23 July 2007
Prioritizing & Balance are the Keys to Time Management
Posted by Darrell under: Blogging About The Outdoors .
I have been swamped over the past week or so and have fallen behind in several areas. For instance, I’ve got six different blog posts that I’ve started and just not gotten around to finishing. I’ve got over 100 posts (by my fellow outdoor bloggers) to read on my Google RSS reader. I have several neat videos to upload and share. I want to re-arrange my blog pages and categories to fit in with my blog vision. Oh yeah, I need to share my ‘vision’.
I’ve got 8 game cameras that need checked. I need to clear the brush away from six existing tree stands and I’ve got several new ones in my garage that I want to put up. I need to take my kids on vacation before they start back to school - somewhere that might broaden their horizons (I’ve finally got this planned and we leave for Mexico in a few days). And work - I don’t even want to talk about all I need to get done.
Yesterday, Robert over at Upland Feathers gave me a ‘blog plug’. Thanks Robert! In his post he stated “All Darrell needs is a bow or rod, a video camera, and an internet connection and he could be his own production company.” That is a pretty cool thing for someone to say about you. But, I must point out that he missed a vital component for his list: TIME. Like every other person I know, I need more time!
So what is my solution? How can I solve my time dilemma?
It is imporant to recognize that there is no theorem for creating more time. Your best bet is at managing the time you’ve got. To that end, I try to stay organized. I have a plan for accomplishing various things and often keep a ‘to do’ list for just that purpose. I have a daily schedule for my blog and actually try to allot some time for it every day. Sometimes, I don’t have any time - regardless of the ‘allotment’. When I have extra time, I write extra posts and instead of posting them immediately - I either schedule them for later or just save them (depending on how time sensitive they may be).
I have some general goals for my blog. For instance, I would like to have at least one post per day. I like to respond to any comments that I receive in a fairly timely manner. I want to ‘moderate’ any new comments from new visitors as quickly as possible. I want to regularly give kudos to my fellow bloggers when they write something that really strikes me AND regularly comment on their blogs. Oh, and I want to do all this without sacrificing any of the valuable time I spend with my family and friends and certainly without interferring with my actual outdoor pursuits! My business partner would probably prefer that I also state that I can’t let my blog interfere with my work responsibilities either.
If you are new to blogging, or just considering starting - please don’t let this scare you! It isn’t all that bad. I learned a long time ago that many people (me included) sometimes expect more from themselves than is really possible. Some of these people begin to stress about all the things that are left undone. The stressing just wastes time and puts them further behind. I’m a firm believer in the adage ”don’t worry, be happy.”
Let’s say that you missed a day of blog posts. Well, so what. Or, say you had a great comment sitting in queu for a couple days before being able to approve it - again so what. The world isn’t going to end. Yes, it would have been better if you’d have posted something and approved the comment immediately - but it didn’t happen - so get over it. Move on.
What, though, if you missed your daughter’s first recital? Hey, this is big deal. You’d better have a really really really good reason. Otherwse, you’ve just received ‘loser’ status and your daughter probably thinks her world is about to end.
With all this rambling, I do have a point and I’ll get to it: Priorities and Balance. Being able to clearly prioritize and maintain balance is the key to managing time. Each component of my life has a subsequent priority level:
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family
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friends
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time spent outdoors
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work
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blogging
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mowing the grass
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ok, you get the picture
My family is always going to take priority over most everything else. I don’t care if my grass is two feet tall and I haven’t posted anything on my blog for a week - neither of these things is going to interfere with my being at my daughter’s recital. Grass needs mowed? Doesn’t matter if I had a morning of bowhunting planned. It’s all about your own personal priorities. What is most important to you? Do things in that order and you can stay happy.
The other key is balance. Many of the things that you might prioritize are inter-related. If I stop working it will have an immediate and negative impact on my family. If I become obsessed with working 100 hours per week, again, I can anticipate a negative impact on my relationships with my family, my friends, and a negative impact on everything else that might be important to me. If I become so obsessed with bow hunting that I fall off the face of the planet for 4 months - it will likely have a negative impact on every other area of my life. I must keep a balance.
My blog is important to me - otherwise I wouldn’t have it. However, I have a relatively clear picture of where it fits in to my life (priority wise). Yes, I might miss a day of post or fall behind in some other way, but I won’t lose any sleep over it. I’ll know that the absolute most important things in my life are taken care of - plus, I’ll still have an outlet for sharing my outdoor experiences with the world.
5 Comments so far...
Kristine Shreve Says:
23 July 2007 at 4:11 pm.
Balance is tough.
For years everyone told me I worked too much and I used to get all stressed out about it. Then I realized that work for me is fun, I love creating things and figuring out how to make things work. So I stopped worrying about being balanced and have felt far more centered ever since.
That said, I don’t have kids and am not in a relationship right now. So I can devote the vast portion of my time to my work, and my friends, many of whom I work with. That kind of takes the pressure off.
Jon Bryan Says:
23 July 2007 at 8:43 pm.
As you get older time really flies much faster! I think a guy named Einstein proved that. However, I never thought that when I retired I would have to keep using my calendar. Between my Church, family, ranch and blog I stay busy, then, throw hunting, fishing and Senior Softball on top of all of that and I get covered up most of the time.
Darrell Says:
23 July 2007 at 8:55 pm.
Kristine, you bring up a good point: balance is different for everyone. Working lots might be what is required to keep you in balance. It will be completely different for me, as I have different responsibilities and priorities. AND it can change for any person at any time! Anyway, don’t you have to be balanced to be centered or is it centered to be balanced - I don’t know.
Jon, I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone productive that says they have too much time on their hands. Regardless of what stage you are at in life - a productive person will be busy and probably find themselves short of time now and again. I’ve had several retired people tell me that they are busier now then ever. I guess that as long as your busy doing what you love - busy is OK.
Kristine Shreve Says:
24 July 2007 at 7:21 am.
I have to agree, I think the definition of balanced is different for every person. It also can change. Before my Mom died, she was ill for a few years, and I rearranged things so I could spend time with her. Work definitely took second place. You rearrange things depending on what’s happening in your life.
I think the trick is to find what works for you and not to let anyone tell you to do something different. The best thing I ever did was stop listening to other people who were telling me how to live my life.
Darrell Says:
24 July 2007 at 1:47 pm.
Kristine, again, a good point. You shouldn’t listen to everyone that wants to tell you how to live your life. The other lesson for us all is not to tell others how they should live theirs.
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