Another Moving Target – Time

Paul Bayley — Individual and Relationship Counsellor

Maintaining a healthy balance between your work life and your personal life is a challenge as today most of us are time poor. Managing to fit in all our tasks and commitments in the available time often leads to a number of outcomes.

I have found one the most common results of trying to fit everything in is a heightened level of stress. A little stress is not a bad thing. It causes the adrenalin to pump and we often get that feeling of excitement and can get even more done. Too much stress and we feel bad and our health suffers.

Having a good set of time management skills is a great asset as it can bring some order back into our crowded lives and help us work out what is important and what is not. I have always put effort into managing my time as I discovered at an early age that it made my life easier and I got more done.

One of the things I value most about my friends is that they all manage their time well and if we have an agreement to meet at a particular time, I can depend on them being there. On the rare occasions when they are not it is usually for a good reason and it is rarely a problem.

The point I am making is that it not only benefits the individual to have good time management skills but it also has a beneficial impact on your relationships.

How trustworthy are you if you make an agreement and break it? If you agree to meet a friend or colleague at a particular time and then turn up late on a regular basis, you are demonstrating that you do not keep your word and that you are unreliable (you are also showing disrespect for their time, implying you are more important than them).

Poor time management in a business environment will be detrimental to your career and your business associations. Doing it in your personal relationships reduces the level of trust in that relationship.

Having good time management skills has far more impact than most people realise. I have had so many people ask me to teach them time management skills. I explain to them that it is a matter of :

• Write down what your overall goals are
• Write down what tasks you need to perform to achieve those goals
• Organise your list in order of priority and time constraints
• Take action and work your way through the tasks
• Be prepared to reorganise the priorities if circumstances change
• Sometimes you have to say ‘no’ and not do everything.

When I explain this to most people they usually realise that they already knew this but for some reason they just never get around to doing it and so their life remains a series of jumping from one task to another and in the end being left with a feeling that they could have achieved more.

What’s going wrong? Being self aware and knowing what makes you tick will go a long way to understanding how you stop yourself from achieving your goals. I’ll talk about this in my next article.

Sydney-based relationship and individual counseling expert Paul Bayley is a regular contributor to the celebrated ‘Natural Health Booster’ fortnightly ezine with 1,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to optimise your health, wellbeing and fertility, get your FREE tips now at www.boostyourhealthnow.com or www.boostyourfertilitynow.com.

Paul has private consultations available, to make an appointment please phone Julia or Carolina on 1300 85 84 90.

Keywords: Balance > Counsellor > Time > Work/life balance