Time Management Strategies Don’t Work for Everyone-Do this instead

Are you still struggling to master time management? You’ve watched all the recommended videos, read blogs, tried hacks and you still seem to be living in reactionary mode? That’s ok! Trust me – there is nothing wrong with you. 

The advice you’ve read and watched is good, but there’s a breakdown. And that’s because time management is not a one-size-fits-all approach. To fix this problem once and for all, it can really help to view the bigger picture. 

Don’t just try to manage your time and your clock – manage your life and your priorities first. As you get clear on these, and know what you want out of life, then time management flows smoothly. It’s a by-product of getting your life and priorities in order.

How to get things in order

Start with the big picture. Get very clear on what you want out of life; what are your life goals that you want to achieve? You might feel that if you can’t think ahead to tomorrow then you can’t plan your life, but that is the biggest pitfall. 

Many well-meaning, busy women make their task lists and time management habits in reactionary mode. If you live this way, you’re in a vicious, downward spiral. You have to turn it on its head. 

Think of it as building a customized home instead of a track home. The typical time management advice is the track home, which doesn’t really allow you to customize it to your own preferences. 

If money were no object, which would you pick; a custom home or a track home? You’d pick the custom home, of course, because it’s built for your life, your needs and preferences. It works for your family and fits everyone’s needs. A track home only offers a few, small variations. 

Imagine building a custom home; think about the fixtures and fittings you’d have. That’s the approach you want to take to time management as well. Make it detailed and customized for your life, and you’ll find it’s easier than you think. 

Anything worth having takes effort. I want to encourage you to get rid of the ‘microwave mentality’ – looking for a quick fix for everything in your life. It won’t bring you the long-term, sustainable results you’re looking for. 

 

Use the leapfrog approach for time management

The alternative to the microwave mentality is the leapfrog approach. You may not be the fastest out of the gate, because you’re going to take more time at the front end. You’ll strategically design your life and think about what you want it to look like. 

But very soon, you’ll leapfrog past everyone else’s attempts at time management, and leapfrog your own potential beyond what you’ve been able to create this far.

 So, we know that time management is not a one-size-fits-all. It’s really a one-size-fits none, and we should create a customized approach that suits where we are right now. It includes family, work, finances and more. Get your eight lanes of life flowing in the right direction and you have lift-off. 

 

Fit the pieces of your life together

Imagine your life as a puzzle – all the pieces are inside the box, and the completed picture is on the lid. Those pieces are your tasks and obligations, so start to put them together. As you try to make them fit, you’ll see that some no longer match where you are now. 

You can design your life to live out your vision, and your world becomes the most freeing place you can imagine. The majority of women sadly don’t get to this point of freedom because they’re stuck in their track home. 

No matter how stuck you are right now, you don’t have to settle for that. Raise the bar on yourself and your life. Choose to draw a line in the sand and decide that you don’t want to settle for a track-home approach to life. 

Design your time around your priorities so you can create and live a life you love. Get clear on what and who you want to be and what your own priorities are.  Then you can start to redesign your life to meet that vision. 

The usual time management tricks and hacks don’t work for everybody, especially for high-achieving women with big goals. So don’t settle for them and start living the life of your dreams.  You’re worth it!

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Chaya Ben-Shabat
Chaya is a mom, entrepreneur, success coach, athlete, student, dreamer, and world traveler.   She is also the founder and CEO of an up-and-coming international school system, designed to revolutionize global education.  She works with highly determined women to help them bust through their obstacles, discover and channel their inner superpowers, and master the tools and skills necessary to design and create the life of their dreams.

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