It's time to understand the difference between the two and which is most important on a daily basis.
Time Management and How It Has Not Ruled Life
On the outside, it would seem that time management is the core that keeps lives running. However, understanding the true meaning of time management, especially as parents, will dismiss this notion. Time management is how time is managed using the thought that priorities trump hobbies and idle living. Yes, that is about as elementary as it can be but it is the truth.
Most people manage their lives based on what they feel like doing at the moment. Little effort and time is spent acknowledging what is most important. Because of this, many will live as the rabbit on the Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland, screaming about being late to do and be places that should have been prioritized as important.
Why do so many fail to execute time management properly? Could it be true that there is a more logical sheriff in town? Sure there is and Self-Management is it's name.
Self-Management and How It Hides In Plain Sight
Oh, yes! This one takes precedence over time management simply because of it's ability to harmonically encase feelings, actions, and our thoughts and use them to appropriate what and when things need to be done. The difference is that, contrary to time management, self-management will take into account the emotional state and make adjustments as needed.
This feature helps in times when things do not go as planned and emotions run wild. Because of the self-management skills within, the mind will calculate what is going on and use problem solving skills and critical thinking to get through the situation carefully considering all things present. Self-management is like a best kept secret that many are just now learning to use correctly. It has always been available but understanding it enough to employ it daily has been a challenge because time management has been filtered into our minds so much.
Do They Work Together At All?
To be successful using self-management, you must filter in time management. Let me show you just a snippet of how self-management works.
Example: You have four projects due within the next three weeks. Two are due within the week you are currently in but your writer is out sick and your researcher is about to go on an unexpected vacation. The third project due next week requires three outside sources and your writer has the task of finding two and one of the outside sources is cutting ties to pursue their own company. The fourth project due week three is running perfectly. At this point you are flipping your lid as project manager because you are about to be overloaded.
Here's how Self and Time management work together:
Self takes into account how you feel and begins to analyze the situation in great detail
Self remembers who can be pulled into the project to assist on small tasks and does the following in consideration of Time:
Calls the writer from Team B to assist with Project One and asks the researcher to provide all that has been accomplished thus far. Because it is due immediately, Time says that you can finish the research and get it to the writer.
Self then makes a few calls for the outside resources ensuring all is well within the budget and lines them up for work.
The writer from Team B has already volunteered to write for third project until the original writer returns.
In this small world that presents major changes daily, one can see how being a parent and trying to find time for anything is a challenge. I liken parenting to being a project manager. There seems to be something that just "comes up" every single day. It is frustrating and no one really wants to deal with all of that. Yet, it is a part of life. Understanding that one can manage life much better by managing self first allows people the relief of being human while establishing the necessity for accountability concerning our responses to unexpected things that happen in life.
When you don't know what to do with the self you are in and time seems to be slipping away, you may need someone there to guide you through it and hold you accountable. NBE Coaching & Consulting is dedicated to doing just that. We take pride in seeing you through to the other side.
Schedule your free consultation today!