How to Beat the Time Trap
As the first day of school is looming right around the corner, I become aware of the crunch on my available time to do all the things I would like to do before the official starting bell. Hence when I was cleaning out files of the last 30 years and came across a list of 14 ways to Beat the time Trap listed by my administrator so long ago, I realized that they were valid today and I needed to review them. I will share them with you as well and maybe one will help you find a few minutes each day that would be lost without the awareness.
1. Keep a “to do” list, updating daily and marking for priorities.
2. Plan for a week or several days work at one time with just daily reviews.
3. Set deadlines for yourself and monitor your successes.
4. Use wait time for mental planning, reading, updating your palm, calendar, or visioning.
5. Keep some kind of paper or electronic tool to jot down notes whenever and wherever you are.
6. Evaluate yourself – am I procrastinating and why?
7. Unpleasant tasks may be more acceptable if broken down into smaller step-tasks.
8. Immediately throw away what you don’t need. (this is my personal downfall and why I still have 30 years of accumulation to sort through).
9. Everything needs to have a home. (Another major problem when I have so much stuff covering so much territory, I think I need a ten story building covering half a city block to begin to sort the piles.)
10.Listen carefully. Ask direct questions to clarify any confusion immediately.
11. Know thyself and do your most important work at your peak creative time. And don’t forget to write it down or record it someplace so that you don’t have to recreate the thoughts.
12. Ask help from someone you consider an expert in the area you have a question.
13. Arrive at work early to take advantage of the quiet time needed to get ready for your day.
14. Read your email, answer your phone messages as soon as possible. (This was my addition to the list because 30 years ago we did not have email to worry about.)
