Do you find yourself running ragged every day, yet keep saying yes to new commitments?
You’re not alone.
It’s such a common phenomena that two business-school professors published a study explaining the psychology that keeps you trapped in constant state of being overbooked.
The reason why you overcommit, say Gal Zauberman, PhD., and John Lynch Jr., PhD., is because you make faulty assumptions about the future, expecting to have more time in the future than you have today. But, when next week turns into today, you discover that you’re still too busy to deliver everything you promised.
The authors suspect that the nature of time fools you, and you “forget” how the little things keep filling up your days. Essentially, you believe that the future is perfect: your pantry is stocked, traffic runs smoothly, there’s no need to wait in lines, and other people are on time. Today, however, “things happen.”
According to Zauberman and Lynch, “People are consistently surprised to be so busy today. Lacking knowledge of what specific tasks will compete for their time in the future, they act as if new demands will not inevitably arise that are as pressing as those faced today.”
As a fact of life, there are only so many hours in a given day, and usually it takes most of them just to get your major tasks accomplished, and, often, the things that really matter get left for “some other day.”
That time-starved feeling many of you have, me included, is the reason I‘m fond of sharing time-management tips that might save you a few minutes every day to pursue your true passion, exercise, cook dinner from scratch, or whatever it may be that would add value and joy to your life.
Here are just a few tips you can use on the job, with co-workers and at home to save time for the stuff that matters.
- Planning your work schedule ahead of time can leave up to 20 percent of your workday free for interruptions and emergencies
- Prioritize the tasks you must do during a given day
- Match the tasks your employees are assigned to accomplish with their capabilities
- Start your work day 15-30 minutes earlier with the plan of spending that much more time at home
- Learn to say no when it comes to time-wasting events that interfere with the things you really love doing
I’m also a major fan of Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Work Week, which explains how you CAN work less and achieve more, while passionately pursuing your true interests.
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