Managing Your Time by Setting Big Picture Goals

In our busy world there are always a million and one things trying to grab our attention and the “To Do” list, if you even have time to write one, is sometimes a mile long. How to do it all? Well the simple fact is we all have limited time. Just as you can only stuff so many things into a physical space like a drawer or cupboard, you can only do so much in a given time period.

Photo by Niklas Rhöse

So where to start? I think the best jumping off point to managing time effectively is actually to start off spending some time thinking about your “big picture goals” and actually writing them down.  

You could simply jot down a list or you could draw a circle with various aspects such as exercise/health, friends/social, work, home/family or whatever categories make sense to you. Then list under each heading what activities you would like to be doing in each category. For example, under friends you might have the activity of making a weekly phone call or e-mail to long distance friends.

After you have spent some time considering what matters most to you, it might then be easier to choose which activities and items on your “to do list” support those goals and it also be easier  to say “No” to things that are not priority goals. (Obviously there are things that are not really a choice, like having to clean your home and prepare food, but these may fall under the heading of having a functional, happy home).

Re-doing my goal list for the second year now, I realize that I really can’t “do it all” and it is important to prioritize what is really meaningful and do those things first.

On her blog Slow your home, Brooke McAlary discusses what it means to live a balanced life, and she suggests that it is probably not possible to always manage to everything in all your priority areas all the time. She uses the analogy of a tight rope walker that has to tilt to stay balanced.

Sometimes your life may need to tilt in a certain direction for a while as you bring up children or look after aging parents or whatever necessitates your attention for that time. You might even find your plans are de-railed by ill health or unexpected events –so do be gentle with yourself. Plans need to be flexible and you might have to be creative and patient about achieving your goals.

What is at the top of your priority list? Are you managing to do what you value most?