You Can’t Manage Time—Even if You Have Neurodivergent Superpowers
Ken Carlson
Experienced Executive Coach and Leadership Trainer with a knack for working with Geeks; Specializing in Engineering, Science, Math, and Medical.
Take a look at any list of topics that corporate leaders want to know about, and time management will be at or near the top.
“Ken, please tell me how I can manage my time better. I waste so much time or get overwhelmed or I find myself not doing the things I promised to do.”
I’m going to let you in on a secret—time is unmanageable. It moves forward. Every person gets the same amount of seconds every single day: 86,400.
So what are people really wanting when they want to improve their time management? Why does it seem that some people “manage” time better than others?
I think there are a number of things going on—and we could literally do a day-long seminar about this topic—but at the core, there is just what you are committed to—and in what order you are committed to those things.
Our lives, or our work, are out of whack when we spend our time on things that are not at the top of our priority list—and the opposite is true. If we spend our valuable time on the things that truly matter the most to us, we will live the most fulfilling version of our lives.
I had the honor this week of coaching two Autistic/ADHD leaders who were both overwhelmed and wondering how they could “manage” their time better.
I offered them this activity and I’ll offer it to you. I think it applies to everyone but it can be especially helpful for people who feel scattered, overwhelmed or don’t really know where to start in this area.
Make a list of what you are committed to. This could be really anything that pops up in your head as you attempt to answer the question. Notice what you spend your time and money on right now. That would be a clue. Notice what makes you angry or feel immense joy. Those things touch your deep emotions.
Your list might look something like this or include completely different things. It doesn’t matter—it just needs to be your list and keep writing until you get to at least 15.
Now force rank them. You can do this by writing them all on post-its and move them around until you have them in order of most to least important. Remember, you are committed to all of these things so being #15 on the list doesn’t mean it isn’t important—just that it is less of a priority then #1.
The next action is to take this list (now prioritized) and bring it into your week. The job for one or two weeks is to just notice. Notice what you spend your time on. Notice your to-do lists that you create each day. Are your priorities reflected in there? What are the things that keep showing up on your list of things to do that do not match your priorities? Is it time to say no? Are your top 5 priorities reflected in how you spend each day? Just notice.
Let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear from you.
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Past Articles: Neurodiverse Leadership Resource Library
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2moAppreciate the insight of dedicating time to what truly matters. We need to remind ourselves every day.