How to Stop Shredding Your Day Into Time Confetti
Time confetti. We’ve all experienced it - the loss of minutes and seconds to non-productive multi-tasking.
Even the way the term was coined is one we can all relate to.
Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love & Play When No One has the Time, was cleaning up after her son’s 11-year old birthday. As she swept up the confetti poppers, filled with bright coloured bits and scraps of paper, it hit her. This is what her time and life feels like - bits and scraps of time, rushing from one thing to the next. She was trying to do “Everything. All at once. All the time.”
She also knew something needed to change.
To reduce the amount of time confetti she had in her life, she took part in a time use study, where she had to record what she did during the day.
It was very revealing.
Thinking she had no extra time, she soon discovered she had 27 whole hours of free time in her week. It was just scattered in bits and pieces. Bits and pieces that were not used well.
It is easy to see how it can happen. It actually happened to me last week.
I set aside time to complete mandatory professional training, training that had to be completed asap.
But before I started it, I needed to gather some resources, rearrange the furniture and photocopy some paperwork for the next-day training. Then a colleague stopped by to say hello. Shortly after, the phone rang, with a so-called “quick” request that required me to seek out someone else’s help to find the answer. Then, a former employee texted me to share great news. And on it went.
Hours passed, as I engaged in these tasks. By the end of the day, I only had completed 30 minutes of my 3-hour training. Which meant, I would spend my weekend completing it.
This happens all the time. Not just with work time, but with leisure time too.
I carve out time to read a great book or go for a walk. But first I decide to take a minute to check my email and social media. 30 minutes goes by before I resurface. And that reserved, leisure time has largely vanished.
Don’t get me wrong. Scrolling through social media, answering the phone or chatting with a colleague isn’t a problem. But it can be when it is time spent away from projects or priorities.
If the day ends, and you are behind, it becomes a problem.
So how do you fix it? How do you become a better time manager?
A simple way is to take part in a self-led time-use study. It can be as short as a single day, or it can be carried out for an entire week or month.
This may be a great challenge for you to try this week.
All you need to do is log every activity you do. It’s similar to counting calories, but instead of logging your food intake, you’re logging your activities.
It might sound daunting at first, but once you get started it is easier than you think.
Then, before bed or at the end of the week, analyze your log. Note where you got off task or found yourself doing something you didn’t mean to be doing. Then, add up the time.
It might surprise you to know how much time you spent mindlessly or unintentionally. Or it might surprise you which habits contribute to daily time confetti.
Fortunately, reclaiming those lost hours can be as simple as noticing if you are distracted, off-task, or if what you’re doing aligns with your priorities.
Simply correcting your behaviour, when you notice it, may be all it takes.
Most importantly, recognize that we all get distracted and off-task. And we don’t always need to be productive. But if you’re finding your days slipping away, simply monitoring your daily habits and behaviours may be a way to restore lost time to your day.
Give it a try and see what happens!
Best wishes, Lauren
P.s. If you need any help in the process, feel free to reach out. Free 30-minute consultations are available.
