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30 January 2019

Time Management Tips


Published on 30 January 2019
Written by Desi Vlahos, Lecturer, The College of Law Victoria

1. Is work-life balance just a myth? Does it really exist?

A balance of anything in life requires an even distribution to be stable. But with the unpredictable nature of life’s events, is it unrealistic to paint an expectation that work and life should always be balanced? The issue with this phrase is that it suggests that work is not part of life but something isolated and that it’s simply getting in the way of living. And it’s not just work that affects our lives - our lives can affect our work. Health, relationships, family, hobbies and all other aspects we lump into the ‘life’ basket have an impact on our short and long-term work plans and commitments.

The term “work-life balance” has emerged from the widespread feeling of being overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life and an increased interest in doing work that has meaningful social value. Ironically, this frantic pursuit for a full life can leave us feeling unfulfilled, exhausted and time poor in trying to evenly distribute our energy and personal resources towards all of life’s competing priorities. The reality is that you can’t have it all. Success in one aspect of life whether it is work or home, will result in a degree of sacrifice in others – this is what is referred to as “trade-off mindset.” It will be different for everyone but what is important is that your work and life support each other so you can be the best version of who you are every day.

2. Everyone is so busy juggling so many priorities…..how/what is the best way to get this balance?

Rather than aiming for ‘balance’, a more holistic approach should be taken. I read somewhere that a piano should never go out of tune. How right that is about life too. Like the pleasing sound of notes being played together to create a beautiful melody, I prefer the term “work-life harmony”. Isolating your work into a compartment stifles creativity as well as limits connection, opportunities and new ideas. Positive psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi suggests that if we are truly engaged and challenged in our work, we are working from our passion – and passion is a key driver of success and associated with achieving “flow” in our lives. Flow helps us to feel in control, efficacious and at the peak of our ability. This intrinsic motivation is the key to unlocking the secret to finding this harmony.

The challenge lies in finding strategies and solutions to assist us in achieving this. But how do we do it? Research has proven that having a strong time balance will assist in managing these priorities. So the problem in relation to time crunch lies not in the amount of time available, not in having to manage time successfully to squeeze an extra hour out of the day, but in learning how to balance time (not work and life) in such a way that it contributes to our productivity and well-being.

3. What are your recommendations for starting the New Year on the right track?

Our productivity and well-being is impacted by poor time management – that’s a fact. Time famine is the practicing lawyer’s number one complaint and many new practitioners leave the profession as a result. About half of the profession report that their work schedules allowed them too little time for their families or themselves. Starting out your career equipped with realistic and effective time management skills will assist in dealing with the day to day project and stress management associated with the rigours of practice.

Here are my key time management tips for the New Year:

  1. Know it
    Awareness of your own cognitive processes or understanding the way you think is what’s called “reflexive thinking”. Your own personal perspective on time relates to whether you focus on the past, present and future when you make decisions and take actions. It’s a powerful influence on many aspects of our behavior and as Philip Zimbardo suggests, can become a relatively stable personality characteristic. People tend to have what’s referred to as a dominant temporal perspective. There are 5 main subtypes of time perspective: future, past-negative, past positive, present hedonistic and present fatalistic. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) is a self-diagnostic test you can do to determine your dominant temporal perspective. This cognitive test helps you to better understand and reflect on the strengths and challenges that accompany your dominant temporal perspective.

  2. Control it
    Perceived control is critical to job satisfaction and reduced stress. Think about what can you control v what is beyond your control? Accepting a situation for what it is rather than what it was or could be will assist in enhancing your perceived control.

  3. Plan it
    Spend 10 minutes each morning writing a list of your tasks for the day. You should as to Alex Czarto suggests classify each by its urgency (Urgent or Not Urgent) and by its importance (Important or Not Important).

      • Important and Urgent – Crises and Emergencies
      • Important but Not Urgent – Prevention, Planning, and Improvement
      • Not Important but Urgent – Interruptions and Busy Work
      • Not Important and Not Urgent – Time Wasters

    Important and urgent things should not be ignored (Crises and emergencies). However, the more time you can spend on the non-urgent but important things (prevention, planning, and improvement) the less crises and emergencies you will experience. 

  4. Calculate it 

    You should then provide an estimate of how much time each task will take and stick to it. Being proactive through open lines of communication with your lecturer or supervisor will assist in determining your mutual expectations.

4. What do you wish you knew about managing your time back then that you know now?

I am a reformed procrastinator – there I said it, no shame. I now make sure that I take 10 minutes at the beginning of each day to carefully plan and prioritise outstanding tasks. If I have the ability to complete work ahead of schedule I will do so in order to account for possible unknown contingencies which arise from time to time – and they do. I am mindful of phone and email distractions and switch off unimportant notifications where I can during productive work periods. I make sure that I take my lunch break to step outside to enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and have a good laugh with work colleagues.

Because, truth be told, if you are happy at work you will come home with tremendous energy and if you are happy at home, you will come into the work with tremendous energy. We all want to come into the office and give everyone a kick in their step. But of course, like everything else in life, finding a rhythm and equilibrium that suits your own needs will be the best in achieving your own personal life harmony.

 References

  1. Bartholomew, C (2013) Time: An Empirical Analysis of Law Students Time Management Deficiencies
  2. Boniwell, I & Zimbardo, P (2004) Balancing Time Perspective in Pursuit of Optimal Functioning, Positive Psychology in Practice
  3. Campbell, C (2014) Timing is Everything: Teaching Essential Time Management Skills for “Real World” Legal Writing
  4. Macan, T (1996) Time Management Training: effects on time behaviours, attitudes and job performance, Journal of Psychology
  5. Seligman, M & Csikszentmihalyi, (2000), Positive Psychology: An Introduction, American Psychologist
  6. Zimbardo, P, (1992) Draft Manual Stanford Time Perspective Inventory, Stanford, CA Stanford University
  7. Czarto, A. https://czarto.com/2012/04/24/four-quadrants-of-time/
  8. Zimbardo, P http://www.thetimeparadox.com/zimbardo-time-perspective-inventory/