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Welcome to Day 2 of 7 Days To Better Productivity & Time Management.
Todayโs task will take about 1 hour.
Today we’ll learn a secret that will help you escape one of – if not the – biggest time-management traps there is.
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I know I can’t get everything done, that is why I don’t get anything done…..
When I sum up my priorities.
– My family – husband and children (6 and 8).
– My home – the apperance, the functionality and the working routines.
– My health – weight, diet, excersize and mental.
– My job – however vacation for the next 2-3 weeks.
As I promised yesterday, I made a list of opportunities for tomorrow. ๐
Being on vacation for the next 2-3 weeks is a perfect time to reflect on your priorities. This program is good timing for you, Marianne! Kylie ~ Community Manager
Thanks Michele, this is a really useful lesson. I think we all know deep down that you can’t live a totally organised ‘everything done’ life but some of us keep striving for it. It is refreshing to formally admit that it can’t be done. I like the idea of setting priorities for three months at a time. Often I have trouble picking a small number, but if I know it is just for 3 months, I can work on these five, knowing I can pick up other priorities in 3 months time.
Having a small number of priorities allows you to focus more, Nancy. You may find you make much better progress this way – I know I do. Experiment and see how you feel – and let me know!
I see a few of my priorities overlapping as well. Much of my life feels like a constant barrage of minutia. It isn’t important until the deadline approaches and then it is a crisis! Need to start focusing on the big things so that I feel more accomplished and am less stressed by those things that aren’t critical but still need to get done.
“Nothing makes me more productive than the last minute”. Have you seen this quote doing the rounds on Facebook, Nancy? So true for many of us! Kylie ~ Community Manager
But the minutiae is so fun! It feels good to check off phone calls and report that you’ve arranged this or that, and then you get praise. When I work on big picture stuff – exercise, learning new skills, building my biz – no one wants to hear about it. NEW THING: Remember how good I feel when I do the big stuff, and don’t worry about doing the little stuff for other people.
I hear you, Stacey. Sometimes the little things get more recognition than the big things. It can be frustrating at times. Finding your own feel good moments is important to keep the balance. ๐ Kylie ~ Community Manager
But, what about the little things that aren’t important but just have to get done? I realize I’ll never get to everything, and I want to focus on the important things, but there are some things that must be done in order to keep my job and pay the bills while I work on other things.
I agree Melissa, it’s frustrating when the little things take over your day. I think they key is to try to do those as quickly and efficiently as possible to leave room for the more fun stuff. Or if possible, get others in the household to help. Kylie ~ Community Manager
I’ve always struggled with priorities – they seem to change daily, even by the minute. Whatever crosses my field of vision is my current hot priority! I’ve been slowly conquering clutter and the bad habits that cause it – this has helped as there are fewer distractions piled everywhere (I’m not there yet but getting closer). I’ve also made progress over the years with perfectionism and the chores that never end issue in some small areas. My first lesson was years ago when I faced the fact that working 40 to 60 hours a week made it impossible to keep up with a kid, hubby and housework. I’m a bit anal about cleaning and it would take me several hours to clean one bathroom (with bleach and a toothbrush, I kid you not). I hired a house keeper and trained myself to NOT re-do it after she left. It was a life changing and very difficult process but necessity helped me win out. The outside job is gone now and the kid is on her own but I still hire a house keeper (just once a month for now, economy and all) and I’m only allowed a quick swish in between her visits (I set the timer for 10 minutes per room). This actually accomplishes two things. It gives me more time for the important things, it keeps me from stressing over not getting to it (knowing she will do it), and it forces me to de-clutter before her visit so she can get to the surfaces to clean them. That sounds bad but projects-in-work do tend to pile up. The short lessoned learned; no matter how tight $ gets, it’s the best investment I have ever made (and continue to make). The HARD part is that knowing these things in one area does not mean we know and practice them in another area. I seem to have to keep re-learning this **** in every little aspect of what I do. Dang!
Like Julie said – my priorities are so interrelated that I really only have 5 in total! That makes it easier to think about. And as Kylie commented on yesterday’s comment – making “my stuff” my priority is my staring point – after today’s lesson, I’m switching up my day and working on my business first – the household and mundane chores can wait until afternoon. I’ll try this for July and see how it goes.
