Task Expands to the Time Allotted

In time management, I have a phrase, "Task Time Expansion" which happens to all of us and we need to be aware of the consequences. Have you ever had a day where you had nothing pressing, no deadlines to meet? Yes, I know that just about never happens, but you did have maybe one or two things you wanted to do that day? By the end of the day, you have not accomplished one or maybe both things despite your desire to get them done.

Has this ever happened to you? You are home and you get a call from a friend who says they are passing through the area and would like to stop by to catch up. "Sure," you say, and they tell you they are about 30 minutes away. How about spring cleaning in 30 minutes? Quick load the dishwasher, run the vacuum cleaner, clean the toilet, run the mop around the house, dust and straighten up the house all in 30 minutes. The doorbell rings, you answer it out of breath and sweating, your visitor asks, "Are you okay?" You say, "Thanks for asking. I was just doing a little workout, please come in. I was about to get myself a drink; would you like one?"

My point is if we allow ourselves to be nonproductive, it's very simple to do! If we put our mind to something, we can accomplish it in the shortest amount of time as possible, like cleaning our home for unexpected guests.

I personally use 30-minute blocks of time. Set an alarm on your phone and tell yourself you have to get this done! Hopefully, you will see that setting 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to accomplish a task will result in a much more effective way to accomplish your goals for the day.

Am I the master of what I just wrote? Hell no, but I am working on it! Thanks to all the interruptions in our world, it's a daily challenge. I have to admitt that some days I just give up on my plan and stomp out all the little fires. But hopefully those days are less and less as I continue to fight the time management battle!

Dick Betts is a national speaker, trainer and consultant. Learn more at www.DickBetts.com