The Fundamental Flaw with Time Management
- May 11, 2021
- 4 min read
Written by: Carmel Murphy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Ask any entrepreneur or business owner what one of their biggest struggles is, and no doubt it will have something to do with time.
Not enough time to get everything done
Things taking too much time to complete
A feeling of running out of time when things haven't gone to plan!
This too little time phenomenon sees endless blogs, books, podcasts, and courses teaching time management. It's a lucrative industry, no doubt!
There are so many people searching for the answer to 'more time.'
But somewhere along the line, something was missed. Skipped over.
We all nod our heads in unison through the power of collective agreement about how important time management is.
But there is, unfortunately, a flaw in our thinking.
But before we get to that, let's first ask the age-old question – what is time?
Google this question, and you'll find many answers to what is quite a tricky question! But before we go down the rabbit hole of physics and time-space theory, good old Wikipedia will suffice for today:
Bit of a mouthful, right!?
Here are the three key things to take from this:
Time doesn't stop
It allows us to order existence and events from past, present, and future
Time is a measure of change
Now, this is all well and good until you ask the question – is time something you can actually manage?
Because as the definition shows, time isn't a thing.
You can't touch it. Hold it. Tie a rope around it and tell it to speed up or slow down, or correct course! Management means to be in charge of something and to control it.
Unfortunately, this is the fundamental flaw when it comes to using the phrase, time management.
Because as it turns out – you can't actually manage time!
And the more people propose that you can, the more it creates feelings of guilt, overwhelm, and frustration in people out there IN time building and growing businesses.
You can only ever manage yourself in time.
Believing you can manage time leads to constantly feeling you've failed or that you're not 'good enough' because you're not 'managing your time correctly and ticking that 'to-do list off fast enough!
Here's where I believe the discussion on time management needs to head, especially for business.
Self-Management When you let go of the concept of time management and instead focus on self-management, things can really start to change for the better. But it does, of course, require the ability to increase your self-awareness so you can 'see' what behaviors or habits you need to change, evolve, or let go of to manage yourself better in time. Something I see many people struggle with is unrealistic time expectations. Scheduling and lists don't work only create endless stress and anxiety because they believe they should always do things FAST. And if they're not completed in the allocated time, their cortisol goes through the roof! How can you become better at managing realistic time expectations? Surround yourself with others already achieving what you want – and ask them how they do it, how they learned a new skill. How long it takes them to complete the task? You may be surprised that all that extra pressure you've put on yourself is entirely unnecessary!
Impact of Tasks You probably already know about listing tasks in order of urgency and priority. But what most will miss is a third aspect that is vital to consider when it comes to exceptional achievement. And that's impact. The impact or significance of each thing on your list compared to your end goal. For entrepreneurs, that could be financial freedom or creating generational wealth. For business owners that could be winning awards or expanding into new areas. Whatever that big goal is, it's super important that you assess everything on your list for its significance to this outcome. And put those tasks to the top of the list that has the most impact on making that dream happen! Ranking by impact and significance can give you the power to say NO things on your list leading you in the wrong direction! Helping you stay focused and more successful in the long run.
Commitment Once you know what you need to manage – yourself And once you know your most significant tasks – to ensure you get what you want! It then becomes a commitment to focus on these two things. Something that is talked a lot about in marketing and business is consistency. Consistency in your message. Consistency in content creation. Consistency in showing up and giving value. It's crucial to realize committing to being consistent is self-management. Not time management. Time is going to pass, no matter what you do. It's all about managing yourself (or your 'selves,' as Hal & Sidra Stone would say) in time.
More about managing yourselves in a future article…
Till then, if you catch yourself using the phrase ' time management,' remember – there's more to it than making a list or schedule and then 'failing' to stick to it when it comes to Exceptional Achievement!
Those who are genuinely successful understand the profit-power of self-management within time.
I was first challenged on the concept of time management by my Wealth Mentor, Paul Counsel. He knew that it's collective, non-sensical agreements like this that hold you back from experience true personal and financial freedom.
I am hosting Paul on a FREE 6-part webinar series about achieving more money, enjoying more free time, and experiencing true financial freedom during May 2021. Click to join the discussion HERE!
Carmel Murphy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Carmel Murphy is known for being an out-of-the-box thinker and an expert in human behavior, marketing, and business strategies. Carmel’s passion for people, curiosity, know-how, business acumen, and background have come together to develop unique programs around marketing, copywriting, and videos designed to create higher conversion and increase sales and profit in business. Carmel coordinates, hosts, and delivers membership programs, workshops, and events to teach business owners how to build and market a sustainable online business.
