August 27, 2012

Time Management Secrets for Self-Employed Slackers

 
Cartoon by: Natalie Dee

OK, so it may seem ironic that someone who has done nothing on her blog for the last month other than to explain why she is not posting would presume to give advice on time management.   But hang in there, that's actually Secret Number 7.

And hey, did I call this post "Time Management Secrets for World-Dominating Super-Achievers?" No I did not. Super-Achievers do not need time management tips, other than the usual "stop and smell the roses for f--ck sake, you accomplishment-obsessed workaholic chore-whore. "

Wait, that's not how you're supposed to help super-achievers? Oh well, sorry go-getters, all 2 of you who hang out at Cranky Fitness.

Note: you may, however, read this post if you are not self-employed. No alarm bells will go off or anything.  It's just that several of these tips presume some sort of flexibility in how you plan your day, which could be extremely annoying to people who have bosses (or spouses, pets and children) who do not permit such liberties.

So what are the secrets already? 


1. Don't be a Sheep--Let Your Own Rhythms Tell You What to do When


(Unless this is a goat--in which case don't be a goat. We're never sure which is which in Europe, so we call them all Geeps). 

This has been a huge revelation to me in terms of time management and has vastly improved my productivity. (Can you imagine how bad it was before I discovered this?)

The deal is: so what if you read that it's best to exercise in the morning, or nap in the early afternoon, or eat dinner at 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. or 8 a.m., or that you should tackle the hard stuff before the easy stuff or should do "morning pages" if you want to write creatively or never read in bed or whatever else you might have heard is optimal?

Find out when your own personal brain and body would like to do stuff.  It's amazing how much more you get done when you're working with your own natural rhythms instead of against them. But you have to take the time to experiment, listen, and adjust accordingly.

I've discovered I can't write worth shit in the late afternoon or at night so I rarely bother.  I love a nap at 4 p.m.  Calls with clients energize me so I can be flexible with these, but I'm at my best late morning or early afternoon.  I can't go for a walk and enjoy it much after 11 am until 7 p.m. or so, but can go wandering for miles after dinner and have a great time. 

See what I mean?  The two toughest things I had to learn were: not getting tempted to do low-energy, easy things during peak productivity periods and conversely, to let "hard" things slide until the next day if I haven't gotten to them on time, knowing that I'll be twice as fast in the morning.

2. Give it Your Best Shot...


...But Screw Perfection

Yeah, I harp on this a lot, but behind almost every "slacker" or procrastinator there often lurks a perfectionist who can't stand the idea of doing less than a wonderful job of everything. So they either keep fiddling and tweaking and starting over... or they avoid tackling hard things altogether.

Do you clean your house so thoroughly you could invite the Royal Family to tea when you're done? (Or perhaps just let them swing by to borrow an extra pair of underwear?)


Totally authentic photo swiped from Weekly World News

If you're going to take that approach, you might want to try cleaning the house as though the royal family were coming... ten minutes from now.  Yikes! Let's see... what absolutely has to get done?  Agreed, the dog barf in the kitchen should probably get wiped up and the fort made of couch cushions dismantled.  Do stuff like that, then just experiment with going on to something else on your list that you never get to for fear of any royal asses encountering crumbs on your sofa.  If you can stand it every now and then, it might buy you some extra time.


3. Think Outside the Box
 


Often there are creative solutions to getting more done, but they never occur to us because we don't step outside of our usual perspectives long enough to look for them.

How to shake things up a bit?  Well, one old but useful trick: brainstorm for a few minutes.  Get a big piece of paper and maybe some crayons or markers--or just a ballpoint if you're more the buttoned down type, and start writing down any thoughts and ideas and random images that come to mind. STUPID ideas are the best, but regular sensible ideas are a good place to start.  Keep on free-associating and letting the ideas get crazier and crazier and just see if any themes, interesting juxtapositions, or "aha' sparks emerge. 

4. Get Your Ducks in a Row



While obsessive organization and structure can be stifling, being too slipshod and lackadaisical can cost a lot of time better spent either being productive or purposefully enjoying some well-deserved laziness and sloth.

Do you lose things, forget appointments, have to pay late fees, replace things you've already bought or made, throw things out that have spoiled, have to do things over you've already done, or find yourself exhausted by the sheer clutter around you?

You may have to suck it up and invest some time in getting your shit together.

Most helpful tip here: BREAK IT DOWN.  Take one stack of papers and go through it, today, not tomorrow.  Get a calendaring system (so if you're like me, you can write things down on the wrong dates and at the wrong hours. Stupid time zones, why can't they all be the same?)


