Watching My Time

Time Management Seminar -- skip all your classes to come and learn how to manage your time!

I was skeptical. I mean, my planner and I are connected at the hip. We have a wonderful, full relationship. Which made me think that I had that whole time management thing down. I even bought a watch last week! I'm basically whipping time into shape. . . But then again, I did seem to be living on deadlines and feeling guilty whenever I did something fun because I should have been doing homework. I'm the queen of blowing off homework to do something else. Oh yeah, and I'd also been super tired because of late nights and early mornings of finishing up schoolwork. Then a friend recommended the seminar and pounded in the last nail in my coffin of realization. So, I signed up.

I'm a terrible manager of time. I really am. I love to plan, but I fail to implement. My poor planner. Our 'full' relationship is lacking something and it probably hates me. Anyway, I talked to all my teachers, got my homework done early, and even took a test early so that I could go to a time management seminar. Pretty organized, right? I know.

It was amazing. It wasn't a seminar on how to compartmentalize your life to get things done. Not at all. It wasn't a seminar on how to use a planner. It was more than a time management seminar. It was a life management seminar. For the first half of the day, we discussed the difference between what's important and what's urgent and how we often forget the important in light of the urgent. Did you know that just because something is urgent doesn't mean it's important? I think I knew that. But I wasn't livin' out that truth. Then we talked about how we decide what is really important. We discussed our core values. I had never thought about what my core values were. I have now. But really, think about it. Our values decide for us what things are important. And when we know what's important, we can better manage our time by doing only those things that are important. Important doesn't have to be something lofty. Hanging out with my friend is important if I consider friendship something to value. Reading a book or taking a nap can be important if I need time to rest or relax.

It's not a perfect science. But it is possible to control your use of time and do more of what matters in the time you have. Just this morning I was able to finish all my homework for the weekend (which usually doesn't get done until Sunday night or Monday morning) and even write out my core values. Then I was able to go to a wonderful Celtic music concert and go out to the Mellow Mushroom pizza place with all my work buddies. And I was able to have guilt-free fun because I knew all my stuff was done! It's a gloriously freeing feeling. And you know what I'm going to do now? You got it. Work ahead on extra homework. Yes, I am that inspired. I would highly, highly recommend/DEMAND that everyone go to a FranklinCovey Time Management Seminar.

Go. You'll never regret it.

m(r)