There has been a great deal written on the concept of time 
management. The simple fact is that each of us has the same 24 
hours a day. We cannot create more time. What we can do is manage 
our energy and our thoughts to change how we experience time and 
make considered choices on how we are spending our time. 

It is all about living with purpose and spending your time and 
energy on what is most important to you. Honouring your 
priorities and focusing on one thing at a time will help you to 
have a less stressful experience of time and will allow you to 
accomplish more with less effort.


Dangers of Multi-tasking and Multi-thinking

We often fill up our time with thoughts of the past (thinking 
about all the things we did not get done) or the future (thinking 
about all the things we have to do) instead of where we are right 
now. We often try to do a number of different tasks at the same 
time. Splitting our thoughts and attention in these ways 
contributes to our sense of feeling rushed and pulled in many 
different directions.

When we multi–task we often end up with having a number of things 
half done, which leaves us feeling anxious. When we only listen 
to our child or colleague with half an ear while we think about 
tomorrow’s meeting, we create an experience that is stressful, 
unfulfilling and ineffective for both you and the other person.


Being Fully Present

What if you could focus all of your energy and attention and 
place it on what you are doing in this moment? What would be 
possible for you then? When we give our full attention and 
presence to whomever we are speaking to or to whatever we are 
doing, we step off of that hamster wheel of frenetic activity 
and enrich our lives and the lives of others. 

Choosing to focus our thoughts and energy in the present moment, 
doing one thing at a time and doing it well, will not only help 
you to accomplish more, it will help you to create a peaceful 
experience of time. 


How are You Using Your Time?

We are constantly confronted with multiple possibilities of how 
to spend our work and personal time. There is not enough time to 
do it all. We often must give up one thing in order to have time 
to do another. We often get caught up in doing all sorts of 
things that we think we should be doing, but are not very 
important.

Many people spend up to 35 hours per week watching television. Is 
this a real priority for you? Perhaps you would rather choose a 
movie or one really good television show that you enjoy and let 
the others go. This would free up huge amounts of time for you to 
do a myriad of other things. 

When you know what is most important to do and have clear 
priorities, then it is easier to make choices on how to use your 
time. When we focus on things that are important, we make more 
effective use of our time and we feel better because we are 
spending our time doing what is important and meaningful to us 
and will likely accomplish more as a result. 


Setting Priorities

Setting priorities will help you make conscious and informed 
choices on how you are using your time. It is all about living 
with purpose. Honouring your priorities and focusing on one thing 
at a time will help you to have a less stressful experience of 
time and will allow you to accomplish more with less effort.

When you are setting priorities consider: 

 * Why am I doing this? 
 * Is this something I need to do or is it something I want 
   to do? 
 * Or neither? Who else can do this? 
 * Is it important that I do this right now or can it wait? 
 * Will doing this support my goals and my values? 

It is important to recognize the priorities in all aspects of 
your life: work, relationships, self–care, home, and 
responsibilities. You can then make choices that enable you to 
fulfill your priorities and can choose to let the less important 
things go for now. Be honest with yourself about what you can do 
and what you want to do. Priorities will change day–to–day, 
week–to–week, and year–to–year. Different things will be more 
important to you at different times in your life. 


Schedule Your Priorities

Schedule time to take care of your priorities and set a 
completion date. Be sure to build ‘flex’ time into each day. Flex 
time is 30 –60 minutes of time that you block off. This time can 
be used to deal with the unexpected or for things that are taking 
longer than you anticipated, or as time for yourself.

Spending your time focused on priorities will increase your peace 
of mind and bring greater meaning and purpose to your life 
because you are focused on what is really important to you in all 
aspects of your life. 


Coaching Questions

 * Of the activities you are doing now, which ones energise you? 
   Which ones drain you?
 * What do you want to have more of in your life?
 * What is most important for you to have in your life right 
   now? (Consider all of your roles and responsibilities).
 * What is stopping you from doing these things?


Take Action

How Are You Really Using Your Time?

Over the next week carry a notebook where you write down what you 
are doing for every minute of your day. Keep a record of how you 
spend your time and energy for the next 7 days.

After 1 week consider:

 How are you using your time? 
 What are you missing out on because of your current lifestyle?
 Is there time in your life for the things that are most 
   important to you? 
 How can you make more time for what you value most? 


Action Steps

 * List 3 ways you misuse your time (such as watching T.V. or 
   checking your email every hour) and then list 3 things you 
   can do to minimize these activities.
 * Identify 3 areas where you might be able to delegate tasks 
   or ask for more help in and then list 3 actions you can take 
   to help you create more time in this area. 

For example: Area: Household chores: Action have shirts pressed 
rather than iron them yourself, have each family member take on 
an additional household task, get curb side recycling instead of 
recycling it yourself.

If you would like to learn more about creating a stress-free 
lifestyle, I recommend you visit my website 
(http://www.futureperfect.ca) and check out my 6 week self-help 
course Reclaiming Self: A Path to Peace and Balance for Busy 
Lives. 

Jan Hornford is a Life Coach & Certified Retreat Coach whose 
passion is to help individuals re-connect with their own wisdom 
and power and to support them to create the life they want. Her 
retreats offer the opportunity to experience joyful self-care, 
connection, and possibility. For more information, please take a 
look at her website: http://www.futureperfect.ca Or, call her: 
403-313-4064

For more information about Jan’s free 4 week self-help course: 
"Living Authentically: Honoring Your Truth in Everyday Life" 
visit: http://www.futureperfect.ca/living_authentically.html