Time Management — Psychological Tips

by Tony Fiore

Sometimes we still feel stressed even though we follow all the time-management techniques that we should. That is because we have not yet mastered the Life Skill of Psychological Time Management - that is, shifting the focus of our experience to get a different result.

As Tony Robbins points out in his book "Awaken the Giant Within", you can work your tail off and complete every single thing on your "to do" list, but at the end of the day still feel unfulfilled and stressed.

According to Robbins, that is because you did everything that was "urgent" and demanded your attention in the moment, but you didn't do what was "important"- the things that would make a difference to you in the long-term.

Conversely, you can have days when you only got a few things done but at the end felt that this was a day that really mattered. These are the days when you've focused on what's important (to you) rather than what urgently needed your attention.

"Urgent" things control our lives, whereas "important" things are consistent with our values and goals, and thus give us much more satisfaction.

Some specific tips built around this distinction between "urgent" and "important" include the following:

1. Organize your schedule each day to spend the majority of it doings things that are important to you (or your company) rather than urgent. If you spend all day putting out fires, how can you have time to replant trees in the forest?
2. If you absolutely hate your job or occupation, find a way to transition to another one or consider switching careers. On the other hand, if you just do not like an aspect of your job (and who doesn't?), focus on those aspects you do like. Using emotional energy to constantly tell yourself negative things about your workplace is a waste of time and energy.
3. Learn to deliberately distort your experience of time. For something that normally seems to take a long time to complete, add another component that will not only speed up you perception of time, but allow you to do two things at once. Hate writing reports? Maybe you can write them while listening to your favorite music. Need to read 50 Emails before lunch? Practice relaxation techniques by taking in deep breaths while reading and scanning.
4. Prioritize time slots for yourself and your family. Without a strong personal foundation to get you own needs met, you are at risk to go through life feeling completely unfulfilled, frustrated and unhappy.

If you take time to build relationship with your family, they may respond by giving you back the emotional fuel you need to soar in life and realize your dreams!

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Dr. Tony Fiore is a psychologist and personal-business coach,who works with individuals, couples, groups and organizations. He can be contacted at tony@partnersforchange.net or 714-771-0378. He also publishes a free ezine at TheFioreReport

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