Managing my time??

There is a stack of magazines next to my desk, all needing to be read. There are piles of papers that need to be organized in detail into endless rows of file folders. There are over 55 unread emails from just today, and I managed to respond to the other 75 already. I also updated several marketing plans, had very good intentions of reading some Forrester research to incorporate into a presentation and finally, attend meetings scattered throughout the day that required my presence. Driving to work this morning I really had the best of intentions to get to all these things today; including the trade magazines and journals, which usually are a treat.

Somehow mid morning one report took longer than anticipated, an unexpected phone call arrived notifying me of an "emergency" and several well meaning folks came into my office to just "run something by me". Fast forward 8 hours and I'm staring at the same piles of papers and magazines that by now should have been tidied up. Tomorrow there will be more of the same.

Time management sounds like such a wonderful concept in theory. In my environment, and most of those that I know, where there is no such thing as a door to close, a structured and rigid schedule simply does not work. Time management is not as black and white as it lets on. It's much sneakier, testing your limits and boundaries every chance it gets.

The worst offender is the loose lipped employee who simply cannot put an end to their verbal diarrhea. Get stuck in a meeting or cornered in an office with this person and your time management skills will be put to its test. We will cover office personalities in another post, but if you want to keep your meetings on point or on schedule, you have to find a way to respectfully cut this person off and end the diatribe. "I totally understand your frustration, Laurie, let's discuss a solution after this meeting okay? Okay! Moving foward ... "

So again I wonder as I drive home, where did my day go? I'm now sitting here writing this, while simultaneously trying to power through trade journals and magazines. If I could put just a dent in that pile at least I can feel I did something productive that day. Besides, it's more fun with a glass of Pinot sitting next to me! Cheers!