Success impulse: Forget time management!
Do you have time management? Our author explains why this doesn't work in his new Success Impulse. And he reveals another solution to wasting time.
Almost all the leaders I know have too little time all the time. That's why, for example, one of the things we work on in coaching is changing this situation for the better. And even those who have enough time often have the feeling that they are not filling this time optimally. They work on things of which they are not sure whether they really bring much.
Time management is a waste of time
For many, the solution seems to be better time management. And that's where the problems really begin. Because if you try to manage time, you're under a misconception and you're wasting your .... yes: time.
Three reasons, one of which is a tip
Why is that? Here are three reasons why time management does not work (in point 3 is then the way out):
- Time is always the same, so it cannot be controlled. Nobody on this planet can control or manage time. Time is the same for everyone. This is more than mere semantics. Because your energy will flow into what you focus on. And if that is something you can't change at all, it will only lead to frustration. You probably know this from your own experience, for example, when at the end of the day or week you have once again failed to accomplish what you set out to do. Perhaps you have tried to control your use of time. However, this is exactly what very rarely works.
- Focus on filling time instead of effectiveness. You will always find things to fill the time with. You know this, for example, when your calendar is full of meetings. If we focus on using the time, we will always fill that time, just unfortunately often not with the most important issues. This point is the one I observe in managers: they are busy, but rarely productive.
- Productivity starts in the head, not in the calendar. Here comes the solution: What do you want to achieve with "time management"? That's right: higher productivity. The key to this is your mindset and the habits that follow from it. So: instead of managing your time, work on your mindset and your success habits. This is the key lever for your productivity. It starts with giving your time significantly more value and defining your most important levers for more success crystal clear - and then changing your habits specifically.
I hope this has allowed me to readjust your focus a bit if you have been a believer in time management.
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
