Is Time Management The Answer?

Posted on May 05, 2013 by Christo Schutte, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

Is time management the answer?

Most leaders I work with typically desire to use their time more efficiently. While I do believe time management is very important, how is it that when many leaders reach a point where they feel more in control of their time, they still feel exhausted, stressed and unable to focus at the end of the day? What is missing?

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz talk about the importance of energy management. What is energy management? In short, energy management is the process of managing your energy consumption and energy recovery in a conscious manner. You can manage your energy by understanding the following principles:

• Recognize the four dimensions of energy: body, emotion, mind, and
Spirit. We draw energy from each. Each one is necessary, but no single one is sufficient.
• Rhythmically balance stress and rest.
• Push beyond your limits systematically. Building “mental, emotional, and spiritual strength” is very much like building physical strength. No pain, no gain.
• Use energy rituals.

Let’s put some energy management into practice.

Exercise:

Think about your energy consumption times (times you are busy and in action) as red, and energy recovery times (times you are not working, but relaxing) as green. The idea is to make sure you have at least two green times in your daily schedule.

Here are some green times one of my clients came up with:

1) Go for a run (Three times a week at 6am)
2) Take a 15 min walk (Two times a week)
3) Go for a shoeshine (Every Friday)
4) Meditate (10 min every Monday during lunchtime)

BUT, here is the key – In the beginning of your week, FIRST put your green times on your calendar, followed by your red times.

Try this for a week, and let me know what you noticed. Looking forward to your comments.