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RISING WOMEN EXPERT
ADVICE...
Lately I have been falling behind on everything. I have made
commitments that I either forget about or find that I can’t follow through
at the last minute. It’s effecting my business relationships and seeping
into my personal. Help!
The fact that you recognize that what you are doing is causing others grief
indicates to me that you are that fading perfectionist in some regard,
however time has gotten the best of you. I am sure every women reading this
column is nodding their head in reflection of your same predicament. We just
don’t have enough time anymore and this is a huge mystery because most of us
are still doing exactly the same things within our lives that we have always
been doing and are better at, but it’s just taking longer!
The culprit is the very fact that even though our world is “speeding up” the
process of getting there is being slowed down by the “time game”. Think
about it. Less than a few years ago you could drive across Calgary in less
than half an hour, however it literally took me 45 minutes recently to get
from downtown to Chinook Mall! Another example: I put a call into Rogers the
other day to put a stop on my service because my Blackberry went missing.
After approximately 15 minutes of attempting to find the right department
through their maze of “please press X’s”, I was given the pleasure of
spending another half an hour listening to the “bla bla, please stay on the
line...” One final example: It took me five attempts and over 20 minutes of
back and forth emails to explain a simple process to a client. No less that
half an hour later I was able to get the very same process covered with
another client in less than a three minute phone call!!!
Although there is no way to control the other “systems”, you can change what
you control. When I make a commitment for certain things now, whether it be
to make a deadline or deal with clients, I first get really clear on my time
management. I make sure I use my daytimer and PDF religiously and organize
exactly what I need to get done by setting specific dates and specific
times. Next, because I am aware that everything is taking longer to get
done, I often double the time that I am originally allowing myself. For
instance, if I have a deadline to get my advertising campaign revised, I
allot the entire Thursday as opposed to just Thursday morning. I schedule it
in and only address that task on that day. If I get done early, I take the
rest of the day off. Setting these boundaries has elevated tons of stress in
my life as I am no longer scrambling to get everything done with absolutely
no time to do it. Set your time!
Have questions? Need answers? Don’t be shy, we are here to help. Email
us at experts@risingwomen.com
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