Adjust Your Mindset
At the heart of utilizing time management tools is your mindset around why and how you’re using them. While tools can be incredibly effective, the tool is only as good as the intention and thought we put behind how we use them.
Here are three mindset approaches to apply as you go about revamping your use of old tools or searching for new ones.
Mindset 1: What’s the “Why” Behind this Tool?
If you’re struggling with your use of a time management tool, consider getting back to basics by asking: What’s my purpose behind using this tool? This may sound simple, but it turns out that a lot of our frustrations center around wanting a tool to work a certain way — instead of whether it has the ability to accomplish our end goal.
In other words, instead of being focused on whether the tool does it the way we want, what we should be focused on is whether it helps us do what we need it to do.
Remember that time management tools and concepts are vehicles that help us get from one place to another — they help us get our “real” work done. Understanding the end goal of why we’re using them can take the focus off of our grievances with the tool itself and put it back on the end goal — whether it’s helping us get our most important work done.
Mindset 2: Try Not to Get Caught Up in an “All or Nothing” Way of Thinking.
When it comes to time management tools, the measure of success we should use is whether they help us to make progress, not whether they always work perfectly. We can easily get discouraged when we don’t always use or rely on a tool in the way we intended to. Or we’ll abandon using a tool if we haven’t kept up with it for a few days.
Remember to keep your focus on the net benefit that your use of the tool brings you. Even if you’re only using it 60% of the time, or only half the way it was intended to be used, that still may mean it’s working well for you. In fast-paced busy environments, it’s natural for us to stray from, deviate, or altogether forget to use tools. Don’t let this lack of perfection impede the value you can gain from the tools you have at your disposal.
Mindset 3: Is the Technique Not Working – or Am I Avoiding Something?
If you’re constantly searching for new time management techniques without much luck, consider whether an underlying emotional or mental block — and not the tool itself — might be the root cause.
Trying to learn new techniques (or shifting blame to our current ones) is a great way to avoid doing work we don’t actually want to do. We can spend an inordinate amount of time trying to manage our time because, frankly, we’re not that excited about our work, we have an underlying fear related to it, or we’re flat out avoiding it altogether.
If you feel like you’re constantly behind and barely making deadlines, take a close look at whether you’re mismanaging your time or whether there’s a root issue that’s lurking beneath the surface. If you notice that you might be avoiding projects, take steps to discuss this with your co-workers, friends, or others in your circle who might be able to offer you some advice.
