Dr. Don Deems, the Dentist's Coach - Free Newsletter: Days too busy? Not enough time?

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Days too busy? Not enough time?
March 29, 2005

Take 5 minutes to read these keys to better managing your time. You'll be amazed at the results if you're willing to follow these recommendations!

1. Admit that you are not effectively managing your time.

You can only manage your attitudes, beliefs and actions within the flow of time. The experience of time has more to do with your thoughts than with actual physical time. The stress you feel that you associate with time originates in your thinking. Example: think about the distinction in your perception of time between when you're late and when you're waiting for someone who's late. The actual physical time doesn't change, but your experience of time does, based on your perception.

2. Prioritize your efforts.

Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, makes the distinction between things that are important and things that are urgent. Most of the time, doing the things that are important, rather then urgent, result in greater effectiveness. Categorize things as either Important and Urgent; Not Important and Urgent; Important and Not Urgent; and Not Important and Not Urgent. Quit doing the last category or assign it to someone else. Focus on Important matters more than Urgent matters, and soon urgency will go away.

3. Do less to get more.

When you're boiling a pot of water, you can fill the pot with water, cover it and turn on the heat and let it come to a boil while you do something else or you can "watch the pot" while it comes to a boil. What else do you do in your day that doesn't need your watchful eye? But remember, multi-tasking has limited benefits and potential downfalls, so pay attention to what really needs it, and quit paying attention to what doesn't need it.

4. Eliminate sources that charge you up in a negative way.

These are substances, activities, relationships, situations, or attitudes that result in your feeling "charged up". These can distract you from the focus needed to complete a project, increase feelings of anxiety, and intensify the feeling that time is flying. Over time, excessive over-stimulation and anxiety have negative health consequences.

5. Eliminate things which are taxing your time and energy.

These are the situations, attitudes or behaviors (in yourself or others) that you're putting up with in your personal or work life, which don't serve you or your larger purpose but consume physical, mental and/or emotional energy. Eliminating them results in an increase in available energy for people and projects, an over all feeling of calmness, and the experience of more time to get things done. Quit putting up with stuff you don't need in your life - now. Make a list and start doing something about it.

6. Simplify your environment.

Clutter in your office or home environment can create stress. It can actually "feel" like you have more work to do than you really do when you "archive" things you don't need in your environment. I regularly clean out things of my closets, office, garage, car, and attic. If I haven't touched it in 6 months, out it goes to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. When our lives are cluttered, there's no room for growth, in every way. Clean things out . including relationships that don't work or staff members who aren't committed to your practice's success.

7. Simplify your tasks.

If someone asks you for something specific, and you know that by offering more help than was specifically asked for, you can avoid the situation or issue from coming back to you in the form of a problem, then isn't it worth it to do more? Make a point of over-responding to any situation in which there is an opportunity to solve more than one problem in the process and when there is the potential for the situation to be presented again, requiring additional energy. Under-respond when you know that a simple response or input is all that is needed. Avoid going overboard.

8. Really listen to others.

When you allow other thoughts to intrude into your listening space, you actually create anxiety for yourself about both what you are listening to and what you allow to intrude. This anxiety is created because you can neither act immediately on the thoughts you allowed to intrude, nor can you completely take in what the person with whom you are talking is trying to tell you. You are left feeling incomplete with both. That'll waste your time!

9. Decide what you can give up in order to get what you want.

The day has only 24 hours in it, and yet, how many times have you "borrowed" from the next day to finish a project and thereby lost valuable sleep, or "borrowed" from your relationships to pursue a goal, or borrowed from your personal time with yourself to work on a project? When we choose among multiple possibilities for how we will spend our work and/or personal time, the universe almost always asks us to choose what we will give up in order to have the "more" in our personal or work lives. Much pain and suffering around "managing time" could be avoided if this process were respected. Choose to do only what you truly want to do, and forget about the rest.

10. Find some time each day for quiet reflection.

When you commit to spending some time each day suspending your thoughts and judgments and creating inner stillness, you'll train your body and mind in what it feels like and with that awareness, you can transform how you experience the flow of time when you are "in the world". Meditation, yoga, walking, and exercising are just a few of the ways to find some stillness in this fast-paced world. Start with finding 5 minutes to focus on breathing and relaxing and you'll be amazed at the results.

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