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Defining “time management”

October 8, 2005 by Rosa Say

This is the way that Da Bei has done it:

Time management survey

  1. I prefer working as part of a team
  2. I am more efficient and alert in the morning
  3. I am energized by an active, fast-paced work environment
  4. I prefer taking time to reach a well considered decision than a quick one
  5. I like working with both my hands and head. Head is preferred.
  6. I prefer a neat desk
  7. I prefer a day that is planned and predictable
  8. I am more productive under a tight deadline
  9. I prefer focusing on one task at a time
  10. Incoming emails normally distract me
  11. I prefer asking questions in person
  12. I prefer a quiet work environment

You may want to consider making your own list: After I read this one that Da Bei did, I know I just couldn’t resist doing mine, and when you do so from pure stream of consciousness, it’s very self-revealing. Take a look at what I mean, first my list, and then my [albeit biased] observations about it.

  1. I can work anywhere I have my laptop, however
  2. With solitary work I much prefer my home office
  3. The keyboard has virtually replaced my hand writing anything, yet
  4. When offline, I must have paper and pencil with me at ALL times
  5. I can’t get much done unless I feel organized with the complete picture first
  6. I much prefer quiet when digging in – no music, no background noise
  7. I can multi-task, but only with my “own” stuff
  8. I must focus on conversations singularly and with full focus
  9. I love tricks, tools, toys and hacks, but
  10. I hate learning new software: it’s strictly my means to the end
  11. I love mornings, I’m pretty useless past 9pm … even 8pm
  12. Deadlines are good for me, I go down rabbit trails easily when I have unscheduled, unstructured time on my hands
  • No wonder duplicating my home office in Oahu has been such a big priority with me.
  • I really have to get a new laptop that is wireless compatible, but
  • No wonder I’m still one of the world’s only hold-outs without an iPod, absolutely no desire for it at all.
  • No wonder my blank journals are piling up and getting re-gifted: I love buying them, but I don’t write in them much as I used to.
  • No wonder my notes are horrible when I’m immersed in the conversation of team sessions and group-think. Lesson’s been learned in a round-about way — whenever possible, I always schedule another half-hour of time alone to brain-dump after meetings, coaching calls, trainings, anything with other people.
  • No wonder I was a prime candidate for GTD — in so many ways, I was/ am absolutely ripe for the picking!
  • No wonder the biggest value of my Weekly Review has been reinventing the use of my calendar.

Good to meet you Da Bei: you and I seem to be very much alike. So glad you somehow found me via EM’s quote.

Want to jump in? Do your own list.

Pick up this trackback http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3333385
or put your link or your list right in the comments here.

Learn about yourself, and work while wide awake to your habits.

Stop at a list of 12 too or keep going, up to you.

Stream of consciousness now!

Filed Under: MWA3P: Productivity and Projects

Comments

  1. tim says

    October 8, 2005 at 5:49 pm

    Ok Rosa, I’ll give it a shot…
    1. I prefer a brand new legal pad to write down my ideas.
    2. I prefer to store as much information as I can on my Treo 650.
    3. I prefer to to try new software rather than keep using the same software.
    4. I prefer a large work area where I can spread all of my stuff out (my desk is a 3’X 8′ table).
    5. I prefer to answer emails as they come rather than wait and answer them all at once.
    6. I prefer to keep my office door open rather than make appointments.
    7. I prefer reading over writing, but I’d like to do more writing than I do reading.
    8. I prefer short notes over long letters.
    9. I prefer a challenge rather than a routine.
    10. I prefer a clean sheet of paper rather than trying to rehash something that I created before.
    11. I don’t have time or energy for people who whine with excuses.
    12. I prefer working with a team rather than working by myself.
    I think I’ll need someone else to analyze this for me :)

  2. Da bei says

    October 9, 2005 at 2:51 pm

    Hi Rosa, nice to meet you, I’m flattered to see my post mentioned in your blog:)
    This list is my answer to a short TM questionare. I was surprised how this simple activity reveals myself. I have realized how much most productive time in the morning was wasted reading emails and company bulletin in the morning. Also I have to admit I am really not good at multitasking, context switches cost me a lot of time and increase errors significantly.
    Making a list is easy. The difficult part is to keep reminding myself about these features/limitations I possess.

  3. Rosa Say says

    October 9, 2005 at 10:16 pm

    Great list Tim! I am so with you on preferring a nice big work space, and isn’t it funny how many of us who write prefer short notes?
    Welcome to Talking Story Da Bei, we are very happy to have you join in the conversation here in our Ho’ohana Community! I love the exercise, and it’s one I’m going to adopt in my MWA3P coaching. “Context” is a word that just keeps coming up over and over again …

  4. wachstumsblog says

    October 10, 2005 at 8:24 pm

    Timemanagement – der Unterschied zwischen Gewollt und Sein

    Auf einen der vielen englischsprachigen Seiten, die ich gerne mal am Abend statt einer Zeitung lese, habe ich das Fänomen der Spreizung im Timemanagement, sprich den Unterschied zwischen Wunch und Wirklichkeit wieder mal entdeckt.Der Beitrag i

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