The 3 Pillars of More Effective Time Management

Are you endlessly striving to become better at “time management”?

Here’s the secret:

Time management is energy management.

The Paradigm Shift

I first learned of this paradigm shift over a decade ago when a mentor recommended that I read The Power of Full Engagement, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. That book changed my perspective on most productivity-related topics, including time management. I’ve reread it so many times that I’ve run out of colors to add to my margin notes and underlines.

Their thesis is that time management is energy management.

The truth of this thesis has been reinforced for me countless times since I first read their book. It’s something I pay attention to daily, but I don’t always have clear metrics to prove it.

3 Pillars of Time Management

Over the years, I’ve distilled my experiences with time and energy into three core pillars that create more time.

• Clarity
• Certainty
• Commitment

(1) Clarity

Lack of clarity is one of the biggest drains of time and energy. The first step to improving time management is to get clear on the parameters of your task.

• what you need to do
• when you’re going to do it
• where you’re going to do it
• who you’re going to do it with
• what you’re going to do next

The key to clarity is to get specific. The more specific you can be about the task and its parameters, the more efficient and effective you can be.

(2) Certainty

Lack of certainty or confidence is another drain on time and energy. This includes both certainty about the task itself and confidence in your ability to do it.

Obviously, if you aren’t certain about the task, you’re lacking clarity. But it’s not enough to be clear about the task. If you’re clear about the task but you’re not certain about how to do it, or confident in your ability to do it, then you will waste time and energy.

The lack of confidence is one of the biggest contributors to procrastination.

(3) Commitment

Nothing drains time and energy like indecision. Decisions are the enemy of effectiveness. If you want to be effective, you must decide once and then commit.

It’s not enough to say you’re going to do it, or even to put it on your calendar. You have to be fully committed to the task. If you’re not fully committed, you’ll waver and drain time.

Review Your Time and Energy Management

The next time you find yourself striving for that elusive goal of better “time management” skills, pause to review where you fell off track.

Take a look at your tasks list and assess it for these 3 pillars:

• How clear were you on the task and its parameters?
• How much certainty or confidence did you have in your ability to do the task?
• How committed were you?

If you want to improve your time management, you must start with your energy management.

Get clear. Get confident. Get committed.