How to Help Someone Else Spend Time Better (Yes, It Is Possible)

We all know someone who really struggles with time. Perhaps this person can’t figure out what to spend time on, so things get done at the last minute or don’t get done at all. You can’t have a conversation without this person telling you that he or she feels constantly overwhelmed.

Particularly if this person is an employee, or your own teenaged or young adult child, it can be tempting to say — perhaps daily — what is going wrong. You’ve got hard-won lessons! You’re saving someone else so much time in figuring this out!

But sadly, this approach rarely works. People do change, but only because they want to change, not because someone else has badgered them enough.

That said, it is possible to nudge this process along. If you want people to think about how they spend their time, one of the best ways to bring that up is to have them reflect on how you spend your time. The same lessons are there. The presentation is just far more agreeable.

I have tracked my time on weekly spreadsheets for over seven years. I know that makes me sound like a lot of fun (spreadsheets are great!) but I have found it to be useful. When I know where the time goes, I can make more mindful choices. I can’t tell myself stories (I have no free time! I never sleep! I work around the…