Feeling the January Overwhelms? Try These Time Management Tricks.

January always feels like a full and overwhelming month to me. Maybe it’s the power of individual and collective rest during the end of a year and being ready for a new year of possibility. Maybe it’s the intentional push of marketing to be everything you can be and more (or weigh less) in a new year. Or maybe it’s a habit that I have unintentionally kept from previous years of pushing harder every year. That’s what my dog thinks (pictured here).

However, this January feels different for me. How about you? I feel the difference from the continued slog through a global pandemic that just won’t subside and affects us at every level of our lives. Dominant culture says that we should be okay by now with these pandemic effects. Spoiler alert: that’s not true. And dominant culture says that time management will change our lives from chaos to contentment. Spoiler alert: this is bologna. But what can help?

When I’m working with coaching clients, time management is always a topic. I hear comments like:

·       “I’m working seven days a week and still feel behind.”

·       “I’m trying to find a work/life balance, but is that even possible even more with technology and remote work?”

·       “I feel tired, and I am building resentment toward my work. I feel awful about that.”

·       “My life feels out of control, and I don’t know how to stop it.”

Those are tough statements, and they speak truth to reality. It is harder to find balance and sanity when we are working from home and when work is easily accessible by phone. What we can do is change our mindsets from efficiency and productivity to curiosity and community. This change is tough, too. I love a list where I can mark off my daily accomplishments as much as I love buttered homemade cornbread. I also have a need for speed almost as bad as the guys in Top Gun.

The purpose of time management is self-renewal, not self-punishment. That’s why a single system will not work for everyone. Time management is an individual and team process. Too often time management systems and practices become so burdensome that we become consumed by them. In an effort to remind myself this January, here are the time management tricks that I share with my coaching clients.

Be curious. People say that curiosity kills the cat, but I don’t think that applies to humans. Curiosity is the replacement for colonial mindsets. Questions evoke our curiosity. Does your current planning system work for your life now? When do you feel the most stress? Why? No judgement; just curiosity.

Listen to your body. Resmaa Menakem and Bessel van der Kolk offer beautiful teachings about holding stress and trauma in our bodies. Our bodies keep track, yet we are often trained to ignore our bodies, including our intuition. Lived experience, as embodied by our intuition, is powerful and valid. Turn up the volume dial for your intuition.

Start small. The old adage tells us that we don’t have to eat the elephant in one bite. Of course, my competitive self sees that as a challenge and tries to swallow entire elephants as a feat of greatness. As you can see, I trip over characteristics of white supremacy every day, such as perfection and competition. Small, manageable goals are smart and beautiful, just like you.

Go outside. It’s winter here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s cold, windy, and snowy most days. Going outside sounds like a bad idea, but I do it anyways. Fresh air opens up our brains, and sunshine provides key vitamins for our bodies.

Stay in community. This is possibly the most important trick. While the dominant culture celebrates individual success, let’s be real. No one success by themselves. We have ancestors who paved the way for us. We have friends, colleagues, and family members that support us now. And we have a future that inspires us. Community enables us to grow exponentially.

Be a great boss to yourself. How often are you complimented by other people about your leadership style while not applying that same style to yourself? I see a lot of raised hands. Working from home has brought a new boss into the equation – you.

I encourage each of us to find ways to build curiosity and community into our schedules and lives one small step at a time. Here’s a quote that I first heard when watching the movie, Meet the Robinsons. It’s by Walt Disney. He says, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Be curious about your time and your purpose, starting today.

Photo Credit: Photo taken by me while trying to read. Rocky only wants love and attention when a human is present.