The reason we keep finding ourselves in this situation is that human beings tend to stick to the path of least resistance so maintaining the status quo. In other words - you keep doing the same thing, so it’s not surprising that you find yourself in a familiar situation. The way out is to make a change or changes to the way you do things, but to do that you need to start acting differently. If it was that simple you’d have done it already. Changing the way you manage your time is like dieting or getting fit - if it was that easy to change the way we are we’d all be slim athletes.
There are countless books on time management and nearly as many courses, you may have some on your bookshelf and you may even have been on a course, but you still find yourself with too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Why? Because your behaviour is habitual and changing or creating a habit isn’t easy.
If you ask Google how long it takes to form a habit answers range from 21 - 28 days but according to some research undertaken at UCL Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0908/09080401. See also http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/09/how-long-to-form-a-habit.php). Assuming you are only working 5 days a week it means if your New Year resolution was to follow a new time management programme and you started on Tuesday 4th January it would probably take until Wednesday 6th April to become a habit.
One of the habits many of us have got into is to take on so much we are constantly juggling, never really focussing intensely on anything which compromises what we are capable of. This quote from Tony Schwartz “Is the life you are leading worth the price you are paying to live it?” really sums up where a lot of us find ourselves today. Everything is a compromise, we sometimes feel we can’t please anyone - least of all ourselves, and can’t find time for the things we really want to do.
To achieve better results involves being really smart about how we schedule and use our time. It doesn’t mean working longer hours, but means recognising your priorities and that we are only capable of working intensely for 90 minutes at a stretch and that we can only manage 3 such sessions in a working day. (Research undertaken by Dr K Anders Ericsson).
Take look at yourself and the demands on you at work:
Change is difficult and by working with SFM Consulting you will have someone who believes in you, encourages you and inspires you to make those changes.
Some people find it difficult to take an objective view of what they are doing and what needs changing. Other people struggle with identifying what they are really good at, or the the commitment, application, passion and energy to create a new habit on their own. SFM Consulting will work with you and help you see what needs changing, the effects these changes will have across your organisation provide you with support, direction and encouragement to make that change. SFM will create a training and support programme to enable you and your colleagues to manage your time effectively, that is: