Time Management Vampires

Ask anyone, “What are the top 3 challenges you have personally or professionally?” I would bet you that “time management” or “I don’t have enough time to get things done” is one of those top three responses. Unfortunately we only get 24 hours, no more, no less, that’s it! So what can you do about it?
Consider the time management vampires in your life. The first time wasting vampire is not having a plan, goals or a direction regarding what you are going to do 1st and from there on. You don’t know where to start or what to do next. Then you first need to create a schedule for yourself that mirrors the action needed to accomplish the goals you have set. Don’t waste time doing things that aren’t taking you to the goal you want to achieve. Think about doing things that won’t positively affect your desired goal outcome; it will be a “vampire” activity that will negatively sap your energy and waste your time. Make a schedule, daily, weekly and monthly, that focuses your time and energy on tasks that will drive a stake in the heart of the time wasting vampire.
A second vampire is one we often call “burn out.” Burn out occurs for several reasons: one is worrying about things you can’t control. The fretting, anxiety, and worry we carry in our head causes limiting beliefs that stop us in our tracks. Another is not getting enough rest. Doctors tell us that we on average need at least six and a half hours of sleep per night. Are you getting that and more than that occasionally? If not, you are more than likely lighting the fire that is burning you out.
The third vampire is what I will call “blurred vision.” This occurs from having too many “balls in the air.” How many times have those balls hit you in the head? If you are like many of us you’re trying to do too much and you do it without focusing on what your key goals are. We take on too much, thereby rendering ourselves ability to focus and in effect become blurred on what we are actually doing. Again it is important to clearly identify your goals, write them down and stick to the knitting. Recently, studies from prominent researchers at several universities have told us that multi-tasking can diminish our effectiveness and limit our chances for success. The multi-task vampire will bleed you dry. Don’t kid yourself. Focus is critical as my friend Tom’s dad once told him “focus, focus, focus, stress is what happens when you don’t focus.
Consider these three ideas and use them to rid yourself of the three most invasive “time vampires” that are always looking to bleed time away from you.

Fighting The FUDS

There is no one I know who doesn’t, at one time or another, suffer from a case of the FUDS. FUDS are limiting beliefs which we consciously or unconsciously use to keep us from taking action on whatever confronts us. FUDS are the fears, uncertainties, doubts or suspicions we conjure up in our heads, of which 95% or more are figments of our imagination. These FUDS, at a minimum, bog us down and, at worst, stop us as if mired in concrete we are unable to take any positive action. Check it out. The next time you seem to be treading water or spinning in the sand, not able to finish a report or make that tough decision and struggle speaking to a difficult employee or customer, ask yourself if you are suffering from one of the FUDS. Stop and clear the way to action to sweep away those conjured negatives that are stubbornly embedded in your head. Ask yourself if those FUDS are real, factual, objective and tangible or are they simply beliefs from your upbringing, fears of losing friendships or admonishments from your teachers. Remember, once upon a time almost everyone believed that the world was flat; Columbus forgot the FUDS and took action to prove differently. If you have the FUDS, you are not dumb, silly, crazy or otherwise. At the core, I believe the FUDS simply scare us. So what are you afraid of?

Do you remember Berkley Breathed’s cartoon strip Bloom County? Two characters, Binkley, the boy, and Opus, the penguin, were constantly challenged by the demons they created in their respective heads. Binkley with his closet full of FUDS and Opus with all the FUDS wanting to come out from under his bed. Almost every week I laughed at and commiserated with them as they fought the FUDS.

Stripped to their essence, these limiting beliefs create a mindset that we must trade one good, even beloved dream or action for another. This negative mindset comes with a price tag you can’t possibly afford. STOP IT!  Check out the facts, ask questions, release yourself from the invisible chains and emotional handcuffs that really don’t exist. Look for positive results that will come from action. Fight the FUDS and find success through taking informed action instead of emotional, imagined and invisible non- existent baggage.