Implementing Action Plans
The Project Record is only the first of your planning tools. The Weekly Plan serves to bring you down to specifics. You know that you have certain goals and objective toward which you should be working. In theory, the Project Record reflects what you must do to accomplish those goals and objectives, personal as well as professional. The Weekly Plan now asks that you use your goals and objectives document and your Project Record to create a weekly plan. "Oh, my God; you've got to be kidding!" I figured I'd say it before you did. Think about the logic of all of this...please. You analyzed your time because you weren't happy with how you were managing it. You figured out some of the time problems and perhaps thought of some ways of eliminating or reducing them. You set some personal and professional goals. You figured what it will take to accomplish them. And now you're bitching because you've come this far? I don't think so. It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to see how this can work for you if you'll just let it. It also doesn't take a genius I.Q. to recognize that there is work involved here. Nothing worth having is done without sacrifice.
There are certain things over which you have absolutely no control. Let's recognize that right now. This is called 'system-imposed time.' If you are employed, that system is a thing called, 'the job,' or whatever other name by which you may refer to it. If you're in school, it's your schedule. One of the things I've found is that people tend to say that they have a job that requires them to be at work at 8:30 and work until 5. That's a mistake. You don't magically appear at your desk at 8:30 and just as magically appear in your bedroom to change clothing at the end of the day. First of all, jobs don't know hours; jobs can't tell time. If you've been interested enough to look at this workshop, you're probably ambitious. If that's the case, you'll put in the hours to get the job done. Therefore, begin your scheduling with the base figure of 168 hours. That's all you're given in a week, and that includes Saturday and Sunday. Once you've deducted the amount of system-imposed time from your base, what's left?
A second block of time is what may be called 'life-imposed time.' You have to eat, sleep, and perform other functions associated with life, including, perhaps, mowing the lawn, doing some shopping, etc. I suppose that if you're still in college, you can blow off the sleep part - just kidding - but there is one thing about this life-imposed time that you should know: If you don't take care of your body, it won't take care of you. I'm not a fitness freak, but for years, I smoked, drank, and kept strange hours. Three heart attacks and several chats with family and friends helped to make some significant changes, and I feel better today than I did thirty years ago...and I credit that to listening to and taking care of my body. It also allows you to think more clearly. It's up to you to figure out how much life-imposed time is necessary to take from your 168-hour block.
The remainder of your block of time is 'you-time.' When you first look at what's left, you'll be discouraged; most of us are. Several years ago, I did a TM workshop at Babson College. When it ended, a young woman came up to me, nearly in tears. "I have only 5 hours of me-time," she said. "I can't do anything in that time." We went over her math and found a few areas where we could make some changes. She didn't walk away happy, but she had a better understanding of why she always felt rushed and hyper. In that regard, she was helped. Knowing the "why" is often more important than knowing the "what." Sounds strange, but it's true.
We've finally come to the point of introducing that be-all and end-all of time management; it's the tool that 'everybody knows' - how's that for a generalization - will solve all of their time management problems...the miracle of miracle, the Daily To Do List. Unfortunately, it's more often a curse than a blessing. Several TM authorities will tell you that any kind of a To Do list is fine...as long as you take the time to keep one. Sorry, but I don't believe that. Most of the To Do lists I have seen have no place for prioritizing what you have to do; no place for the time required to do it; and most important, few, if any, take into account the fact that you already have some scheduled events on your calendar that are going to cut into your day. "Common sense," you say? Remember Voltaire's quote, "Common sense isn't all that common." Nightengale-Conant, through their Time Management Center, has come up with what I believe to be the best set of time management tools one can buy. No, I'm not a salesman for them; I just happen to think they have great time management forms. The Daily To Do List, to which you have a hyperlink is roughly based their to do list.
Let me assume that you have decided to use the Project List, the Weekly Calendar, and the To Do List. Everything is going great...why you've even been able to fill every block on your To Do List. If you've scheduled your time that tightly, you can expect several things to happen:
You can and will lose friends and colleagues, and your family will begin to look at you strangely and treat you like a leper;
People will tend to shut you out;
You'll lose sight of some of the wonderful things that are going on around you; and
You'll probably receive a visit from a couple of strong young men who will to model a designer coat. When you indicate that you don't have time, they will forcibly put the coat on you, buckle the sleeves in the back, and take you away to a quiet place for a long and much need rest.
You will, sooner rather than later, say, "To hell with this," and just founder through life without a hell of a lot of purpose.
You cannot plan every minute of every hour of every day of your life. You cannot become a 'time fanatic.' You will lose friends; of that there's no doubt, but more important, you'll lose you, and life is too short to be so regimented. Tools, whether they're for building or for managing your time, are only as good as the user. Don't become a slave to time. Recognize it and use it to your advantage. It's extremely bothersome to me to watch people at the gym, early in the morning, pounding away on the treadmill, elliptical, stairmaster, or other equipment, but who are constantly checking their watches; what a horrible way to live. Yes, time is important; yes, we should learn to manage it; but no, we should not let it enslave us to the extent that we can't enjoy life each and every day.
End if Implementing Action Plan section