Time is (Not) On My Side

As I sit watching television instead of juggling the multiple projects that are due by the end of September, I am reminded that sometimes a coach needs to take her own advice, so I’m going to be making time pie charts. This is a tool that I use often with people who don’t seem to know where their time is going. And right now, I’m one of those people.

There are two ways to approach this project. One is by role and the other is by task and/or activity. Sometimes, it’s helpful to do both. In this case, as I want to look both at the roles I am playing and the ways I am using my time, I’ll be doing both.

The process is really simple. First, make a list – or two lists. To chart roles, make a list of every role you play. Roles involve interaction of some sort. Roles are what we do, not who we are, so the list might include employee, writer, neighbor, mother, but not woman, New Yorker, Boomer. Review the list to check for overlap or duplication so that you can eliminate some items. Next, prioritize the roles. The one most important to you will be number one.

To chart tasks and/or activities, make a second list of all the tasks you have in progress right now. Add all the other activities that take up your time if you want to go beyond seeing what percentage of your time tasks take up to also identifying and eliminating time wasters. Prioritize the items on the task list. Do not prioritize the other activities.

Now, draw a pair – or two pairs – of circles. Label one circle actual and the other ideal. In the first circle – actual roles – create a pie chart showing how much of your time each role takes up in relation to the other roles. The result will look like a pie cut into a number of slices of different sizes. That is, if work takes up 50% of your time, it will be half the pie. Assign a percentage to each role or slice. Everything must fit into the pie and the numbers must add up to 100%.  The second chart represents how you would like to be spending your time. Using the same roles, create a second pie chart. Reallocate percentages as you see fit. Finally, compare the two charts and make some notes about what – if anything – it will take to implement the distribution on the second chart. A rare few have identical charts. If this is you, please grin broadly and pat yourself on the back.

Use the same procedure to create pie charts for your tasks and activities. Label one circle actual and the other ideal. The results will help you see whether or not you are being realistic about the number of tasks you can handle. Maybe there’s room for more. Maybe it’s time to delegate or eliminate. Maybe it’s possible to reposition some of the routine activities, to let them slide, or to pay someone else to do them. For example, it might be time to pay someone else to keep your books or clean your house. Maybe there are activities that no longer interest you that you might want to drop. Maybe some that are time wasters can be positioned as rewards. I have known several people who make good use of their TiVo or VCR and save television as a reward for reaching a task milestone.

You may not be crazy about the results – even – or especially – when they aren’t a surprise, but charting your time is always worth the effort. I’m off to do my charts right now.