The Time Management Trap
/Updated December 2022
‘Tis the season of new notebooks, planners, and calendars!
Every December, long before the age of personal computers and smartphones, my grandparents would pull out a new 12-page calendar from the local VFW. My grandmother would start writing down their appointments and special events that had already been scheduled for the upcoming year.
My grandparents were busy. They were involved with my school activities, frequently visited friends and family all over Minnesota, and made time for frequent vacations. They were prepared, organized, and most memorably, never late.
Thinking back, I wonder how they did it all with just that free VFW calendar.
The Time Management Trap
We've fallen into a trap. We've been sold the idea that the newest planner or app will provide us with some productivity superpower. These tools are designed and marketed to catch your eye and inspire you so you feel compelled to buy them. But these tools can also be cumbersome to learn and sometimes impossible to incorporate into your daily life.
Being organized and intentional with your time is a daily practice that requires false starts, mistakes, and experiments. It requires you to pause, understand your limitations, and be brave enough to say no.
When managing your time effectively, the practice is more important than the tools.
Before you can run, you must walk
If you've struggled to incorporate a planner or calendar into your life for an entire year, the ones you've tried may have been too complex. It's also possible that you expected too much of them. If you haven't mastered the basics of time and calendar management, you will find yourself grasping at each new productivity trend and hoping for success.
Master these time management basic skills before adding new tools to your productivity and time management toolbox:
Consistently write down appointments and proactively reference your calendar most days for at least 60 days.
Use one straightforward method of writing down to-dos and work off that list most days for at least 60 days.
Keep these two tools together and available at all times so you can reference them when needed.
Function Over Form
Are you prone to buying a planner because of how it looks or what it promises?
Resist the urge to be drawn in by a beautifully designed planner or the newest smartphone app. Focus on your specific time management needs and which tools could enhance your productivity. Your productivity tools should feel effortless. They should work for you, even on your worst day.
Remember, the simplest solution is often the best!
Aimee Olson of Life Done Simply is a Productivity and Organizing Coach and is a member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO). She specializes in sustainable productivity, intentional living, and mindfulness practices.
