Many of my clients struggle with what they describe as “time management issues”. They want to learn strategies for working more efficiently so they can get more done.
Does that describe you? Do you say things like:
- If only I were more organized.
- I just need better systems.
- I have to streamline how I do things.
Now maybe you could benefit from being more organized, creating systems, and streamlining workflows. Those can certainly be good things to do.
But all the efficiency in the world is going to fall flat when there’s simply too much on your plate.
When we take on too much, the answer isn’t to work harder, work smarter. In fact, there’s something decidedly not smart about trying to do in an hour what takes a day—and then beating yourself up for having time management issues.
It’s time to get real about what’s realistically doable. Even better, it’s time to put some breathing space back into your life.
So enough with the overbooking and overdoing and overworking. Enough with pretending to be superhuman. Enough with confusing time management with a totally distorted view of what’s doable.
Here’s your mini mission
I want you to stop trying to be more efficient. Instead, I want you to take some To Dos off your list and projects off your radar.
Later you may need to work on your time management skills so you can be more effective and productive. You may need to get organized, systematize, and streamline.
But not until you’ve gotten real about the difference between efficiency and some misguided fantasy of productivity.
Do you have an exaggerated sense of how productive you can and should be?
