Time sucks! Those black holes that drag you in so sweetly. They’re especially dangerous if you’re self-employed or otherwise in a situation where you’re accountable only to yourself.
Being aware of the time you actually spend on non-essential work and finding ways to curtail it are great first steps.
Time is precious, yet it’s all too easy to be seduced by social media, email, and if you’re the curious type, internet searches. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out how much of your time is actually spent doing non-work?
Where Are Those Pesky Things?
Time sucks are everywhere for me, even though I’m careful to avoid socializing of any kind unless it’s serving my clients or my business. Even so, my curiosity gets the best of me when Google is so accessible. To find out where your internet time is actually going, I discovered Rescue Time. It’s free, and while features are rather basic, it tells you how many hours per week you’re spending on various tasks on your computer. Want to know what I learned last week? I spent 32 hours – 32!! – on unproductive time. 15 hours in Facebook alone! The struggle is real, folks. Rescue Time gives you a weekly score and compares it to your previous week. It’s getting better, but I’m not yet there. What can be measured can be improved.
The Worst Time Sucks
You might be familiar with Tony Robbins, a prominent “business psychologist.” If you’re looking for a resource to help you overcome obstacles, he’s your guy. His opinion of the worst time sucks in the workplace:
The Internet
Emails
Meetings
Outside the workplace:
Traffic
Entertainment
Social Media (for me, it’s a working-hours problem)
Getting too cozy with downtime
Lack of morning and evening routines
Saying “Yes” too often
Not delegating tasks
Losing track of time (I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing. It means you’re in the flow of something you love doing).
Shiny Object Syndrome
My own experience – and I’m willing to bet I’m not alone – is getting hit by “Shiny Object Syndrome.” You know the deal – reading the latest internet marketing scheme that makes you think you’re having an “aha!” moment. So you sign up for a free webcast, video class, PDF…….. next thing you know, you’ve blown off two hours and either learned nothing new, or learned something but need to block off a chunk of time to implement it. Which never happens.
Solution – pick one thing to focus on that supports your goals until you master it. Then move on to something else. If shiny objects sneak through via your email, maybe it’s time to unsubscribe.
Another strategy is to block off a chunk of time and do nothing else but that thing. Deep dive into it. Allow no distractions. Remove yourself from a distracting environment. Sit in your car if you have to!
Raiders of the Lost Info
Another sneaky time sucker is hunting for forgotten login information. I used to keep all my passwords in a notebook, but said notebook was always upstairs when I wasn’t, or in another room. And how many times have I gotten distracted while looking up passwords. The solution? Sign up with LastPass, and you’ll need to remember only your master password.
Social media rabbit holes are everywhere! Set a timer and stick with it. When it goes off, get off social media.
Then There’s New-Idea Syndrome
New Idea Syndrome is Shiny Object Syndrome’s sibling. Hey, I want to try that! Or…..that sounds like a good idea! Next thing you know, you’re juggling multiple projects without finishing any. .
Solution: Keep a document somewhere (preferably electronic, with easy access) as a place to dump your ideas. Then forget about them until you’re out of projects and actually……well…… need ideas.
How about committing to “just in time” learning? You allow yourself to learn only things that help you propel your current (or upcoming) project forward. No more hoarding courses and PDF’s because you’ll need them some day, or because it will expand your areas of expertise. I used to do this, but now I bookmark and categorize such sites.
Schedule in Unscheduled Time
It sounds counterintuitive, but schedule in “unscheduled” time. Keep some time daily or weekly sacred for yourself. My way to do that is keeping Sundays obligation-free as often as possible. You need time with yourself for deeper thinking, peace, and centering, which is surprisingly productive!
Don’t feel you have to instantly respond to people. There are no life-and-death emails, blog posts, social media notifications, phone calls (ok, once in a blue moon that might be true, but with caller ID, it’s your choice), texts……. Everything can wait until you deal with them on your terms, when it’s convenient for you.
Remember – it’s not time that needs managing…….it’s us.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018 Ellen Clarke
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