Throw Time Management Out The Window

by Maria Marsala

Summary: There is no such thing as time management. Heck, but you already know that.

Forget about time management, I have. Why? Have any of the hours upon hours of training, or reading on the subject solved the time problem? Heck, none of it worked for very long. Did it work for you?

When I became a student of Coach U www.coachu.com, in 1997, one of the mandatory courses I had to take, was called "The Personal Foundation Program®". It's a 24 subject course that includes thought-provoking exercises, including "Getting Complete", Removing Tolerations From Your Life, and a host of other personal development topics. (Note: Most, if not all, Coach U trained coaches offer this program to their clients.)

It was then that I realized why all this time management stuff wasn't working! How could I possibly manage something I have no control over: time? Think about it. Can you really control time? Yet, haven't we all tried and failed?

What many consider to be time management is really a combination of:

• Defining your top 5 values (what you have to have or you'll emotionally die).
• Learning about your needs (what's running you).
• Setting life priorities (what's really important to you)
• Balancing your life, whatever balance means to you. Balance is different for every person.
• Clearing out life's clutter: getting complete with the past and uncluttering all your living environments.
• Taking your to-do list and making it a to-complete list. Pay someone to complete the things you don't want to do but they need doing, remove what you really don't want to finish, let things go that you have no control over and shorten your list!
• Collaborating - stop the process of doing so much of life alone because life's just not meant be that way.

Why do all that work? Because you'll make better decisions, therefore, you'll have more time. What can you do to shift from trying to manage your time to managing your life? First determine where your life is not as fulfilled as you'd like it to be by taking the Life Fulfillment Assessment. Look for places you're leaking energy and other places you could use some energizing.

©2007 Maria Marsala, former Wall Street Fortune 200 executive, business strategist, author and speaker. As founder of Elevating Your Business, Maria helps business owners and independent service professionals work smarter and earn more. Learn more and receive free business tools at ElevatingYourBusiness.com

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