I didn’t wipe my arse cos I had to brush my teeth

Ever heard the excuse ‘I didn’t have time’ followed by the person citing a generation game conveyor belt of tasks that they either have to do, or have recently done.

Have you ever responded to someone else with this slippery nipple of a tactic?

Course you have. Why? Cos it’s hugely effective at letting both others and yourself believe you have more work to do than Mother Teresa in a Calcutta Leprosy clinic.

Here however, lies the problem compadres?

1. The person hearing your incessant FML jibber jabber probably doesn’t believe you and most certainly cares even less
2. More importantly, You start to condition yourself that you have little or no control of the cataclysmic events that make your life busier than the combined leaders at a G8 summit
3. There is always shit that has to get done. You wouldn’t say to someone (unless you’re a dirty bird) ‘I didn’t wipe my arse cos I had to brush my teeth!’  

Remember…..

Which in turn means……

1. Remove the words ‘I’m busy’ from your vocabulary. Others don’t really care and it potentially makes you look out of control
2. Instead focus on being clear to yourself and others what your priorities are. You have time to do anything, make sure you stop, breathe and assess every task and pick what fits your agenda best
3. Boss / Colleague tip. If someone asks you to do something and you already have tasks ‘own instead of moan.’ Simply say you can do X but it means you can’t do Y . It’s a simple game changer
4. You do 1000’s individual tasks every day. Work out which are core tasks that really need to be done and which are optional. This will make sure you brush your teeth and wipe ya arse going forward

The 4 D’s of Time Management

Now we have talked about getting your mindset spotty dog, let’s look at a simple framework to organise your workload. I have used this for years and is particularly useful when you feel as though you are snowed under. Simple get your tasks and drop into one of the 4 boxes and follow the Appropriate D as your next step

Task management is often used in assessments, so bank this simple framework and you won’t go far wrong……

Always remember though, the purpose of improved time management is to free up time to do something you want to do….Not more task…..