Stop Trying to Manage Time

by Jennifer Gleeson Blue, NYWSE Member

As a life coach, I keep hearing the following refrain from clients:

"I am terrible with time management, so there is no way I will get the things that are most important in my life."

These items that you say are important to you, are indeed important. Though often neglected, they too can be factored into your schedule. But some of these items cannot always be accounted for. Examples may include creative or business endeavors, financial matters, relationships or spiritual practices, etc.; they are the "stuff of life" that makes life worth living.

If you feel that you are not getting to what matters most because of poor time management skills, I've got some good news: You can't entirely manage time and the events that happen during the ins and outs of your daily life, just like you can't entirely manage anything that may be finite. You can however, manage yourself through acknowledging the story you tell to yourself about yourself and the events in your life.

Here's a little trick. The next time you find yourself defeated, telling yourself how impossible getting to the good stuff is because you "are terrible" at time management, try a new story:

- "It is possible for me to get to the most important things in my life."

- "I will never be able to completely manage all of the minutes in a day, but I can learn to manage myself."

- "I may not have gotten what I want this time, and that is okay; I am learning how to respond to the many tasks in my life."

The stories we tell ourselves directly influence our behavior. With a little bit of extra help and additional attention to our thoughts, we can write new stories out ourselves that generate the type of results we seek. The kind of results that are centered and focused around the "good stuff".

Through her company Get There From Here, Philadelphia life coach, Jennifer Gleeson Blue, specializes in supporting creative and entrepreneurial professionals to live and work authentically, and in helping organizations create collaborative strategies to address intergenerational diversity.  Core to her methodology is the idea of story - the notion that people are living their lives, pursuing their careers and running their businesses based on deeply held and oftentimes subconscious narratives that guide them. She uses this as a touchstone to unlocking their potential.

Comments

[Virginie Roge]

I think your article will help me a lot.
I'm actually trying hard to buid a business and I struggle with the time!
So, do you think like we all have our own destiny and we cannot go against it?

Please if you have some minuts check about the Flamant Rose Challenge. I will love to have some feedback from you.

www.LeFlamantRose-BeYourOwnMuse.com

thank you!

Looking forward to hear from you