“How many of you have all the time you need to complete all the things that need to be done?” I surveyed the room, not a single hand went up. Earlier, during class introductions, the challenge most often described was Time Management.
“The clock never slows down,” I began. “I cannot give you any more minutes in a day and the rate of those minutes never changes. You cannot manage time.
“You can manage yourself, you can be more productive, you can manage tasks, but no matter how much you stare at the clock on the wall, the second hand will continue to tick.
“And understanding techniques to be more productive, techniques for self-management, techniques for task management seldom work.
“It is not desire that fails people, for most want the outcomes that Time Management produces.
“What fails people most is Discipline. The Discipline to perform something over and over until it becomes a habit. It is only when you create a habit that you will gain the benefits from any Time Management technique.
“I can teach you the techniques, but only you can supply the Discipline.” -TF
Tom, I’m glad that you bring up this topic. I see people going to workshops and training sessions about personal skills and management, looking for this miracle solution. But when they return, after a week or so all seems to be forgotten. Why? Because they lack the discipline to train the new technics they’ve learned and make them into a habbit.
So as a manager (of traingbudgets), shouldn’t we all ask this question first before we sent people to training sessions: ” Is he/she really motivated to make a change?”.
I am certain that any parent attending a time management workshop has the motivation and a commitment. I’m also certain that parents have to learn, just as we teach our children, that these skills must be developed over time. Yes, it’s discipline but it’s also a step- by step approach especially for those of us who have never learned how to prioritize,
say “no”, and/or feel confident in their parenting skills. I do believe that repetitive action can create change but understanding how overwhelmed these people are to begin with and perhaps providing a more individualized, personal skills development milieu might be more effective, behaviorly.