The need for a new era of "time management"

The phrase "time management" draws slightly more than 9 million hits on Google. By today's standards, that is surprisingly low for what in the late 80's/early 90's was one of THE catch phrases for personal and professional development. So what happened? It's not like the pace of life has slowed at all. In fact, by most people's account our daily responsibilities have increased by a factor of ten over the past twenty years.

One popular theory is that people have become significantly better at multitasking over the years (BTW, the term "multitasking", not long ago unrecognized by Webster's, now gets more than 17.5 million Google hits on its own). Personally, I think this theory is incredibly inaccurate Yes, there are indeed a handful of people who have been blessed with the ability to capably complete three or four things at once but my professional experience is that the huge majority of us do not possess anything resembling this capability. What makes matters worse is that with all the options, activities and "must-dos" that confront us in today's world, everyone is forced to assume the role of multitasker on a daily basis. Perhaps worst of all, a large number of us (i.e. most) have convinced ourselves that we have become very effective "time managers".

My professional prediction is that time management consulting is going to have a massive rebirth over the coming months, particluarly as people rediscover that time management is not actually another "must-do" activity to add to their lists but rather is a philosophy that should act as the framework from which all other decisions are made. While we wait for the avalanche of new time management gurus to populate the commercial landscape, may we offer the following advice:

1. Be careful what you ask for... - The "social media" movement has created the temptation to connect and reconnect with everything and everyone and to be sure is one of the most time consuming activities you or your company could ever engage in. Before you engage with the masses, be sure you that you understand what is involved, what benefits you or your company derive from participating and most importantly, what activities you are abandoning in order to make room for your new priority.

2. "Map" out your time commitments... - Whether you use one of the many mind map software applications that are commercially available or a simple piece of paper, there is no better exercise to go through than that of creating a visual representation of everything that places demands on your time. Ironically, most people will avoid doing this for fear of the decisions they will have to make as a result of accepting the fact that there are only so many hours in a day and thus we cannot do it all.

3. Simply learn to say "no"... - This is one of the most oft-used time management cliches in corporate history but it is also the concept that is ignored more often than all others combined. Until you are prepared to accept the fact that not every one of your scenarios "...is different because...", you will have limited to no ability to gain control of your workload and in turn sustain the work-life balance that is important to you, your family and everyone else that is a part of your life's equation.