An article by Getting a Grip founder, Robyn Pearce.
When I ask people about what they struggle with the most when it comes to time management, consistency is a reoccurring answer. This makes sense, because creating a new timetable or ‘to-do’ list isn’t the difficult part of managing your time. Applying the new schedule in your life is. This step is always overlooked.
A Shiny New List
There’s a ‘honeymoon phase’ that many people go through when they’re first learning about time management. While creating a shiny new list or schedule, people often fill their weekly calendar on Sunday with so many tasks and errands for the week that it gets overwhelming. When it comes to executing the metre long ‘to-do’ list, some only last until Wednesday and break under pressure.
What about the rest of the week?
Less is more!
Consistency And Why It’s Important
If you’re in a rush to complete tasks, then you may have missed the whole point of time management. Time management isn’t about rushing. In fact, it’s the complete opposite!
One of the main goals of time management is eliminating the need to hurry, which can result in stress and careless errors. This is when consistency comes in.
Consistency can help you achieve your long-term time management goals. It can prevent you from getting burned out. A great example is emails. Many of us go through about 70-100 of them on a daily basis. Imagine only allocating one day of the week to read and reply to your work and personal emails. That’s over 500 emails to read and take note of! Spending an entire day to answer a week’s worth of emails is certainly an ineffective approach to take.
Steuart Snooks, a productivity expert, has an effective solution for these concerns. Below are some tips from a special report, ‘The 8 Critical Impacts of Information and Email Overload’
- Give priority to important emails that need your attention the most. Not all emails need to be answered immediately.
- Set a specific time in the day (or night) to reply to your emails. This can prevent distractions during meetings, social events and essential tasks.
- Use other forms of direct communication such as chat, instant message or phone calls to address issues instead of relaying a long email thread back and forth. This can decrease the frequency of emails.
It’s Not How You Start, But How You Finish That Matters
How can you adapt a consistent mindset? One of the best ways to apply this concept in your schedule is by thinking long-term. You may find that you have more time throughout the week, as opposed to just one day. This can help you spread out your errands or assignments evenly, instead of cramming them into a small 24-hour window.
Applying this technique can also prevent you from putting assignments off for another day. Part of staying consistent is always moving, even if it’s doing small tasks to complete a much larger goal. It’s the little things that count.
Other Considerations
There will be times when your ‘to-do’ list is filled with 3 days worth of tasks. It’s inevitable. Staying consistent in your time management goals does not mean you will never have a full agenda or timetable.
However, you can be confident that those periods are not permanent and you’ll be able to get back on track towards a well-managed schedule. Lastly, by staying consistent, individuals can have more energy for important things in life such as spending quality time with family and close friends.
For over three decades Robyn Pearce, CSP built a reputation as the Time Queen. She’s the author of seven non-fiction books and creator of the Getting a Grip Programmes, which are now delivered by her successor – Lauren Parsons, CSP. The Getting a Grip Training Programmes can help you transform your time challenges into high productivity and the life balance you desire. Find out more here.
Download the free report “How to Master Time In Only 90 Seconds”, a simple yet powerful diagnostic tool to help you identify your key areas for action. You’ll find it here.
Share this Post