Posts Tagged ‘organizational strategy’
Working on Working Well
Like everyone else I have about a million commitments. It can feel like a complex equation is necessary at times to determine what route towards time management and priorities will keep things in balance. What will help? More self-discipline? More free time? I have a feeling the answer is something like a well designed life- figuring out a way to structure the use of your time so that you derive the most enjoyment from your work and even your menial daily tasks.
Following a few days where I thought I might try to do a juice fast (and didn’t) or get up and out to work early (and didn’t) I started trying to figure out what was missing. I found myself thinking of a book I had read, Tying Rocks to Clouds, in which the author tells a story about being in a meditation camp and being asked to pledge reciting a mantra. Others around him are asked to pledge and they choose to dedicate themselves to an outrageous number of repetitions in hopes of awing the monk they pledge to, and really beating themselves into some “superior” state of mind. The author chooses to repeat his mantra once a day. People around him laugh. He tells the readers he has held true to his pledge for seven years now and is pretty sure the people who pledged 300 repetitions a day are having some problems keeping it up. Good man. Something to think about.
A blog I came across, Steve Pavlina.com- self development for smart people- suggests conditioning the subconscious so that the conscious mind doesn’t run through annoying loops in an attempt to reason the best solutions. Steve suggests we make a few decisions about what’s in our best interests and train ourselves into reflexive cooperation with our set goals.
Hmmm. Interesting idea in terms of getting up on time, but once you get up how do you stay on task and use time wisely? I suggest checking out Mind Tool’s Activity Log template to record your use of time. Though I personally prefer simply jotting down what I’ve done with my time throughout the day, a template, or the idea of one, might be useful to you. Last year I kept a journal of my time usage for a week and realized I spent tons of time commuting back and forth from school to home. This understanding pushed me towards more biking rather than busing, and to figure out how to stay in each location longer, i.e. spend some days working from home, pack meals to take to school, don’t over schedule commitments for the day.
I’m including Randy Pausch’s lecture on time management because I’ve heard excellent things about his turkey-sandwich technique. Enjoy!
