Stress and Time Management

My goal is to update my blog every Saturday, so far so good. There are a lot of students who are reading and respong, I think that's great - keep it up! This week for me is focusing on striking a balance in my life. As most of you know, I am back in school full time - 12 graduate hours! I am finishing my masters and then a few more classes in addition. I have neglected my house now for almost a month (the amount of dust building up is gross) and I'm eating fast food way too much. So, can I give on some things? Right now, the answer is no. If I neglect one portion, then ultimately I'll end up paying the price later. If I neglect my house now and don't get the plant beds ready, I'm not going to enjoy the awesome foliage and flowers in the summer. My school work can't lag, I've got to finish that degree, and I certainly don't want to lose the momentum that my students have right now. All of my groups are playing great! Some thoughts about this from Don Wetmore:

Do you have too much to do? That says a lot of good things about you. That you have "too much to do" suggests that a lot of people have entrusted much confidence in you. I mean, people who are drifting about early each afternoon begging co-workers for something to do, may not have earned that confidence from others. And this applies not only in our work lives but in our personal lives as well.

But this creates a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's great to enjoy the confidence of others. Yet, having "too much to do" often creates the stresses and distresses that may reduce your overall productivity.

I divide our responsibilities into two categories: "Crucial" and "Not Crucial". Crucial items give us the "biggest bang for the buck" for the time spent and is the most productive use of our time. It is the logical use of our time. "Not Crucial" gives us emotional relief. It's doing the little things, the junk mail, desk dusting and the like, that, while necessary, do not really advance our daily success very much.

Doing the Crucial things builds up our self-esteem and our motivation level. Ever notice when you've had a really productive "Crucial" day how that positive momentum carried forward into your evening hours? You are more inclined to do the woodworking, spend time with the kids, or work on hobbies, when you've had a great day. But when you've had one of those "Not Crucial" days, the motivation and momentum levels are reduced and when we come home that night, many of us just want to block out the day with that all important exercise, "click, click, click", the sound of the TV remote device, surfing us through a multitude of channels that fail to grab our interest.

I really believe that most people, intuitively and instinctively, want to be good time managers. It makes sense. The better we manage our time, the more results we will enjoy. It's the logical choice.