Are You Too Busy for Your Ideal Life?

Overwhelmed. Busy. So much to do. Do it yesterday.

I could go on. There is so much competing for our time and attention many of us feel obligated to immediately reply to all requests that come our way. We feel pressure to meet the demands of everyone around us at the expense of our health, well-being, and intimate relationships.

According to a 2013 survey by Wrike, 88% of men and 85% of women regularly work overtime. So many of us are telling ourselves that texts, emails, and phone calls must be answered right away. If you don’t answer, that loyal client or juicy prospect will just hire someone else. Replying to that Saturday or Sunday email can’t wait until Monday morning. Never mind that the person who sent it was doing some catch-up and won’t be checking their email again until Monday afternoon.

The irony is that a plethora of articles have been published over the last few years with tips on how to be successful from top executives and CEO’s. I don’t recall seeing one yet that didn’t include something along the lines of “schedule personal time every day,” “make time for personal relationships and hobbies,” “check your email and voicemail once a day,” “schedule everything,” and so on.

The recurring theme from all these modern leaders is scheduling, or managing, all your time - not just some of it. This is a habit was developed at some point on their journey to the top, not once they reached the summit.  

Nature abhors a vacuum and if you don’t fill your calendar, it will be filled for you. You will feel out of control because you have ceded control of your most precious resource, time, to chance. The good news is that you can successfully schedule all your time, too!  And, once you do, you will be on the road to having the balance you need and desire. Things will fall into place.

That poses the question, what are you really doing in all those hours at work? Are you using it as effectively as you can, or are you allowing your time allocation to be dictated by someone, or something, else?

Here are three actions you can take to make your workday shorter and more productive:

• Block your time: including time for phone calls, email, and personal obligations and interests. 
• Work on administrative tasks at the end of the day or the end of the week as much as possible.  
• Cut down on how often you check your email and voicemail. Start with two or three times a day and make it your goal to work down to once a day.

These three habits will get you started down the road making the most of your workday and leaving the office earlier so you can live your life instead of wishing for one.

P.S. Need help organizing your schedule? I’m here to help!