Yesterday my friend Chuck asked me how I have the time to write for my blog. I told him that doesn't take as long as it would appear, as I usually write and edit the first draft in my head before I type it.
This reminded me of a conversation I had with someone recently (sorry, I forget who) about the concept of making time. Unless you are a supreme being, super hero or maybe even Adam Sandler, we don’t have any control of time itself – it's what we do with the time that we have control of. Or as it appears to me and many people, we don't have control of.
I have found that it's about scheduling time, not making it. Open-ended appointments usually don't happen or do not go as well as they should, usually due to lack of preparation. I strive to schedule appointments, prepare for them, and execute on them efficiently. The fact that the appointment is written down also adds a level of accountability to the meeting or event.
This has worked well for me. Does anyone else have other ideas on scheduling time?
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Although I frequently forget to follow it, I’m a big fan of Covey’s four quadrants. Essentially, he distinguishes between the dimensions of “importance” and “urgency”. All of us spend too much time putting out fires, and while we have to deal with certain urgent tasks, that means that the important but not urgent tasks, such as long-term planning, education, etc. sometimes never get done. In the long-term, these are the most critical to success, and you just have to make time for them.
I started putting aside an hour each morning to work on those tasks at my old job (sometimes even a half-hour if that’s all I could spare), and it made a huge difference. I also heard someone recently say that you should tackle the things you’ve been avoiding first thing in the morning, and there’s a certain logic to that as well.
Comment by
Peter M.
on 01/25/07 at 11:47 AM
I agree! We are all given the gift of 1,440 minutes in every day…..to use wisely or to waste. If we were given $1,440 in cash every day, we would decide pretty quickly if we wanted to waste it, spend it wisely, share it with others, or put it towards something for the future….....our use of our time follows the same principle. We can waste our time, use it wisely, share it with others, or invest time towards something in the future…...we don’t have to “make” time….we need to figure out how to “spend” our time…....it’s not always easy, but we do have a CHOICE!!
Comment by
Glenna G.
on 10/30/07 at 09:14 PM
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