There just aren’t enough hours in the day.  How often do we find ourselves mumbling that under our breath?  But still, no matter how you slice it, we only get 24 hours each day.  That’s 1,440 minutes.  86,400 seconds. 

Here is the plain truth about “Time Management.” There is no such thing. You can’t manage time.  We can’t take five minutes and coax them into six.  Time is fixed and, as the famous saying goes, it waits for no one. We really have to face the fact that it isn’t time we need to manage; it’s what we pack into the 1,440 minutes we count on being granted every day.  If we were going on a trip and could only fit so much into our suitcase, we’d think carefully about what’s most important to pack and what we can comfortably leave behind.  Packing ten pairs of shoes, no matter how amazing they make our calves look, won’t do us much good if we neglect to bring along some clothes to cover the rest of our body!

As we travel through each day, it would seem that what we pack into our limited time should be given at least as much consideration.  So, how do we do that and feel good about our choices? 

Today, rather than jumping right to instruction on using calendars, schedules and sticky-notes as tools, professionals in the field of personal organization often recommend starting with values-based priority setting and personal management.  Here is how you get started:
• Begin with a values checklist.  Click here for one such checklist that you can print out.
• Put a check next to each word that represents a value you hold.
• Next, check the 10 values that are most important to you.
• Finally (and be honest) put a check next to the 10 on the entire list that your behavior shows you actually live by.

This idea is based on the belief that first you need to identify the gaps between your top values and how you are actually living your life.  Then you can take steps toward realigning how you prioritize your time.  Simply put, do your actions reflect your values? For instance, is “health” one of your top ten values, but somehow you never find time to exercise, yet you do find time for channel surfing?  Is “reliability” a top value, although you are always late? 

Recognizing a disconnect between what we say are priorities, and what we actually invest our time and energy in on a daily basis, can be a real wake-up call.  And while it is true that in our complex lives there are some things we can’t change (unfortunately, most of us can’t afford to give up our jobs to devote those 8+ hours a day to family or community service), usually we can identify small changes we could make to move a little closer to our target, and then find the tools and supports that will help us. After all, sticky notes, calendars, and Outlook prompts can go a long way in keeping us on track. 

At the end of a day, if we are fortunate enough to look back at what we packed into our 86,400 seconds and believe it truly reflects who we are, we should feel pretty good knowing it was time well spent. 

By Jacki Post Ashkin, LCSW-C, Senior Manager, Marketing and Development, Jewish Community Services, Baltimore, MD

To learn more about how JCS can help you solve life’s puzzles, visit http://www.jcsbaltimore.org or call 410-466-9200.  Jewish Community Services is an agency of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.