5. Question Sacred Cows


If you're like most people, there is probably some inflexible "must do at all costs" type of activity that is very important to you.  That's great!  But to the extent that you don't even question it, you could be cheating yourself out of the chance to seize fleeting opportunities you might miss, or take care of stress by catching up on other things.  For me, working out is a sacred cow... and yet I've discovered that the world does not actually come to an end if sometimes I spend that rather large chunk of time doing something that's actually more in need of attending to.  Sacred cows have a way of mooing rather loudly if they are ignored for too long, so it's worth experimenting with tiptoeing quietly away on occasion.

6. Multi-Task

Let's say, hypothetically, you went on vacation and had a bunch of left-over Scotland photos that you felt you should blog about... but you also had a blog post you wanted to write about a completely unrelated subject that could use a few pictures.


Hypothetically.

Well, instead of writing two posts, suppose you just threw these two unrelated ideas together and did them at the same time even though it might lead to a bit of awkward and arbitrary advice?

Voila!

More practical combinations might be listening to audio books while commuting, getting together with friends and getting exercise by going for a walk together, meditating or doing calf raises while waiting in line at the post office, or, you know, otherwise taking advantage of times your brain and body could both be occupied doing different things at the same time.



And so OK, this may not look like a great example of doing a number of things at once, but if you look more closely... you might note the headphones (self-improvement brainwashing), and backpack (neighborhood grocery shopping), and comfortable shoes (exercising by walking to the store, not driving), and water bottle (and keeping hydrated along the way).

But that said, don't get so obsessed with multi-tasking that you forget to...

7. Enjoy the View Along the Way!







Because even if you're not coming to the end of an awesome vacation, chances are there are some moments of grace or beauty just sitting there in the middle of your workday just hoping you'll stop worrying about getting stuff done long enough to notice them.

Anyone else have any time management tips? Or hey, did you have a nice weekend?

40 comments:

  1. Crabby, excellent advice, especially about letting the sacred cows moo a while. I've found my circadian rhythms changed over the years and I write better in the evenings now instead of mornings. No point forcing anything.
    Meanwhile, I desperately want a Geep.

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    1. Yeah, isn't it funny how age changes rhythms? I used to make fun of seniors eating dinner at 5pm and now... hello, early bird special!

      And I think "The Geeps Lunchpail" would make an excellent blog title. Er... maybe not.

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  2. Great post, crabby! You got one of my favorite mantras (this wording borrowed from Gretchen Rubin)-- Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Aka, naked royal butts will not be showing up at your house (or reading your memos), so maybe just get it done instead of fretting without doing.

    Also, Scotland looks lovely, nice photos!

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  3. Thanks Becky... and now I have a vision of a naked Harry reading everyone's interoffice memos and I'm not sure if I should thank you for that or not!

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  4. LOVED this post! Thank you!

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    1. Thanks so much Nadine! And hey, how the heck are you? Lovely to see you here in Crankyland!

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  5. That's a wonderful post, Crabby! (and good to read you again!)

    If the king, or future king says that they are wearing clothes, they ARE wearing clothes, and that's that!

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  6. Time Management what the hell is that?

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    1. A nice euphemism for doing whatever the hell you want and justifying it as a "newly discovered priority?" At least that's my definition.

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  7. Geep. That is perfect. And I indeed need a few. (Although I worry about the mountain lions...)

    Love the photos as well. Especially the Lobster in the booth. AWE.SOME. Off to find my sacred cow. :)

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    1. Hmm, I wonder if sacred cows yield organic, hormone-free, lactose-intolerant-friendly, low fat milk?

      And may you find your own special fierce species of geep that can handle mere mountain lions!

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  8. Yeah, the booth photo was a great one! But all of the photos make me want to hop on a plane and visit Scotland right now. Beautiful.

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    1. Thanks! Just be thankful there weren't 10,000 more photos! It's indeed a pretty place.

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  9. Excellent, excellent list. I have actually become a weird type of multi-tasker where I am most proficient when doing three things at once and jumping between them all the whole time. But it works as long as I'm checking my Facebook a few times in there.

    Being proficient is what has helped me. I think it was Lincoln who said, "If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first 5 sharpening the axe." I think he was an achiever so it sounds like good advice :)

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    1. Hey Dr. Mark, you sound suspiciously like a super-achiever! Are you sure you want to hang out here with the slacker crowd? :)

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  10. What a great way to combine a good post with fine holiday photos.. yours and Harry's. ;)

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    1. Thanks Hilary! I'm sure Harry would be pleased to know he's in good company with cows and geeps.

