How are you managing your time and activities?

What system are you using to manage your time and life?  Is there a system that effectively does just that and helps you find the elusive holy grail of work life balance?

Some would argue yes there is a system, a time planner that does just that.  I’ll argue that’s not the case at all.  Sure there’s the Franklin Covey planner, Daytimer, your iPhone calendar, google calendar, etc., and they all have value.  But don’t they all really do the same thing?

They all provide a organization method for scheduling appointments, reminders, and contacts.  But none of them manages your time.  See, time is not something you can control.  What you can control is what you do with the24 hour day you’re given.

In other words, if I give you an hour and ask you what you plan to do with that hour, you may give me a list of to-do’s.  That’s not time management.  That’s to-do management.  Now, given the same hour, you can decide to focus on improving your skills, your health, improving your teams efficiency, etc.   Those are all strategic items that are life oriented.  

You don’t need a fancy planner or organizer to be strategic.  All you need is a legal pad and a pencil.  Your priorities, in other words, where you place your emotional value is how you’re investing your time.  You can’t control the 24 hours in a day, but you certainly can control how you prioritize your activities that command your focus.

So don’t think of a day as a series of “to-do’s”.  Rather think of the day as; what are my priorities and how will invest of myself in them today?  What results then am I after?

If you operate under those guidelines and start managing your priorities, instead of time, you’ll be far more productive, far more successful, and significantly more fulfilled.  Guess what, that work/life balance thing will start to become your reality.