7. Unpacking Time: Why We All Don't Have the Same 24 Hours
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Welcome to episode seven of Permission to be Messy. I'm your host, JoAnn Krall. And today I'm talking about time management.
I'm willing to bet that you've heard the phrase or some form of this phrase that we all have the same 24 hours.
I know there's a quote out there that has that. And it's followed by Michael Angelo, Mother Theresa, Helen Keller. Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci.
And these are all exceptional people.
But do their accomplishments, speak to their day-to-day activities and how long it took them to do what they did and to get where they were. It's just such a general comment to make that we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Because, yes, technically we all have 24 hours in a day.
But those hours are different for everybody.
As I've mentioned in former episodes. Some of us have young children. Some of us are taking care of elderly parents. Some of us are doing both at the same time. Some of us have ADHD and some of us have OCD.
I personally suffer from OCD. And while my OCD is mild compared to some, it does affect my time.
For me, OCD manifests in the fear of fire. And for me to get past my OCD on a daily basis and it doesn't happen every day, but often I have, when I leave the house, I have to count the stove four times by four. So I count each knob 1, 2, 3, 4, then I do it again. 1, 2, 3, 4, and again, and I do that four times.
That's on a good day. Sometimes I have to go longer, but. I've been able to manage that a bit, but that does affect my time because it affects time leaving the house.
And while my OCD is mild, there are people with all levels of OCD and somebody else who's in that same situation may go through those steps of counting, leave the house, drive five miles away, and then have to drive all the way back home because they still not convinced that the stove is off.
So there are so many time management hacks. I really dislike that word and tips and strategies.
But often they don't address the underlying issues. Why we struggled to manage our time. Or they're just put out there as a solution without any of the pre-work. So that's what I'm going to talk about today. The pre-work.
Whether you've been told you just need to wake up earlier or you just need to stop scrolling through social media. Or maybe you need to do the Pomodoro method or you just need to time block. Notice how I said the word just many times. It's a four letter word for me.
These strategies are not going to work for you until you understand. The obstacles that you're facing, why you may be procrastinating and also where your time is going.
One example of a time management tip is to eliminate distractions. Well, in theory, that's a great tip. It's not always doable because we can't always influence our the outside world around us. But also somebody with ADHD their own brain can be the distraction. So there's that whole level of, well now what do I do?
And for me personally, when I hear somebody say, you really should try the Pomodoro method, I've tried it. and what that is. If you're not familiar with. You work for say 25 minutes and then you take a five minute break and then you work for 25 minutes. That entire process is a distraction for me.
Because I don't like to be interrupted when I'm working. if you tell me I've got 25 minutes to work on something and then I have to stop, I'm constantly thinking, am I going to beat the clock? It's it takes me right back to high school and college and taking those standardized tests.
And if I had a dollar for every time I heard. Wake up early and you'll be more productive. I'd be rich.
Waking up early. Does not work for me. I am a night owl. And I do my best work in the afternoon and in the evenings.
And I know this to be true for a lot of people. So trying to fit your biological rhythm into a tip that somebody says get up early because that person is really productive in the morning. It just, it doesn't make sense. So knowing yourself is really important.
So, what is this pre-work that I mentioned?
Well, I never liked to give cookie cutter advice, but I do love to encourage people to do an inventory of their time. Now, this doesn't have to be like a food journal. Where track every single calorie or in this case, every single second or minute of a day.
But taking an inventory of where your time is going will really help you figure out. What to let go of and what adjustments to make in the future.
So, how do we do that?
The first step is to determine where are you going to keep track of this? Whether you're going to use a notebook, maybe your computer, or even your phone.
In the second step, you're going to determine the length of time that you're going to track. It could be just one day, if that feels comfortable for you, or you can take it one day at a time. Ideally, it'd be great. If you could do track a full week's worth. So that you can see each day and what each day is like.
And maybe if you're feeling ambitious, you could do two weeks. So that you can compare to see if there's a trend.
Step three is to start tracking. So this can look differently for everybody. You could either have a notebook or have your computer beside you when you're starting a task and you can time that out. Or you could say every hour, okay, what have I done How long did it take me?
Do what's comfortable for you and as you're tracking, do not judge yourself. if you say to yourself, I just spent an hour on social media and I just wasted that hour. Don't do that to yourself. acknowledge it, write it down.
And then the last step number four. You're going to evaluate. Sit with your time inventory and see if you can see any patterns, maybe anything you know, that you can change without anybody's help.
Is there anything that, you can let go of?
Is there a pattern of friends and family members asking you to do stuff for them that you know, that they can do for themselves.
Do you see yourself doing a lot of activities because you're procrastinating other things. These are the kinds of questions that you want to ask yourself.
Many people find this activity empowering. They go through it and they say, oh my gosh, I know exactly what to do. But if that is not, you. That is completely normal. It can be very overwhelming. And that's why I say. You do you.
Go through these four steps. Do not judge yourself.
If you get to the fourth stage when you're evaluating and you're looking at it and you're thinking. Okay. I can see what I'm doing. But I don't know how to fix it. Do not hesitate. Head to the show notes and book a free organizing jumpstart call with me. This is a no obligation, no sales call. It's simply for us to have a conversation about what you're struggling with. And if I can give you any guidance or direction, I will.
And as always, my sensibly organized membership is available. I invite you to check that out again, that link will be in the show notes. But I know you're probably thinking, but JoAnn we've just met. I don't want to do either of those things.
Then I invite you to connect with me on any of the social platforms that you'd like. You can always follow along. My DM's are open and you'll find those links in the show notes as well.
And as always, I'm wishing you much productivity. Peace prosperity and the permission to be messy. Thank you for listening.
