Whitney was the featured guest on an episode of Workbar’s YouTube series, Workbar Live! where she talked about how to get things done without sacrificing your health and happiness, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workbar builds quality coworking spaces with a focus on their members’ wellness and positivity.
The challenges so many of us already faced with demands on our time have been exacerbated by the pandemic. The lines between work and home have been blurred and it’s harder than ever to set boundaries to protect your time. Many people also have a heavier workload or are trying to juggle work and childcare at the same time. Whitney responded to questions from the Workbar community about how to prioritize the most important tasks and get control of your time, so you can achieve your most important goals.
How should you organize your day to get your most important priorities done?
There’s often a sense that there’s one right way to do things. We’re socialized from the time we’re kids to believe that there’s an optimal way to get things done. Whitney recommends setting that idea aside and focusing instead on what works best for you as an individual. We all have different biological clocks. Some people are more productive in the morning and others get their best work done late at night.
Whitney encourages her clients to figure out what works best for them and then build routines that align with their most productive times. If you’re a morning person, do things that energize and excite you in the morning. That can be working out, meditating, or working on a project that you’re passionate about. Look at your day and ask yourself: “When do I feel most alive, productive, and creative?” Once you know your most productive and creative time of day, devote that time to the things that are going to help you move forward on the path to achieving your most important goals.
Which is more important: figuring out your priorities or time management?
People always ask for the “secret” to time management, but there is no silver bullet. Throughout her business career and coaching practice, Whitney has seen people make the same four mistakes when they don’t have control over their time. They take pride in busyness for its own sake, they have never-ending to-do lists loaded with low value tasks, they think they have to do everything themselves, and they sacrifice their health and happiness in the hopes it will be worth it down the road. These mistakes start with your mindset, not your calendar.
When you aren’t clear on your priorities and what you want out of your career and your life, your calendar will reflect that lack of focus. Start with your goals, then apply time management strategies. When you break through the noise of what other people think should be important and get laser-focused on the goals that matter to YOU the most, you can build out a roadmap to achieve those goals and use time management tools and strategies to help you move from where you are to where you want to be.
