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Time Management
Put Yourself on Your Calender
by Dan Pierce
You are important. You need to be able to make time for yourself while meeting your other obligations. I have found that when I start to read an article about time management that I start to tune out because the writer of the article is not talking about what I need to manage. Most articles talk about the importance of keeping a date book and writing down appointments and how to be punctual. But, what about the rest of your life? You have more to do than to managing appointments and activities.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT? Managing activities is only a piece of who you are. Most people look at time management because they feel as if they are always in a hurry and not getting anything done. The trap that most of us fall into is not putting ourselves into our own schedule. It is important to get our work done and to go grocery shopping but we don't put in the things that we want or need to do. Identifying the activities that sustain you or re-create you, is an important step.
You are learning and creating new things. This takes energy and you need to recharge yourself so you can continue to grow. You need to re-create yourself. You are not a stagnant pond. You are continually re-creating yourself. This process of re-creation rejuvenates you. It enables your creative energy to flow.
Look at how you re-create yourself. Are you exercising, doing your hobbies or talking with your friends? If not, why not? Putting yourself in your schedule first is, for most, the only way they take time for themselves. People are very good at making time for others but they are not good at making time for themselves. The reason it is important to put yourself in your schedule is simple, you put others in your calendar. Then you need to refocus how you see your personal time. Would you cancel an appointment with your doctor, supervisor, or friend? Are you not responsible for your health and well being? Then, make those things that help you face the world important. Look at those times that you have scheduled for yourself as the most important appointments of the day.
It helps to be practical about when you schedule those re-creation appointments. All of our days have a natural rhythm to them. For example, you have to go to work and you may have a long commute. If you have identified exercise as important to you then it may not be practical for you to exercise in the morning. It might be easier for you to get a gym membership near your work and workout on your way home.
Finding out what is important to you is the first piece to time management. This helps you frame what is going to be put into your day. The most important piece is to put yourself in your day first. For a free collaborative consultation call and see where you can put the changes you need into your life.
About the Author
Dan is a Personal and Professional Coach who works with vibrant and motivated individuals who want to expand their lives. Dan has experience in a wide variety of topics to include leadership development, personal growth, and time management.
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