Never Enough Time?
Do You Never Have Enough Time?
Life is hectic. We have so many obligations that we need to take care of every single day that we can feel like we never even have a moment for ourselves.
No doubt your family demand your attention, your boss demands your attention, your friends and others too can ask us for help and this can use up what little time we have. And that’s before the car breaks down, or the train is out of order or some other unplanned time swallowing disaster comes our way.
So, how do we find time to take care of everything?
Chasing Normal
You may feel that you have been running for months on end with little or no rest and respite. If you feel this way you are not alone and statistics show that most South Africans have been working longer during the pandemic and lockdown.
Read that article here: https://debtfreedigi.co.za/you-are-working-more-than-before-lockdown/
You may be telling yourself that you are going to regain balance any day now, maybe next week. You just need to make it through this week and then you will get back to normal.
But what if ‘normal’ never comes and in 3 months time you are burnt out and exhausted?
In this month’s Debtfree Magazine we will be taking a look at ways you can find more time in your already busy week. We will consider some advice from time management experts that have been tried and tested and really work.
For now, let’s consider just one of many of the many practical tips in this months magazine.
Set Goals Over Which You Have Control
You may not be able to control when the next bus or taxi is coming along to your stop. You may not be able to control whether your boss will ask you to work overtime or not but there will always be things over which you have a high degree of control.
This means there are things that you personally are able to control. You have direct influence over them and they are not reliant on other people or circumstances.
For example, you may want to lose weight. While you may not be in charge of making dinner at home all the time, you are probably able to control how much food is dished onto your plate. You are able to control this particular factor. Then in pursuit of your goal, you can add other activities to enhance your plan such as regular exercise. Once again you have control over how much time and effort you spend on that.
As another example of focusing on the elements that you can control, let’s say that you may want to become the “boss” in your department. Being the boss is cool and you could get paid more and get more perks. But there are also sorts of factors there that you cannot control. The existing boss may not have plans to go anywhere. Management may not have any plans to replace the current boss. If they do begin looking for someone to take the post then they, and not you, will be the ones making the decision about who gets the post.
‘there are things that you personally are able to control. You have direct influence over them and they are not reliant on other people or circumstances’
So, what could you rather set as a goal over which you have some control?
You could decide to gain new skills that will make you a more valuable employee. This is something that you have more direct control over. You could sign up for an online course or distance learning or take some time off to do a short course that will give you better skills. These new abilities will then make you a better employee. You will be better at your job than those around you. You may then stand out among your peers when the time comes to look at who will be promoted.
The results might eventually be the same but you focus on the things you can control rather than day dreaming about the things you cannot.
This can even be true when it comes to time management. You may not be able to control whether the bus will come on time to fetch you for work but you could control when you get to the bus stop. Could you get there earlier and catch the previous bus? Would getting there a few minutes earlier mean that you are less likely to miss the bus if by some miracle it is running early?
By focusing on the things you can control and lining these things up with your goals you are more likely to accomplish your goals.
Be sure to read the coming issue for some advice about setting realistic and achievable goals and why this is so important.