The Enemy of Time Management

It’s our last Time Management Tuesday in the G.O. with C.G.O. Month. We’ve talked a lot about how to make the most of our time, and be the most productive we can be.

But we aren’t giving the full picture on time management without talking about the ugly side of it. The enemy of productivity is a simple word that I bet you’ve already used once today. 

Have you ever thought about how many times you think or say the word during the course of a day. 

“I’ll do that later.”

“I’ll call her later.”

“I’ll worry about that later.”

“I know I need to, but I’ll get to it later.”

“I should go do that, but maybe later.” 

Every time it occurs to you that later is an option, you’re making a choice on how you manage your time. We’re all guilty of it, and we’ve all likely paid the price at one time or another for not making time for the activity when it first occurred to us. We miss deadlines, miss opportunities, let others down, etc.  There’s a price for trading “now” for “later”. 

This has been on my mind lately. And I’ve decided to tune into my LATER voice. I want to invite you to do it with me, too.

For one day, just notice and count how many times you think or say “later” as a decision you’re making around your activity.  Just notice it. Don’t make any changes. Be your natural self. 

Then, for a different day (the next one would be best), I’m going to notice when I think or say “later”, and if it is an action that’s entirely in my control, I’m going to ignore the LATER voice, and just do it, whatever IT is. 

Are you with me?  Will you do it with me tomorrow?  Or… will you choose to do it LATER?