Rich, poor, celebrity or unknown, we are all blessed with 24 hours a day. You probably know someone, who seems to do everything in the world and you wonder how they can. You also know someone who seems to do nothing every day, yet can not seem to add anything more to their day.
What is the difference?
The difference in this time management is surprisingly simple. The difference between the person who seems to be able to do a week's worth of work in a day and the one who has no time is all a matter of scheduling and realizing what is truly important. It is a matter of changing your productivity to match what needs to be done as part of the big picture rather than what needs to be done in the now.
How does seeing the big picture help?
Here is an time management example, imagine your aunt is coming in a week to visit you. You have not seen her in a long time, so you want the house looking nice. You are hoping you can get it clean in a week. She calls and tells you plans have changed, she is going to be there in tomorrow. You were not certain how to get the house clean in a week, yet suddenly you find either a way to clean the house or make it presentable in a day.
What changed?
The difference was you could not find ways to delay, you were forced to manage your time. You realized the what parts of cleaning your house were actually important. You accepted that some things could not be fixed in the time allowed and changed what could. You knew what needed to be done in the time allowed and did it, without question or delay.
Are you productive or active?
Moving paperwork from here to there, only to move it again later is being active. Putting papers that actually require work in an inbox, filing papers you need later, and throwing away any paperwork you do not need away is being productive. Rather than deal with all your clients focus on the clients the buy from you. Instead of organizing all your emails, decide on what is really important and eliminate the rest.
What is really important?
The big picture, the long term goal is what is really important. More sales is what is important to a salesperson, so rather than call unqualified customers, the goal is finding a source of qualified customers. Spending time with the family is more important than spending hours cooking elaborate meals, so a 30 minute meal will work.
You have the key.
The key is understanding what is important. When you focus on the important time management becomes simpler, because you recognize busy work for what it is. Activity is the key to wondering where your time went. Productivity is the key to getting more done in your day, when you learn this, people will begin to wonder how you get so much done in a day.
