Moving Help
Article
TIME MANAGEMENT? NO!
Many people want to be coached to manage their time better. I say NO! to that.
You cannot manage time anyway; it just keeps ticking away no matter what you
do.
What you can do is manage yourself based on the two concepts I keep mentioning:
self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Following are four principles to maximize
the time that you have. They take time to incorporate into your life at the
habit level. Don't give up. Keep practicing.
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Good Enough
Accept that no human being is meant to do everything. We all have our
uniqueness; things we do better than others and vice versa. Perfection is not a
human condition. Cut yourself some slack and adopt the concept of "good
enough". You can rework your resume 50 times. Is it really so much better than
a much earlier draft? You can shop for the perfect dress endlessly? Wasn't the
first one you tried and liked as good as the 15th? How much time did you spend
past "good enough"? Demand higher standards of excellence where it really
counts.
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Specialness
Concentrate on excelling in what you do well, what you would enjoy doing
better, and new areas you would like to learn. Delegate, hire, share, partner
with people who complement you or can fill the needs you have in areas you
don't enjoy or do not know that well. Don't ever berate yourself for not being
able to do it all. Appreciate your talents and excellence and flaunt them. They
are you, yours and very special. Let others have their specialness too. The
results will not only save time but enrich and free you.
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Energy and Time
Know and honor your energy levels. Are you a morning person, do you have an
afternoon slump? Your time will be best used if you pace the tasks you have to
do based on this knowledge. Do the most challenging at your peak energy time.
Build in your Joy Breaks (see last month's newsletter) both as rewards for
finishing a formidable task and to refresh yourself at low energy periods.
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Focus in the Moment
Develop habits that help you focus on what you are doing in the moment. Do not
allow yourself to think of what you have to do next while you are doing what
you are doing. Put a "do not disturb" sign on your door and do not take phone
calls. By putting everything else out of your mind while focusing on the task
at hand, you will be using your time efficiently. If you get stuck on
something, take a break. Move to something else, get the information you need
to continue, change scenery, stretch, whatever it takes, but don't sit there
stuck.
Note: The suggestions I make are not one dimensional or simple. The questions I
suggest you ask yourself have multiple answers and may be different on
different days. I suggest you keep them all in a file or notebook and refer
back to them regularly. You will gain a lot if you do.
Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and Professional
Coaching. She coaches Professionals and Business Partners and teaches
teleclasses on techniques to break through barriers to the next level. Dr.
Lehavi offers a complimentary coaching session so you can experience how
coaching can work for you. Visithttp://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com
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