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  11. sheep. goat. But isn't that a ram? Oh hell, what do I know? So how about this: What do you call a sheep-goat-ram hybrid?

    ...ummm, there is no punchline for that question. I really wanna know what you call it.

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    1. Oh crap, rams, now I'm really confused. I must have missed that part of 1st grade where they explained all the farm animal stuff!

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  12. Great advice -- stuff i mostly know, but have to be reminded of frequently because i am just so stubborn, and new stuff to incorporate (and i hope not be stubborn about!).

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    1. Funny that you don't strike me as stubborn! And with all the stuff on your plate I'd guess you must be pretty good at time management. Unless you've got your rescue kitties VERY well trained? Any chance they've mastered grocery shopping or bill paying?

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  13. I got totally distracted by your pictures of Scotland. I've always wanted to go there, but I'm afraid I'll never leave if I do!

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    1. Well, the rain seems to arrived if that's any help! We were incredibly lucky to encounter so little of it. It is gorgeous here though.

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    2. That makes me want to go even more! Got room for a third wheel??? LOL

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    3. Wait, you don't mind rain? Then you gotta move here, 'cause the weather's the only downside! Well, and the toilets that don't flush reliably, but otherwise it's heaven.

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  14. Love the phone booth shot so much I totally lost track of what you were saying....

    And the sacred cow is a beautiful cow.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. Ain't my gal adorable? And wish we could have gotten one of the really hairy cows, those are cool. But with single track roads, pulling over was often a bit of a challenge!

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    2. With single track roads, you were lucky the cow wasn't comfortably settled IN the road. Driving in Northern Ireland at night in 1994, we kept finding sheep bedded down for the night on the nice warm asphalt who were reluctant to move for us. I was reluctant to drive a rented car off the road around them in the dark. Much honking and waving ensued. We were quite late to the hostel; indeed, we never found it, and spent the night in a B&B we chanced upon.

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    3. Oh yeah, we too had stubborn geeps in road who wouldn't move... plus the whole weirdness of not knowing when oncoming cars would appear. Funny how "normal" it started to feel to be sharing one tiny lane on twisty roads with cars speeding along in the opposite direction!

      And glad you found alternative accomodations that night--we're thrifty but still couldn't quite bring ourselves to do the hostel share-rooms-with-strangers thing. I might feel self conscious getting up to pee at 3 am and who needs that?

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  15. This is a GREAT POST!! I am horrible with time management so very very helpful.. PLUS I LOVED the pics of your vaca & you!!! God, I love that one of Prince harry & family! Man, he know how to "buck" the family & have fun! ;-)

    Keep enjoying!!!

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    1. Aw thanks Jody... I somehow think most of us who end up as bloggers have some sort of time management issues--so what if there's no money in it, at least there are no deadlines to miss!

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  16. COME SHARE AN OFFICE WITH ME.

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    1. You got it! Just name the continent, assure me there's coffee there, and I'm there!

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  17. Time management is my greatest endeavor. It is as if hard to conquer when you are the one controlling your time.

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  18. Lovely photos, make me want to go back and see more. Right, time management....are we supposed to do that? Does that mean I have to change from being happy if I get one thing useful accomplished in a day? Maybe two things, I'll aim for two things. ;)

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    1. If you get 1 thing accomplished a day, I'd say you're doing great!!! And the HAPPY part is the most important anyway.

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  19. Your tips are not only great but are also fun to read. The way you come up with catchy headings and funny stuff to start off what you are about to say. And then you gradually jump to the point, and make it so clear that I have no option but to totally agree to everything. YOU ARE AWESOME!

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  20. Why hello there, fellow slacker. I enjoyed reading your post. I was grinning all the way to the end of this awesome article. Also, cool pictures. ;)
    I have to agree with you on #1. We all have different personalities, different schedules then make perfect sense. For me, right after I wake up, I open my laptop and start to work (good thing I'm working from home). I work until after lunch then I take a nap, I exercise, take a bath and then continue working. That's my weird schedule and it works perfectly for me.
    The greatest challenge for me however is avoiding those common time wasters when working. Especially because I work from home, surfing the internet could just suck all your time away without you even noticing.

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    1. OK, so you and the previous commenter are technically spam, what with the commercial links and all, but hell, you took the time to comment sensibly and flatter the host so I won't delete 'em this time.

      But these are nofollow links down here, feel free to email and check out actual advertising opportunities!

      Delete

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