Behind the Eightball

byKElam

474 followers

6 years ago

We've all heard the expression "Behind the Eightball". We've all probably thought that we were actually behind the eightball. Behind on a project at work. Didn't do a task at work or even worse your spouse. I remember in college being behind on papers, assignments, and even late for work.

What Does Behind the Eightball Mean?

We often ponder why we are behind the eightball so often. How can some people be Johnny/Jane on the spot with projects, reports, papers, and assignments? They know how to manage their time wisely. Some of us manage our time foolishly or even not at all. I fell somewhere in between. It took me a while to get the hang of it. What brought me around was having our first child. So I thought. We adopted our second child. When he was five and a half weeks old, guess what? You guessed it. My wife found out she was pregnant. Nine months later we were the proud parents of a three year old and 2 babies lacking 8 days being 10 months apart.

Time Management Is Not Just One Skill

Time management is not just one skill. That's like saying a quarterback only has to throw a ball. Not only does he have to throw a ball but he also has to learn the playbook, know how to read defenses and change the play at the line when he sees a weak spot in the defense. They have to have that sixth sense to know when that 300# tackle is zoning on him from behind. That's only a few and there are so many more.

Just a Few Tips

1. Reaching your goals. Use your time management skills in a way that your time helps your reach your goals. I guess that I should have written this blog prior to the one below. I guess your can this blog a prequel or a pre-blog. https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/kelam/blog/write-out-your-go...
2. Reflect on your goals. Find some time when your can get away by yourself and reflect what goals are really important to you, not only at work but at home as well.
3. Share your goals. Share these goals with your spouse or significant other and see what goals are common between you, especially for those that center around your family or personal life. Mostly likely there will be some goals that don't match up. Go into this talk with an open mind. You just might learn something about the other that your did not know. Work on these goals together. There can be common ground in most anything if your have an open mind. Also, talk about your work and personal or professional goals. You could help each other attain these. It is always great having your own personal cheerleader. Don't know what I would do without mine.
4. Prioritize your goals. Keep a list handy so that they are a reminder of the things that truly matter. This is useful not only at home but at work as well. Too many goals at one time can cause lack of motivation. You lose focus and so nothing gets accomplished. It is OK to re-priortize your list. Life and work happens, and you have to adjust. A life or work event can turn your list upside down so learn to be flexible. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, write your goals every day, and write them again and again. Soon the most important ones will take on a new meaning. You become more aware of what your true goals are.
5. Reduce distractions. At work your can turn off your computer monitor and mute your phone. The pictures, emails, and calls can easily distract your from the work at hand. The same goes for home. Turn the TV off. World events on the news are very distracting and can increase stress. These distractions cause your to lose focus on the task at hand.
6. Reduce multi-tasking. Actually your get less done multitasking than focusing on one task at a time. I know personally it becomes more chaotic and stressful when I have papers all over the place from multiple tasks that I am trying to complete.
7. Delegate tasks. Learning to delegate tasks can be difficult if your are a control type of individual. Begin by delegating small tasks until your have the confidence in those your are delegating to. These are the tasks that often get left at the end of the day and your are faced with them tomorrow. As your confidence builds in the individual that your are delegating to your will be able to delegate larger tasks that can let you truly zero in on your core goals for that day.
   

In Summary

These are just a few things that can be done. I found while researching this topic that there are 100's of tips floating out there in the internet on time management. So i used my time wisely and chose just a few.

Kirk