works during the day is that we can only focus on a task for so long. If you have blocked an hour or more than an hour to do a task, all the research that I have found says that typically, our brains can only do one task and stay focused for, on average, about 50 minutes. What we need is 50 minutes of complete focus, not distraction, and we can take a fifteen-minute break to reset before we go into a meeting, continue on that same task, or pick up another piece of work.
Time Management: We can only focus on a task for so long.
What you want to do is block your calendar and set the do not disturb. Work straight for 50 minutes. Make sure you have blocked off a fifteen-minute break to reset. That might be to check your email or any notifications that might have come through or text. That might be to get silent, listen to music, or take a walk. Whatever that is, it is important to use your calendar to block this time.
The other important thing about using our calendar to block this time is we are sending a message to the people around us that this time is blocked. If they want to set a meeting with us, they need to set a meeting and not walk in or interrupt. Just because someone sends you a message doesn't mean that you have to respond right away.
I know we feel that way, but I want you to reverse it and think about it. When you send a message to someone else, do you expect them to respond right away? Probably not, unless it's an absolute emergency. If so, you've probably texted them or called them in a way that you need an immediate answer. If you do not need an immediate answer, you have the access to say, “I'm going to check my messages at certain times in my day.” People are not expecting you to respond right away.
A lot of times, what happens is that we set up these habits, and that becomes an expectation of somebody else. It is important to think about when it's uncomfortable for you to not respond right away. Get silent on it, process it, or meditate on it. It came from somewhere. Someone told you someplace in your career, or it was in your family background or friend, that it was important to respond right away when someone contacts you or if it's a client that contacts you. Is that the expectation? If a client is emailing you, are they expecting a response right away? Do they always respond to you right away when you need them to? Probably not. It's not realistic. People are not sitting at their computers waiting for you to send things to them so they can act on it.
I was in a workshop facilitating this. Someone said that they struggle because they open up their computer in the morning, and it's like, “Come at me.” What is in there? What communication. That's going to run their day. That is not how you want your day to run. You want to control what you can control. Not every meeting can be controlled on our calendar, but we do have the opportunity to control the spaces that we can on our calendar to ensure we're being intentional about it and feel like, at the end of the day, we did clear the priorities that were important to us to clear.
Using Time Blocks And Self-Assessment
To do that, we have to block our calendar. We have to think about how we're going to get present prior to that meeting or the work that we are set to do. We've also got to think about when we need breaks so that we can reset, be present, and have the right amount of energy to focus on the work, on the meeting, or on that experience.
All of these things are important to think about when we're setting a goal around time. A lot of times, we're blaming everyone else for the fact that we don't have enough time, but it's that we haven't given ourselves enough space to plan and think about it. When things get out of control, I can see it because I've got notes all over my desk. I feel like my calendar is way overbooked. What that does is send a message to me. If I choose to listen to it, I get uncomfortable. I'm getting stressed out in my body when that's happening.
I can get frustrated with the world that that's happening, or pause and say, “What do I need to do to shift this?” A lot of times, it'll be taking all those notes on my desk, consolidating them, and determining what my priorities are now or the next day. I also need to look at my calendar. If I am overbooked, what meetings can I move? What meetings can I shift? I can give myself space to get work done. If I don't give myself the space to get work done, I show up in a way that I don't want to show up because I'm not feeling confident. I do not feel like I have done the things necessary to show up in the best way possible.
These are things that we can take action on. We can choose to do maybe one of these things. It might be getting present before you go into a meeting. It might be making sure you've built-in breaks on your day. It might be your prioritization and blocking time to make sure you get those priorities done. Whatever that is, make sure you're thinking about what your motivating factor is for doing this. Why are you excited to do this? It's going to take work. It's shifting a habit. It's not natural to you.
In order for us to stay on track, it's important to think about what it is that we want this to achieve for us. Why do we want to get this back? I want to feel better. I want to feel less stressed. I want to make sure I can go for a walk each night outside or be with my spouse, partner, or family and be present and not feel stressed out and not paying attention.
Whatever those things are for you, I want to make sure that you document that with your goal. You understand the outcome that you are trying to achieve. It's not about doing the action. It's about the feeling you're going to have once you do it. That's the balance piece of Business Balance and Bliss. The business side of all these things that we have to do to get the task completed, but the balance side is what is the energy or the piece inside of us that we can elevate to offset that stressor?
We can create bliss. We can maintain happiness and joy. When we start noticing that we're off, that's when we set our next goal and add on to the school. We want to take one action to do this. Our first action is going to be to look at our calendar and see where we can find blocks of time or reorganize our calendar. We have space to get our own work done. If it was to take breaks or get present before a meeting, look at your calendar where you can do that.
The other thing is you want to celebrate the wins as you're trying to create a new habit. That can be hard because celebrating the wins, maybe while you're doing it, you might do it the first day, and it doesn't work out perfectly. Don't give up. What you want to do each day is say what worked, what didn't work, and what you will do differently tomorrow. By doing that self-assessment, you start noticing the little things that are working because you could look at it from a high level and think it's not working, but once you notice the little nuances in your life, those are the things that make big shifts in your life and the small changes that you make.
Time Management: It's important to celebrate your wins while creating a new habit.
Sometimes, you can hear these things. You've done them before. They can be obvious to you, but you forgot and got off track. That is okay. What this is now is a reminder that you can control certain things in your life to make sure that you are feeling better and you are showing up with the energy that you want to show up with each day. We can do that when we're intentional and when we notice that these things are building up inside of us. What actions can we take instead of worrying about what other people are doing or getting frustrated with someone else? What can we do to make that shift?
This one is about not having enough time. I want you to walk away from this. Set your goal. What is it that is creating that for you? What is it that you can control and can't control? What 1 or 2 actions can you take right now? Write down how you can start shifting this in your life. What is the motivating factor for you to do that? What is going to make you excited to do that each day?
I hope that this has been helpful and you're able to take at least 1 or 2 of these ideas and start implementing them into your life. This is what we're all about at the B3 Method Institute. We help people every day. I want to make sure that in our workplace, wherever you are, everyone is able to show up with the energy that we want, and that makes us happy during the day. Not all days are going to be perfect. If we can contribute to creating a little more joy in the workplace, we will start feeling better internally about how we show up for the people around us.
Important Link