"Time may be a limited resource, but we aren't."
Stephen Covey, First Things First

Time management experts would have you believe that to manage your time well, all you need to do is put structure unto your life with 'to-do' lists and time allocators.

So why is it that so many people say that this approach doesn't work for them? Think about it. Time cannot be managed, but your attitude to how you use it can. When you make time to do the things that matter to you, you are motivated to manage yourself - not your time.

What do you want / have to do ?
Doing what you don't really want to do results in you sqeezing in things at the cost of other activities. You then add guilt to your frustration and try to make shortcuts only to fail and feel worse.

Know Yourself
It is possible to have a better relationship with time, simply by getting in touch with what is important to you. For example, does time weigh heavily on you or does it seem to fly by. In her book 'Pure Bliss' Gill Edwards refers to these different perspectives as 'hard time' and 'soft time'. See the table below.

Knowing how yo 'do time' (by listening to what you say to yourself) is the first step to understanding why you do things the way you do, or have the attitude you have.

The Goldilocks Test
Consider what Goldilocks said when checking out the 3 bears bowls of porridge . . . "this one has too much, this one has too little and this one is just right."

When do you notice you have too much time ?
When do you experience too little time ?
When do you say for yourself, "It's just right" ?

Seeing time from the Inside-Out - CAPABILITY
Step 1 - UNDERSTAND WHY YOU SEE THINGS AS YOU DO
The way you think about what you are doing and your attitude towards it can make all the difference to your perception of time. Knowing when something feels good for you, you are better able to control your mood.

Seeing time from the Outside-In - CONTEXT
Step 2 - BE IN THE MOMENT
Where is the focus of your attention for each of these times ? Are you focusing on some future event when experiencing time pressures ? You can stop this feeling by ficusing your attention on what's happening now - "in the moment" ?

Seeing time from the Top-Down - VISION
Step 3 - DOING WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU
Doing something that you have to do can induce a "hard time" attitude, unless you can see how important it is in enabling you to do other things that you really want to do. You can give yourself a "hard time" about filing your bills because you have something more important you want to get done, yet to file them so you can find them easily can save you valuable time and money when you really need it to. Ask yourself what important goal the activity is contributing to.

Seeing time from the Bottom-Up - INTERACTION
Step 4- YOUR PREFERENCE IN RELATIONS WITH OTHERS
The final step is to find a way of taking action and getting the cooperation of others. To find stratgies that work for you, you could observe yourself and then observe others, modelling attitudes and behaviours that work for you and practicing it. For example, practice saying "no" to others.

After all this you may end up with an abundance of time. Are you going to fill it with "doing" or "being" ? Choose the right balance for you.

Find out more about the Dynamic Change Model

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