DAY 10 - Time Management and Ten Lords

Join hosts Terry Cullums and Amanda Keeper each week , as they bring you topics and guests to help you improve your relationships , your health and your emotional and spiritual well-being .

Before we can even begin to go to solutions , we need to utilize our own self-awareness as to why we struggle with it . My husband and I were having coffee yesterday morning . He's on vacation . This week he's supposed to be working at our property and getting the barn ready for stucco , but that's an entirely different story .

But as we were talking about our day , he asked me what the topic was for today's episode and maybe , before I go any further , I should acknowledge that yesterday's episode was extremely rushed . I really wanted to get the episode done before I interviewed the guest .

I had scheduled for a future episode , but I was also fasting and I wanted to get my workout in before I ate . I also had no groceries in the house and because I knew my day was very heavily scheduled , I went online to order pickup . Excuse me , you know how it goes when you try to schedule your day with almost no room for error .

It's like dominoes when one falls down , it takes everyone in its path with it . As I was sitting in the car after getting the groceries , I stopped and took a deep breath and for a brief moment of silence and peace , and I was thinking that the busiest part of my day was behind me .

And then I realized I only had the 15 minute ride home to relax and breathe and prepare myself for all the things waiting for me at home . In doing my own self-reflection , I realized I can do better .

I can do a better job of prioritizing my tasks , but I also know that external forces that we don't always have control over can cause you to rebalance the many plates you have in the air .

Maybe you can relate in the workplace when a manager above you suddenly delegates one of their tasks to you , or your partner suddenly remembers an important task that has to be done , but they get called into work .

Or maybe your child forgets an important folder they needed for an assignment at school and they tell you they'll get an F on it if you don't bring it to them . I mean , the list is endless . Right , I'm also guilty of procrastination , but on the surface it doesn't really look like procrastination . Let me tell you what I mean .

Let's just say I'm supposed to be doing some rewrites for a chapter in my book that came back from the editor and I'm frozen . I can't get my thoughts together , so instead I decide that I need to tear everything out of the refrigerator and give it a good cleaning and toss out all the expired condiments and reorganize the entire thing .

I mean on the surface level , isn't that what we've talked about the other day when we were talking about clearing out clutter ? In reality , it could mean several things , but it probably means lack of discipline , overwhelm , bring clutter and perhaps even a lack of clear direction from the editor or lack of understanding on my part , maybe .

I did a quick Amazon search for time management and it came back with over 50,000 books on the topic . I scanned the first couple of pages and I saw a few titles that I've read over the years Eat that Frog , which tells us to do the most important tasks first . Books by Hal Elrod that tell us to establish a morning routine .

Books that tell us to journal and meditate to help with that brain clutter and decision fatigue . But , as you probably already know , knowledge is not power , it's the application of knowledge is where the true power lies . I'm definitely planning to put time management into my goal planning for the year .

In fact , I went on Facebook yesterday and did a post asking for suggestions on planners that people love , and a friend sent me one that she just ordered from Amazon . It was exactly what I was looking for . I was so excited . All right , so let's start to summarize and pull all this together .

People may struggle with time management for various reasons , and it often stems from a combination of internal and external factors . Some common reasons include lack of prioritization we struggle with time management when we fail to prioritize our tasks effectively .

Without a clear understanding of what needs to be done first , we might spend too much time on less important activities , ie cleaning out the refrigerator . Procrastination I believe this is a common challenge . People may delay tasks due to a lack of motivation , fear , failure , a tendency to avoid unpleasant or difficult tasks , inability to say no .

Some people find it difficult to decline additional responsibilities or commitments , leading to an overloaded schedule that can result in a lack of time for the more important tasks . Poor planning Without proper planning , we may not allocate enough time for each task , ending up with that domino effect right , that feeling of being overwhelmed and rushed .

Perfectionism A desire for perfection , can hinder effective time management . People can spend excessive time on a task , striving for perfection , which can lead to delays in completing other important tasks . Lack of awareness Some people may not have a clear understanding of how they spend their time .

Without awareness of time wasting habits , it's challenging to make meaningful changes to improve our time management . External distractions I think everyone is probably guilty of this Social media , emails , interruptions from our colleagues , our family . They disrupt the workflow and they impede effective time management .

Ineffective work habits so our poor work habits , such as multitasking , constantly switching between tasks , can reduce productivity and hinder effective time management . Over commitment Taking on too many commitments or projects they can overwhelm us , making it difficult to manage time effectively . How about lack of boundaries ?

Feeling to establish clear boundaries between work and personal life can result in time being consumed by one at the expense of the other . Addressing time management challenges often involves a combination of self awareness , goal setting , prioritization , effective planning and the development of healthy habits .

Strategy such as creating to-do lists , setting realistic goals and learning to delegate tasks can help us improve our time management skills . Okay , there's a lot to consider in today's episode . I invite you to head over to our Facebook community . You can find the link in the show notes .

I want you to share your challenges or your tips that you found helpful in your time management journey . But before we end today , I want to share the meaning of 10 Lords of Leaping . The Lords of Leaping can symbolize taking bold leaps and embracing change .

So today I encourage you to reflect on the courage you need to pursue your passions and make significant life changes . That's all I have for you today . I look forward to seeing you tomorrow . Take care , amanda . I don't know if this ever happens to you , but I sometimes will learn something really cool on a podcast , on a YouTube video , audiobook , whatever .

I think I'm going to remember it and then I forget . Does that ever happen to you ?