Time management is something we all want to do better, but few people seem to have it all "under control". Avocado Vision coach Grant Newton shares some tips on how to tackle this most difficult of arts.

You wake up at 6am, shower and fumble around in your cupboard for something presentable to wear. Settle on the same pants suit from yesterday, scrub last night’s dinner off the sleeve. Wake the kids, dress them and attempt to feed them a nutritious breakfast but give in when Cocoa Pops are the only thing they will eat. Drive to school, swearing under your breath at the idiot drivers around you, hoping your children don’t hear and repeat your colourful refrains at school. Sometimes you’re on time, sometimes you’re not. Mostly, one of your progeny has forgotten some or other essential item – like lunch, which you diligently prepared and packed last night – at home. So you empty your wallet of any and all cash, hoping the tuck-shop mothers won’t ask your child if mommy is sick again, and that’s why she hasn’t made you food.

With a screech of your tyres (or is that the fan belt? Note to self, must take car in for service that’s now 14 months overdue) you’re off to work. Arrive, make coffee, attempt to look as calm and in control as your colleagues. Realise, too late, that you have Cocoa Pops stuck to your suit and you look a little like fly paper. Oh well, you’d forgotten to eat breakfast anyway…

Finally, you sit down, turn on your computer, open your email – and you’re flooded with notes, memos, requests, demands, meetings. Reminded of the work that you didn’t do yesterday that has seeped into today. And overwhelmed by the piles of paper (still to be actioned) and lengthy To Do list that seems to have no end (and, somewhere, at the back of your mind, you remember that you’re supposed to make a batch of fairy cakes for the cake sale tomorrow)...

Instead of diving straight in, you just try and remember how to breathe. When did life get so busy, and so complicated? And why can’t you cope?

“If you feel like you need to manage your time better, what you really need is to manage your ‘stuff’ better,” says Avocado Vision coach Grant Newton.

Avocado Vision specializes in working with people who want to lift their communication game. They offer skills development programmes, management development and coaching solutions and learning solutions that help people connect with other people. Importantly, they also help people connect with themselves – and part of this involves helping those of us who feel out of control, to regain some control.

Newton explains that time is set. You can’t change it, and you shouldn’t waste more time trying to manage it. What you need to learn, is how to manage the ‘stuff’ in your time. ‘Stuff’, says Newton, is everything. It’s the personal stuff, the kids stuff, the work stuff, the home stuff.

“The first step to managing your stuff is to prioritise it. And, the first step to prioritizing your stuff, is to know your stuff,” says Newton.

Importantly, he says, you need to know yourself. You need to sit down and decide what is most precious to you, what you can’t live without.

For the vast majority of us, that is family. “So many people feel guilty about taking time to spend with their families, but if that is what is most precious to you, it’s time well spent. Accept this, base other decisions around it, and be assertive about it,” he advises.

“One of the primary keys to feeling in control is knowing that you’re doing the precious stuff. Once you’ve prioritized your precious stuff, move onto the other stuff – whether this is a job or looking after a home, it can all be managed in a similar way. The key, once again, is to know your stuff.

“What is your core function? Chances are that there is a whole bunch of stuff, some of which is critical to your core function, some of which facilitates that core function, and the bulk of which is just noise.

“Know what it is that you need to achieve, and focus on it. If you can’t manage the stuff that facilitates your core function, delegate it to someone who can. And channel the noisy stuff to a place where you can see to it at a later date,” says Newton.

This theory of divide and conquer may sound simple, but the reality is that you will likely need some kind of tool and a system to put it in practice. The key to finding a tool and a system that suits you, once again is to know yourself. Tools are easy, says Newton. A paper diary is a tool, so is Outlook. So finding a tool that suits your personality can be as easy as asking whether you work better with paper or digitally.

A system is slightly more difficult. “Unfortunately, no one can give you a system that will help you manage your stuff,” says Newton. “You need to find a way of working that suits you, and just as you are a unique individual, so too will your system be unique.”

The key to creating a system that works for you, according to Newton, is to (again) know yourself – Do you work better in the morning, afternoon or evening? Do you like to work on several tasks simultaneously, or prefer to work through one at a time? The only way to find a system that suits you is to try one out for size, abandon it if it doesn’t work, or adapt it to work better. Your system will grow and develop with use.

“Importantly, you need to find a system that’s easy to maintain, and that you can and will use consistently,” says Newton.

There are a variety of companies (such as Avocado Vision) that can give you system samples or ideas for you to try out for size and suitability. But, unfortunately, no one can hand you a system on a platter that’s guaranteed to make your life easier.

The only guarantee, concludes Newton, is that if you don’t manage your stuff, someone else will!

TOP TIPS
1) Set aside an hour, once a week on a Monday or Sunday evening, to plan for the week ahead.

2) Group your stuff into like groupings (such as family stuff, urgent stuff etc), it’s easier to deal with three groups than 300 individual tasks.

3) Do proactive stuff when you’re feeling proactive (if you’re a morning person, that’s in the morning), and reactive stuff when you’re feeling reactive. Learn to recognise the difference in your moods and cater to them accordingly.

4) Learn to recognise and (if necessary) ignore noise.

5) Be assertive with time thieves (whether that’s email, Facebook or even a well-meaning friend or colleague).

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