You just nailed it for me with: no matter how tight $ gets, it’s the best investment I have ever made. Cleaning gives me no-end of headaches as well. I need to revisit this priority in my own life!! Great post Deborah. ๐
Raised to “work first, then play,” my top priorities actually feel more like play – probably because I’m genuinely interested in and motivated by them. As a result, those top priorities often get relegated to the bottom of the to-do list…by trying to get everything done before I immerse myself in what I truly care about. Today’s task really gave definition to where and why I focus my time. Thank you!
Wow – what a cool insight Kathleen! And what a great place to find yourself when you head into day #3. ๐
I have just come to understand that you never get ‘caught up’ over this past year. I spent the year before trying to get ‘caught up’ before doing homeschooling things and well, we rarely got to the homeschooling things! It made me realize that you just never do get caught up, but that having systems in place to keep things running smoothly and keeping a very clutter-free home help a great deal in the long run. I even cut my cleaning in half because I realized I wasn’t getting to all I had put on my list so instead of giving up after several days in a row of not getting it all done I decided to give myself permission to only do half of each day’s allotted housework and the following week do the remaining. It has worked well so far!
I see that so many of us have similar priorities. We are all after the same thing, more or less – a relationship-rich, healthy, peaceful, fulfilling life. We all fill this in with our own details but that seems to be the goal, right?
My priorities are.
Homeschooling – two of my children homeschool are both are in 2nd grade.
My health – which encompasses clean eating, exercising and cooking healthy meals…all of which ultimately benefit my family’s health also.
Creating systems for easier days – I love it when a system is working well but there are many areas in my life that need an improved system to work really well.
Writing – I have a few books that I recently realized I would like to write but have not yet put a plan in place to have writing time.
Personal time for learning – I love to read and crave time to learn new thing and improve my current skills. Currently my interests are becoming fluent in Spanish, learning to play piano, improving my photography and writing.
Honestly I don’t think having this list visible is going to change much. I have kept a list very much like this for many years and it feels like a failure since I’m STILL trying to focus on the same few items year after year with not much change. What are the next steps? What changes come from making this list? How do I put it into practice?
We’ll continue to work with the list on Day #3 Shannon. Don’t worry – we’re not done yet!
You are right about these changing. I have done a similar exercise in the past and I now see how important it is to revisit our priorities regularly. It is nice to see how many other important things come before monetary ones!
We don’t stay the same for long, Chris!
Hmm, so I’ll really never get everything done? That’s a little hard to get my head around, but it is making me think.
My priorities:
* complete my studies (no more procrastinating).
* spending quality time with each member of my family (no more letting the minor (TV/Facebook) crowd out the major).
* keeping the house neat and tidy (this is huge for me, I’m generally lazy and I’ve just got everything in order recently, so it’s about maintaining new habits, but not obsessing).
* being respected professionally (being more productive, not procrastinating, things will get done on time and done well).
* meeting new friends and forming close friendships (I’ve allowed myself to become fairly insular and that can be lonely).
These are wonderful priorities Cherie! Definitely worth giving up the minor for these!
It feels liberating AND frustrating to realize that I’ll never get everything done. Like you have taken away my biggest ruse – my biggest excuse for NOT getting the important things done. WHEW. I was only fooling myself with my fussing over small things, and frustrating myself more than anyone else. I guess what I am saying is that all that little stuff was a smoke screen – my excuse for not getting the important things done.
My priorities, right now… (and I can definitely see that these will change….)
1. Structures for success – I have a few weeks off this summer, but this is really my time to prepare for next fall. I will be working 3 different jobs. Last year was a ball of stress… and I know that structure can make all the difference for me.. I am seeking a feeling of balance, clarity, structure, space.
2. My son – spending some fun quality time together, AND filling in some academic holes before 3rd grade.
3. Preparing for Fall – this somehow fits with those structures – it is what I will put structure around for now…
4. Clear spaces in the house. Part of working well in a quiet space is working well in a clean space. And I so rarely create that for myself. Why?
5. Reviving friendships.
OK, and now my priority is to go off to yoga so that I get 90 minutes of balance, clarity, structure & space in the physical realm.
Thanks for today’s work!
You’re not alone is having that smokescreen Debbie. But you ARE one of the few once you realize that’s all it is, and you make the change to do what matters. Hope you enjoyed your yoga class!
