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The Time Management Secret Nobody Talks About
How to make disruptions work for you
So, you’ve mastered the art of time management. You still face a serious challenge.
You can plan your day down to the minute. You can be as disciplined as a well-trained soldier. Sorry, it won’t make you a productivity superstar. Making the best use of your time is not about sticking to your schedule.
Effective time management comes down to making the best use of your time when life disrupts your meticulously planned schedule.
And life always disrupts your schedule.
The experts who sell their productivity tips, routine-based systems, and time management techniques rarely talk about strategies to deal with disruptions. It’s too easy to say “just stick to your plan.” Of course, life does not work that way. You not only need to work around these disruptions, but you also need to use them to your benefit.
This might be the most crucial Time Management question you’ve never asked yourself.
How do you get stuff done when life interferes with your plans?
Here’s how I handled it today.
When I arrived at the airport this morning, I learned my flight had been delayed by three hours.
I kicked and screamed like everyone else, but instead of arguing with the desk agents or making frantic calls to anyone who would listen, I sat down at the gate and began to write.
Little by little, other passengers tricked into the gate area, remarking that they gave it the old college try. They formed an impromptu pity party, lamenting their missed plans, blown meetings, and loss of productive time.
Yeah, I get it. Some folks have real emergencies. Maybe some of those passengers had been away from their families and desperately wanted to go home.
But most people just hate having their plans altered. They fret over sitting in an airport or waiting room. And so they complain, argue and commiserate.
