Mastering Your Time: A Playful Guide to Unleashing Productivity and Happiness
From an Agile Project Management Perspective, Learn How to Find Your Sweet Spots and Rock Your Day
In a world where traditional project management fixates on the scope, juggling requirements with an unyielding grip, Agile steps onto the scene with a fresh perspective. Here, the true stars of the show are time and resources, taking center stage with a spotlight on project value. [1]
Gone are the days of rigidly fixing requirements. Instead, Agile opts for a more flexible approach, zeroing in on the constants — the well-known and less likely-to-change elements of a project: resources and time. [1]
Let’s talk about time today
Ever feel like you’re caught in a never-ending loop of “small stuff” that eats up your time like a ravenous cookie monster?
Well, you’re not alone. Take this one for example, you spent the days like this: one-third high-level executive meeting, one-third schmoozing with clients, and one-third being the project wizard. But when you put your day under the microscope, the reality hit you like a brick — most of the time was gobbled up by the thrilling world of status tracking.
So, if you’re on a mission to be the master of your own time, you need to start by figuring out where it’s vanishing.
- Step 1: jot it all down. And when I say jot, I mean scribble like there’s no tomorrow — anything and everything you do, in the simplest way possible. Don’t get hung up on fancy record-keeping methods; we’re all about speed and immediacy here. Oh, and did I mention the “Biological Clock”? Set chimes on your phone, and every hour, it’ll give you a gentle nudge to ponder where your head was in the last 60 minutes. It’s your one-way ticket to Focusville.
- Step 2: the grand reflection. Wrap up your day by revisiting your notes and making sense of the chaos. It’s like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle — except you’re looking for the misfit pieces that suck up your time and tossing them out the window. And when you veer off course, don’t fret. Just make a pit stop, like shortening your workout or giving your to-do list a remix.
For all the tasks on your list, play a little game of 20 Questions. Do I really need to do this? What’s the gold at the end of this rainbow? And if I skip it, will the sky come crashing down? If your answers land in the “no big deal” category, you’ve got some nifty options: delete, delay, or delegate. Tackle those productivity vampires in your spare moments or, even better, don’t bother at all.
Don’t even think about relying on your memory
Imagine relying on a sieve to secure your spaghetti. The key is to record your day, step by step, perhaps using a Kanban board [2], add a dash of color coding to distinguish the winners from the duds, and cap it off with some self-reflection. Becoming a time management maestro is all about understanding where your moments disappear and taking the reins as the puppet master, not the puppet.
Are you giving your tasks the right duration?
Spending 15 minutes scrolling through social media as a quick breather can be refreshing, but a full-blown hour? Well, that’s like ordering dessert before the main course.
And then there’s the timing aspect. When’s the best “timing” during the day to tackle your to-dos? Plotting out proposals right after a hearty meal might not be the best recipe for optimal brainpower. It’s like trying to perform ballet moves after a Thanksgiving feast! On the flip side, it could be a prime moment for reading or meditating — activities that go down as smoothly as a cool breeze on a summer day.
Now, for some practical wisdom, there’s a trusty rule. It’s like your Swiss Army knife for time management, breaking down your tasks into neat categories.
- Time: when and how long,
- Space: where it happens (home, office, or in transit),
- Tool: how to get it done (keyboard, mouse, or good old pen and paper),
- Energy: high or low-octane tasks, and
- People: solo jobs, team sports, or pass-the-baton kind of tasks.
Say you’re on a business trip. It’s like your chance to catch the low-energy tasks. They’re the ones you can tackle with just your phone — like replying to emails or having your assistant play Santa and grab New Year gifts for your clients.
Right before a meeting, it’s like this golden window of opportunity for activities that rarely squeeze into your regular agenda. Especially the ones that need a group huddle — you know, like a little pep talk with the troops to see how their morale’s doing.
Back to traditional time management
It’s like trying to stuff your suitcase for a vacation. You try to squeeze in one more shirt, an extra pair of shoes, and that snorkel set you’ll “definitely use.” But guess what? It’s not fitting. It never does.
