The Time Management Training Institute

The time management tools that we normally think about are to-do lists, planners and software programs. These are all great and wonderful and I am absolutely positive that life as we know it would not exist without these few rudimentary tools. The single most important tool, however, is often overlooked or simply downright neglected. It's spelled m-o-t-i-v-a-t-i-o-n and it's the driving force behind any attempt at altering the current way of doing things. Yeah, you just try getting anything done without motivation...you will be spinning your wheels (that's a figure of speech). As a matter fact, without sufficient motivation, the tools above won't be of any use. I don't know about you but I can't even get out of bed in the morning without motivation. (Check and see where I am on a Saturday morning... yep, my butt is sleeping in).

I have my own favorite useless-without-sufficient-motivation time management tool. I spent a solid hour at an office supply store, sorting through all the different sizes, colors and shapes of the different planners available before finally selecting this sleek black daily four person group planner. Now, tell me that doesn't just sound mega sophisticated. I could pick it up and just feel the importance oozing out of it. I felt more organized just looking at it, even if I hadn't done a thing with it. So I bought this thing--paid a lot of money for it--took it home and filled out two pages. Then I'd look at it five months later and fill out another couple of days--and repeat the whole cycle throughout the year. It was crazy; I never seemed to use it for more than a few days every few months. Oh, I just can't help it; I somehow had it in my mind that this is what organized people possessed. The very sad part about it is that I did this every year. Yep, how smart was that? Every year's end I made (of course) a resolution to get more organized and I'd go to my favorite office supply store to pick up my planner because--you know--this year was going to be different. I did finally wise up and got the undated one. That way I can pull it out every so often fill out a couple of days and put it back on my desk. Doing it this way, this planner should last me...oh...about 43 years.

What finally worked for me? Well, first and foremost, the motivation had to be there. In my case this occurred before I started finishing my degrees. I worked as an Estimator/Project Manager for a subcontractor in the construction industry for many years. I would go around during the day checking on jobs, ordering materials, handling subcontractors, attending job site meetings, collecting time sheets, looking at new jobs, picking up plans, you name it--I did it. Now, if you'll notice, all of the above dealt with Project Managing. So, when exactly did I do the Estimating you ask? Well, I'll tell you. I did that at night. To make matters worse, my office was in my home. I worked through the night and weekend more times than I could count. Many times I fell asleep on top of blueprints. Now, at the time, I was a single parent (translate--major role model) of 4. I really needed to get a handle on time management for their sake. I sought out and utilized the most efficient tools for me-not what everyone else was telling me I needed.

Mary Segers: link

Category: Time Management Workshop

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