Rage Against Time Management

Rage Against Time Management

https://x.com/philnobre/status/2077041543823655356

Well, well well, if is not again that period of the year in which we haven't done enough of what we've planned as this year goals, but is still too soon to give up or start planning next year?

Sure thing we´ve reached here with low to no time dedicated to think about time management. Being even a hardest truth that we are not dedicated enough to our strategic plans (if they exist) as we (brace yourselves) planned.

But, behave guys, I am not just dropping a bomb here and leave my way to MY strategic plan, no. I am not. I will at least leave some words of wisdom and a plan to organize the rest of your year better, in case you decide not to hire an accountability partner (spoiler alert: me).

Time management is the special ability to use time in your favor. Time will pass by anyway, so, why not to use it properly and not waste great part of your day in a corner crying because you don't have enough time to fulfil your tasks or to do some skincare?

Most people have a hard time managing time. Yes, an intentional antanaclasis here. I never understood why soft skills in general are not explicitly taught in school. Tbh, when it comes to time management, I agree to the point that is not a great view to the youngest thinking about scarcity of time when they think they have all the time in the world, isn't it?

But at the same time, I realize we can explain scarcity as a chosen scope and don't lead people to think about finiteness of life or real-time regretting choices in front of us. Let's state once for all: you will be no younger at the end of this arcticle than you were before. Now we can put all of our tears together and focus on this fancy, polite, well-mannered hard-to-get lady called time management.

Two truths, one lie:

1. If you are in need of time management skills, you are disorganised.

2. If you are disorganised, you are in need of time management skills.

3. If you don't care, you are probably a procrastinator of the worst kind and don't deserve to read these words of wisdom that could save you from becoming a slave of the system having to follow the lead of each and every individual that crosses paths with you because you have not developed basic survival instincts that show you when you are wrong and put a big red flag into your forehead explicitly blinking in capital letters that you need to improve your abilities, become a better person and start moving forward instead of complaining 24x7.

Number one is a lie. Or a half-truth. Not everybody that needs to improve their TM skills is disorganised. Have I mentioned that time is a constant that is hard for our human constitution to follow properly? Or that Einstein worked his ass off to prove that it is actually relative? Engrave that into a banner and hang it on your headboard:

"Time is a constant that is hard for our human constitution to follow properly. Our pal Einstein worked his ass off to prove that it is relative." - Phil Nobre

Organized people will roll their eyes when I mention SCHEDULE as the first aid kit to time management. Disorganised people will also roll their eyes when I repeat it: SCHEDULE is the first, SCHEDULING is the second and following a SCHEDULE is the third most effective measure to manage time. You, mr. Disorganized: you can't even hear about prioritisation or delegation before you excel on SCHEDULE and learn how to follow a SCHEDULE properly.

Then, let's be open and frank. Scheduling is overwhelming at first. It will feel hard to do, almost painful. It's the right moment to keep in mind that your brain takes a longer time to form new habits related to TIME than it does for other more common habits. So, even if you feel angry, tired, or purposeless, believe me: a few months later you will come back here to thank me and buy me a well-deserved coffee.

Do this thinking exercise: If you have to take a medicine daily, after around a week, sometimes less, your brain will start turning your attention to it and you will rarely go to the bed without taking it. Obviously, this doesn't apply if you are taking memory medication. If you feel any symptoms, a doctor should be contacted. I am a journalist with an MBA in cost management, which makes me a Master, not a Doctor.

But, if you have to take this medicine exactly at 8:00 AM, it sometimes takes months for your brain to actually trigger you before the right time.

Why? Remember my quotation a little above? Time is a measure that doesn’t make perfect sense to our body. Because? Time is a perception that can even change over time. (Dying due to excess of antanaclasis today.) That is why mankind developed resources like watches, alarms, etc. It is so important, but needs a very active mind in order to keep track. How many times have you slept and woke up feeling like you just blinked? Not so frequently, but sometimes you also wake up on a Saturday thinking that you are late to work on Monday, don't you? Our tricky little brains are not powerful enough to fix the relativity of time, you bunch of not Einsteins.

The most powerful resources nature provides for us to keep track of time are day and night. That (sort of) constant is what keeps us racing toward tomorrow knowing that it will come eventually.

Tomorrow is always coming, but never arrives. What a philosophical punch line.

Fun fact: In equatorial zones, people have a better perception of time because the sun has a constant behavior throughout the year. Some people can pinpoint exactly what time it is just by looking at the sky, myself included when I lived in Brazil. That is why even sundials have their angles adjusted according to latitude, but in equatorial zones, you can create one with just a stick.

Killer Tips to Become a Master in Time Management

Schedule your time beforehand. Yes, yes. If you were dealing with a disorganisation addiction, that would be D.A. step one of 12. The peace of mind that you will have, sleeping with your next days (or weeks) completely planned and booked is Nirvana-reach level. But, since you are a novice in TM, schedule one task, just one.

