Time Wasters

Time management is a must-have skill for working parents. The ability to organize your life and get everything accomplished that you need to each day allows you to spend the time you want with your family.

“Time wasters” create a huge barrier for many people in managing their time. Time wasters are useless activities such as watching TV and procrastinating that can quickly rob you of valuable time. My biggest time waster? E-mail! I have to admit that I am obsessed with checking my e-mail. If I am working at my computer, I probably check-in on my e-mail 4-5 times each hour. If I am not working, I still find time to stop by my computer every hour or two to check my e-mail. Why? I have no idea. I just feel the need to see what is new, if someone wants something for me, or if I’ve received a reply to any messages I’ve sent.

I haven’t actually tracked minutes, but I’m sure I am wasting a lot of time! I know I could cut back on checking e-mail and the world would not end. In fact, I was out of town for three days without e-mail access, and no tragedies occurred. So, I am going to continue working on cutting back.

Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-hour Workweek” provides some advice on controlling your e-mail use on his blog here. I haven’t read Tim’s book yet, but it is on my list to read. From the excerpts and reviews I’ve read, looks like he has some great ideas on how to find serious work/life balance. Anyone read it yet?