Good Morning! I guess I am fortunate to have always known that EVERYTHING will NEVER get done. I’m good with that. ๐ I have been aware of my priorities for a few months now. I recently lost my job. I knew in advance, so I already went through this exercise so I would be prepared for such a major life change at 59. I’ve had a “Plan B” for quite a while. So, it is comforting to know that it has moved into Plan A slot. Now it’s just a matter of implementing it.
we stand behind you if you need a push. we stand beside you if you someone to lean on. we stand in front
to push any out of your way
Ah you’re way ahead then Kelli! And yes – now for the hard work of implementation!
It is pretty difficult to realize that I will never get everything done and I feel insanely guilty about our house never being clean enough even though I live with a mini mess-tornado and her daddy (a mess-tornado in his own right). I also have a pressing list of really not that important stuff that still needs doing at work: what I -really- need is a front desk person. Too bad I can’t afford to hire one yet!
I would LOVE to focus more on the things that matter. Maybe I could cordon off a specific amount of time I can spend on the little non-important things at home and at the office and then just say: ENOUGH and do the important stuff the rest of the time. Also, I need to make sure that little non-important stuff isn’t the first thing I do every day because it constantly derails me into more non-important stuff.
Priorities:
My personal medical practice.
Running our overall medical practice.
My family
My health
The fact that you find this difficult is great Corinne – it means you GET the reality. Tomorrow we will begin working out what we now DO in order to take care of the things that matter.
My top 5 are, my health/weight, My Crafts, Simplifying my work flow, My Gardening, Not Procrastinating.
With yesterday’s Step I am pretty sure my procrastinating comes from too many things on my list so I do none. and the Gardening will come when it stops raining (now going on 2 weeks).
Lynn, I’ve always found overwhelm to be the enemy of effectiveness. Sometimes the irony is that when we try to do less, we get more done. ๐
Today I realized that focusing on my top 2 priorities meant that all the others were going to be covered as well. They are all interrelated, so I dont have to focus in 9 things today!
What a cool insight Julie!
But a nice feeling to let go of getting everything done and realising I will never do it all, so focus n the important things instead, as I always tend to have a million things on the go at once and try and get them out the way first. Classic mistake I see now.
After we grieve the loss of that expectation, it IS a nice feeling! A liberating feeling! We can’t do everything but that very fact makes us focus on doing the important things.
Interesting how my priorities have changed recently. But I have 6 not 5! My kids, improving my relationship with my husband, improving my health by getting fit and losing weight, getting our finances in order, getting my lovely new home to be comfortable and relaxing, focusing on getting some great results at work and getting a pay rise.
I love how they change Debbie, and that’s why I never expect too much of long-term plans – it’s the process of making them that’s so valuable! ๐
I know that I will never get everything done and that is ok with me. I just need to find motivation and a routine that keeps me focused on the important things. My priorities are my physical health, my emotional health, my spiritual health, my family and my home, in that order.
If you accept this reality Debbie then you’ll be able to move ahead on the things that are important with determination. See you tomorrow!
I am a huge perfectionist and therefore learning to not worry about the small insignificant stuff is quite a challenge, even though I completely understand why this is true. I am sure that if I took a lot of the insignificant small stuff off of my to do list, I would be much happier and less stressed. I am going to have to keep rereading the day 2 post to overcome the perfectionist in me.
I understand that I’ll never get everyone done forever, even if you complete a task such as cleaning the bathroom, answering all your emails, completing all client work etc, more comes to replace it. It is reassuring though having permission to accept that it’s ok ๐
My priorities at the moment are – my health, finding time to relax, learning to say no, quality family time and time managment.
I am now at a bit of a loss as to where to go from here lol I would normally plough my way through my endless to do list now but I guess that I need to work out what is the most important thing that I need to do.
Get well! By relaxing… The Americans have a phrase which i believe apples- Don’t sweat the small stuff xxx
You’re in the perfect place Terri! Tomorrow we’ll pick up the pieces. I’m so glad you’re planning to re-read Day 2 – it will really help you get real about what matters. ๐
Did both days just now. I had heard your little secret before but that didn’t stop me from obsessing over lists and planners and diaries and todo lists. I have a multitude of them both written and digital! I have so many I lose track of where my info all is! Some of my priorities to focus on are: my family, try to change some things in my house so I like it more but on a budget and my health.
There is so much in life we have no control over, Karalyn, and lists and diaries give us a comforting, if illusory, feeling of order. I love them for the same reason. ๐