Use a proper tool. You can start with your email calendar, GMail or Outlook based. Something that pops up on your phone moments before due and doesn't give up on your lazy ass so quickly. With time you can upgrade to a real strategic plan tool, but if you are at ground level, first, MASTER your calendar. Not only draw colorful blocks to make yourself feel productive. Respect the clock. Leave blank buffer spaces between tasks because you are a human, not a robot. You will need time to just stare at a wall, believe me.

Be prepared. If you have to perform a list of tasks before the actual task, wtf haven't you created a task for all those things? Who are you trying to deceive here with this? Do not fool me. I am already a married guy, I don't need any other human making me believe that it is just a "small little fix" in the kitchen that happens to spend all my weekend doing repairs.

Quailify your tasks. IIt's a step toward strategic planning and prioritisation, but for now - just a label or flag to remind you what you are going to accomplish by doing this task. Or use my example: "Dear user, You are going to lose money if you procrastinate this - you awesome little pr**k. With Love, your calendar". I use my own Phil Nobre's proprietary system of labels called R.O.A.S.T.: Revenue, Organization, Architecture, Strategy, or Tenfold.

Kill the beast. f you have a task that is the major thing to do on your list, do it FIRST. Once the beast is lying dead on the office floor, the other tasks will look like teddy bears cornered by your massive power of getting shit done.

Reward yourself . Pay yourself. Give yourself a treat that you like when you complete a task in the timeframe planned. Take 5, whatever thing your brain can have ONLY when you follow your schedule. Oh shit, that was the dog training plan that I probably mixed notes with. NO. It works. You have to do what you need to do until you are disciplined enough to understand that the most valuable reward after finishing a scheduled task on time is a cascade effect of: being ready for the next task, finishing stuff (on time) and heading home... then finishing a project, acing a cycle. If you are able to see the big picture here, fulfilling that task was the cornerstone of your year and guess where you are picturing that? On a beach with a caipirinha in one hand and a Kindle in the other (a geek is always a geek).

Force your discipline habits. Use the time to do exactly the tasks you spared the time for. Don't cheat. Don’t change. If you feel that it was not the right time or it was not the best time allowance, keep doing what you PLANNED. Change the next appointment to fit better.

If you finish earlier than expected, change your focus to a different thing, give yourself some free time, use the time to PLAN or move to the NEXT task.

If your time is up before finishing a task, cap it. Find a new spot in your calendar to circle back. Don't push the next task or you will probably have double trouble. If it is a time-sensitive task and you don't have any chance other than to keep going, then activate extra-focus mode. Train your brain to understand that working a due task is a little more stressful.

If you failed to predict the correct time allowance, that is a good time to take some notes, create a script or a checklist, and improve your planning skills.

Avoid procrastination at ALL COSTS. Procrastination is the biggest enemy of time management. Why? Like a drug, the feeling of procrastinating provides instant relief and... a massive rebound.

Once you decide to postpone a task, your brain thinks that you were TREMENDOUSLY efficient and did what you had to do quickly. A big relief feeling comes with it. What is hidden behind it is that, like any drug, you are slowly becoming addicted to that little victory feeling of a JOB DONE. It feels like you are doing two things at once.

Tasks that could be done in minutes start taking hours because you don’t even realize that you are procrastinating with small gestures, like stopping to read an email or making a phone call in the middle of a sentence. And then you have a very hard time returning to where you were.

At some point, you will start procrastinating just because you know you can. And suddenly you are doing one of your delayed tasks at the cost of delaying another task and so on... This is just the TIP of the SHITBERG of procrastination. Your brain will be trained to believe that any time is the right time for anything. Among other consequences, you end up working 14 hours a day on Monday and are so tired by Thursday that you only really produced for two hours, even if you are available all day long.

Are you familiar with anxiety? Yes, that is what you're gonna get from leaving things undone for a long time. Imagine your brain thinking about what you are doing now and on top of that, having a little voice reminding you of what you still have to do because you procrastinate. Now imagine that you leave behind seven small things and three major tasks. Your brain is now doing one thing with the weight of another ten. And you are feeling mysteriously anxious... why would it be? Help me here, Sherlock.

Ask for help. Adding a professional layer into your project is just part of it. You won't struggle with pain knowing that you can afford a doctor that knows exactly what you need. That not diminish your professional capabilities. Why are you going to try to survive your own plans? Unless you enjoy some sadistic -all by yourself at any cost- adventure. If your tricky little brain is still actively trying to sabotage you, you might need someone to hold your feet in the track. That is where an accountability partner comes in. Spoiler alert (again): yes, me.

Last, but not least. Enjoy being time-effective. Add this little layer of project management in your life. When you become a naturally organized person, other people will start following you because you are constant. You become predictable (leaders are allowed to be creative, not to be a rollercoaster of emotional surprises). In the end, everybody loves a fancy, polite, well-mannered hard-to-get lady.

Like this article? Buy the author a coffee!

https://donate.stripe.com/8x23cvaVUczra4F4EycIE07