It’s like this: the faster you conquer tasks, the more they pile up. Imagine you reply to an email, and like clockwork, the sender hits you back. It’s like playing email ping-pong. And here’s the kicker, once the word’s out that you’re the go-getter, there’s no stopping the email avalanche. So, instead of feeling like you’ve got time to spare, you’re drowning in work. You’re caught in the trap of inefficiency.
Traditional time management is like a strict schoolteacher scolding you to complete those fixed tasks within rigid timeframes because time is apparently rarer than a unicorn sighting. Well, let me spill the tea — this usually results in a one-way ticket to Stressville. It’s like attempting to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle — not a great idea, right? Go all in at work, and you might be sacrificing your family and health. But try to balance your emotions, and suddenly those career opportunities are sailing away without you, leaving you feeling more lost than your car keys.
Picture this: you’re working from home, and the kids barge in, asking, “Hey, can we play ball?” What’s your go-to reply? “I’m swamped with work right now,” of course. But here’s the twist — imagine your child with a scraped knee. You’d drop that workload faster than a hot potato and swoop in to be the superhero parent. That’s the paradox we’re talking about.
It’s all about your choices
Time’s not your nemesis; it’s your trusty sidekick in the journey of life. You should spend it on things that jazz up your existence, align with your goals, and make your heart do a little happy dance. Instead of perpetually chasing the tail of work, it’s time to take the reins and steer your life the way you want it.
Alright, here’s the scoop. You know that ladder you’re climbing, aiming for success? Well, sometimes, it’s leaning against the wrong wall. Yep, that’s the gap between the external “clock” and the internal “compass.” The clock’s the one telling you when and how to do things — your schedules, your work goals. And then there’s the compass; it’s all about values — your principles, beliefs, your grand vision.
To close that gap, you’ve got to do more than just calibrate your actions with the clock. You need to make sure you’re heading in the right direction with your internal compass. Imagine being a sailor; you’re not just adjusting your sails to catch the wind, but you’re also steering toward the island of your dreams.
Prioritization
Here’s your pit stop for reflection: What are you chasing in life? Ask yourself, why does it matter? Are your current lifestyle and time-wrangling methods a boost or a buzzkill for your happiness? If they’re happiness boosters, keep ’em. If they’re indifferent, keep cruising or make tweaks. If they’re joy-robbers, cut ’em loose like dead weight.
Alright, let’s dive into the world of CSF (Critical Success Factors) now. Picture these CSFs as ingredients in a recipe. They could be the features of a product or the benefits of implementing a task. You can spice things up by weighing them, usually with a snazzy technique called paired comparison. This helps you identify the power players that will give your program the best shot at victory. It’s like building a dream team of tasks.
But wait, there’s more! After you’ve unraveled the CSF magic, it’s time for some soul-searching. Take a real-deal look at your work, family time, health, hobbies, and your squad of awesome relationships. Which one of these is like the sunshine on your face, making you grin from ear to ear? That’s your jackpot, my friend. It’s where you should be rolling your time dice.
Now, the magic here is you can play this question game with any goal in your life. Say it’s work-related, like tackling a project. You can drill down, asking yourself: Why does it need to be done today? What’s the big kahuna reason? Does it light up the organizational scoreboard? Are you using your skills like a pro?
Let’s say you’re trying to whip up a proposal and ship it out today. Does it absolutely, positively need to be done today? Is it because you’re seeking that golden client nod of approval? If it’s all about approval, dive deep into what makes that client’s heart skip a beat and how you can be their hero. When you’ve got the magic insight into what really matters, you can make choices that are like a shot of espresso for your time management game.
Reference:
[1] M. Sliger, Goodbye, scope creep — hello, agile! presented at PMI® Global Congress 2010 — North America, Washington, DC. Newtown Square (2010), Project Management Institute
[2] R. Watts, L. Hennigan, C. Bottorff, What Is A Kanban Board? The Ultimate Guide (2022), Forbes ADVISOR
[3] M. Thiry, Select and prioritize project with the MESA® (Matrix for the Evaluation of Strategic Alternatives) Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2003 — North America, Baltimore, MD (2003), Project Management Institute
