Time Management Tip 1 – Be more assertive!
How assertive would you say you are? It’s not an easy question for many people to answer. Many people don’t know what it means and even less people know that it affects your time management too.
It is easy to know when you weren’t being assertive. Think about the last time you walked away from a conversation and you felt quite bad. Maybe you said ‘yes’ when you really wanted to say ‘no’ or maybe you didn’t say how you honestly felt or speak up when you wanted. It doesn’t feel nice when we don’t stand up for our self, no matter how trivial it might seem.
One of the most common hidden time thieves is not saying ‘no’ to others and over-committing. The same with colleagues and bosses at work as at home, with family and friends.
It is easier for an assertive person to implement and keep good time management routines and habits because they can say ‘no’ more easily and they don’t feel bad to do so when they need to.
Tip 1 – Control your decisions to control your time…
Throughout the day you are making decisions about what to do, in other words – how to use your time. If you feel that saying ‘no’ a little more often would free up more time, perhaps this is an area you might be overlooking.
How you use your time is very much about who you are – you don’t need to change who you are, you might just need to change who you are being sometimes if it isn’t working for you – you decide!
Time is a limited commodity. It’s important to use it wisely. Instead of automatically saying “Yes” to spending time doing something, I take a few moments and reflect on the things I won’t be able to do if I take on a new time commitment. A “Yes” to spending time doing something is a “No” to spending the time doing other things that may be more worthwhile.
Thanks so much for sharing Peter – you are so right, couldn’t agree more.