Time, especially when we worry that we do not have enough, can hinder our engagement in the task(s) at 
hand.
Rather than “time management,” I suggest building a creative relationship with time. Or, simply put, seeing time as neither an obstacle nor an opponent.
Try these Time Engagemet Tips…
- Work through a rapid-fire series of 5-Â (or 10- or 15-) minute “chunks.” Don’t focus on finishing all or part of the project by the end of the chunk. Focus only on working full-out for the duration of the chunk. The more often you “chunk time,” the more productively engaged you’ll become.
- Turn of all interrupters for 1 hour or 30 minutes or 15 minutes. Interrupters: cell phone, land line phone, beeper (if you still use one), e-mail sound. Allow yourself freedom for a period of time.
- Spend an entire day “time-insulating” the activities that take/waste your time. For example, read your e-mail only once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Answer your e-mail only once a day, twice if you must. What are some other “time takers” you suffer?
- Move an activity you perform at a set time to a different time. Allow yourself to experience both the release from doing something when you routinely do it and the novelty of doing that something at a different time. (Note: this may apply to activities at work and/or at home.)
- Spend two times the time on something you normally wish you had more time for. This may be time on something you enjoy that is or is not work related. Or it may be something you always feel pressured to finish because you “never have enough time.” Give yourself double the normal time you dedicate to this activity. See how it affects how you approach the activity.
OK, the purpose of these activities is not to make you more efficient, nor to give you more time. (Sorry, there’s nothing we can do about the 168 hours-a-week limit.) These tips are meant to help you be free from time (or not enough of it) slowing you down.
The ultimate intent, then, is to help you stay (more) engaged.
Tags: Employee Engagement, Time, time management
