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Time Commitment Tips

Track your Time
  • Understanding how you are spending your time and how things get on your calendar are
    key to being able to sort things out.
  • Keep a notebook at hand where you will track each activity, how much time was spent on
    it and (importantly) how it landed on your calendar in the first place.
  • Do this for at least a week to be able to see all the things that you are giving your time to.

Differentiate between externally controlled vs. self controlled time
  • Externally controlled time
  • Is directed by someone or something else
  • Is any situation in which you’re not free to handle your time exactly as you’d like
  • Happens mostly at work
  • Is usually a result of being committed to too many things
  • Self controlled time
  • Is what’s left after your sleep or externally controlled time

Maximize Self-Controlled Time
  • When you fill out your calendar, put a star next the things that are yours to decide when
    they happen.
  • Try cutting back on things that are not as important and that eats significantly into their
    time and take away from reaching your ultimate goals.
  • Schedule your priorities, both business and personal first, at least 2 weeks ahead of time.
    That way when anyone else comes to schedule things, you’re needs are already on your
    calendar.
  • Schedule more time than you think a project will take you to make sure you have time to
    get things done.
  • Schedule your most important priorities early in the week and early in the day.
  • You’ll feel better when they’re accomplished first and the less important things can get
    delayed if necessary.
  • Schedule breaks for yourself during the day, if only 5 minutes.
  • Schedule travel time between meetings/calls (even in the office) to avoid being late or in
    case they go over.

Avoid Automatically Saying Yes
  • Most of us, especially women have a hard time saying “No”. We want to be helpful, we
    want to be seen as competent and it’s just nicer to say Yes than No. But to really take
    control of our own time, we have to learn to avoid what some call "the Automatic Yes."
  • Learn to delay accepting new time commitments rather than automatically saying yes and
    falling trap to over-commitment.
  • Examples: “Let me check my planner and see if that time is open” or “I’d love to help
     you out, but I’m working on several projects that require my focus and attention,
    and I can’t divert my energies at this time. Perhaps another person could help you
    this time.”

Learn to Deal with Distractions
  • Develop strategies to handle distractions whether from live bodies, ringing phones or that
    email announcement.
  • Face your computer or desk away from the entrance to your office door. It makes you
    seem less available and will (hopefully) deter others from interrupting you since they can't
    "catch your eye".
  • If interrupted, complete your thought if writing so you don't lose your place. Ask the
    person what they need. If it's not urgent, tell them that you're in the middle of a project
    that you need to complete and ask them if you can schedule another time when you'll be
    able to give them your full attention.

Create Routines
Some people don’t like routines and find it boring, yet everyone needs some routines.
  • Doing recurring tasks the same way each time prevents “inventing the wheel” or missing
    a step the next time.
  • Don’t add too many new routines all at once. Add one new behavior at a time, when it
    seems to have “stuck” add another. Give each routine about three weeks before adding
    another.
  • Ideally, piggyback a new routine onto a well-established one—it’s easier to expand an
    established habit than to add a completely new one.

Managing your time truly begins with establishing goals and prioritizing items on your schedule
according to how they help you achieve them. Evaluate how you are spending your time and
what you can do differently to maximize it.

For more guidance or tips on managing your time, visit our Articles page.