Mental Meanderings

Time Management

*ok, I give up, DWC entry again and thank goodness DWC is almost over*

Today I had a very busy day. I started with playgroup and a visit to the library. Once I got home I settled in to reading up about Time Management. Time Management is a deceptively complicated subject. I think I need to learn time management so that I can manage the time it takes to learn and instigate time management. I’ve spent hours so far reading about goal setting and then using the program I found to make plans and set goals and tasks.

Ultimately I think it will save time, eventually, but preparing in advance is time consuming. I’ve made plans like these before as well. Of course I’ve never put so much effort or detail into it but each time I’ve only been able to stick to it a few days. I know part of the issue is to do with routine and habit. I have to make goal setting a habit and make sure I focus on it every day.

I’m going to make one of those promises to myself to focus on my goal setting each morning and then again in the evenings before bed. I don’t want to give it too much time but I know in the beginning it will take more time and focus. One advantage is I can also use the software as a diary/calendar, to do list, and my mother even suggested keeping my shopping list in there too which I guess is possible.

Another part of the time management project I’m working on at the moment is an activity log. I’ve been writing one today and am already onto page three of the log. I didn’t realise how many times I switch projects and I’m not even being as strict as I could be. I mean I could include the occasions I pause from writing this to watch the movie but I haven’t been that detailed. I probably should be however since those occasions are important fragments of time that make the DWC process take longer.

The whole Time Management process is complicated. I hope it’s just part of the learning curve. It starts tough because so much of it is difficult and foreign to me. It’s challenging because it’s asking me to do things I haven’t done before and have never been good at, like prioritizing.

My priorities are generally a complete mess. But in beginning this Goal Setting part of Time Management I face having to figure out what’s important to my life. But the trouble is I have some major goals that I can prioritize and yet those priorities vary from moment to moment in many cases. I mean my Career is important to me. My Family is important to me. My Family is doing ok, we’re in order and I feel like my goals here are balanced and on term. My Career however, feels strained and stressful, off course, chaotic, and lagging. In this instant it takes priority, because of the instability, not because it’s more important than my family. Does that make sense?

Another step is time frames. For some reason it’s important to put deadlines on projects. I can understand the value of this however trying to work out reasonable deadlines and stick to them is not as easy as it sounds. It should be, but I know it’s going to take a lot of work to get into this so that I can function proficiently. I now have my DWC deadline, daily till October 31st. I think I’m going to give DWC a miss after this month however since it’s a big strain and it doesn’t progress my primary goals.

Another goal I have set time restraints on is my NaNo Novel. Write the first draft in November. Easy. I’ve also scheduled a time to read the results and to progress through drafts two and three and into submission. I’ve also moved The Dating Game into a time restraint. It feels good to have done this however because it moves it’s urgency up a few notches. At this stage Nano comes first and focus is on that in November but after that The Dating Game gets top priority.

The Persevering Poets Presents group has also made it to my list of Goals and I’ve filled out a few of the tasks I’d like to complete. There is so much more I haven’t added yet.

It’s a step, and a baby step at that I suppose. But then it’s the baby steps that ultimately get you to your goals isn’t it?