My Time Management Superpower - Part 1
Introduction
Time management is my superpower. It is the thing I do best and I haven’t met anyone who does it better than me (yet). So I figured if I boast about it on my blog and share all the thoughts, philosophies and practices that contribute to my success, I could a) gloat about something I’m great at and b) potentially help you, the reader, improve your own time management skills.
Something I want to recognize from the get-go is that I was born into and live with a lot of privilege. It has given me extraordinary power and control over my life and the ability to make intentional and idealistic choices that are simply not realistic or even accessible to others. As you read this, please understand that the last thing I want to inspire is guilt or the feeling that you are not doing enough. Even though there will be times where I will be addressing you directly, please interpret it as the Royal You - because it’s easier and more fun for me to write as if I’m talking to someone and telling them how to live (despite having no business to do that to anyone). Remember, this is about Salimah’s Superpower, not [your name]’s Superpower!
Defining Successful Time Management
When I say I excel at time management, I’m saying:
When I agree to doing something I deliver my commitment early or, at the latest, on time.
I finish each day satisfied with what I have accomplished.
I can maintain a non-trivial amount of commitments.
You may notice that there is a a substantial amount of choice (and therefore, control) baked into the list above. I have curated my task list, I am choosing to be satisfied with my daily accomplishment, I have decided what non-trivial means for me.
For the next little while (meaning in this post and in maybe a couple more), we are going to discuss what informs those decisions and why they are 100% valid.
Spoiler Alert! I will die (one day)
It’s true. I’m not immortal and, maybe I am being presumptuous, but I don’t think you are either. I hope this is not a surprise, because if it is…that’s a little awkward.
The most frustrating thing about our lack of immortality is that we don’t know when it will happen. How can you manage a finite amount of time when you don’t even know the quantity? It’s a tough question and it’s not easy to think about.
The only answer I’ve come up with is to get to a point where if I were to die suddenly, it wouldn’t be a tragic event (for me if I somehow was able to have feelings after I die - I know everyone else would be devastated). And to be completely honest, I actually reached that point several years ago. I have had an incredibly fortunate life full of experiences and learning and love, so I wouldn’t be too upset if something were to happen to me other than the fact that it’s really nice to be alive and so it wouldn’t be my immediate preference to have that change.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that I am not ambitious or am not actively seeking out new experiences and education, I’m just saying that every new success or blessing is icing on the cake instead of something that would make me feel regret if I didn’t end up experiencing it in my life. I really recommend trying to get to this icing point for yourself, it is powerful.
All of this is to say is it is less important to me what happens in my life than how I should be living my life. And to define that how I identified my core value: integrity - doing the right thing and doing it well.
The tricky part about doing the right thing is calibrating the balance between a lot of “right things” like dedicating your life to good work, creating community with loved ones, staying healthy, pursuing spiritual fulfillment, engaging in different life experiences around the world, volunteering or other forms of altruism. Clearly all of these ambitions and activities are great, but it’s a constant personal choice that requires regular soul-searching to figure out which ones should take up the most time and energy.
Also, while we are talking about mortality and changing priorities, this may be a good place to mention what I’d like to refer to as our mini-mortality - the fact that our abilities and situations and opportunities will change throughout our lives. Notice that I said change - not improve or deteriorate - change. You can prioritize certain actions (how you eat, move, interact, work etc.) to influence how your mini-mortality plays out, though sometimes life & the universe will have the final say. Figuring out how much agency you actually have overall is a whole other discussion, and way above my paygrade, but given how much I like to be in control, I like to think that I can use my free will to help push the balance somewhat in my favor.
Those who have taken the time and the space to self-reflect should have some idea of what is important to them. Where I think time management falls apart is being unwilling (or more likely, unable) to commit to that choice and have taken on, or have been thrusted into, responsibilities that directly conflict with what what they care about most. For example, I listed quite a few ‘right things’ in the above paragraph that require a lot of freedom, flexibility, time, opportunity, discipline and financial stability for me to approach them in a way that meet my standards. However, if I were to have children, I would have none of those tools at my disposal. Therefore choosing to have children would directly conflict with what is important to me. So, by being intentional about not procreating I have given myself the best chance to maintain my core value of integrity.
Following a similar evaluation for other major life decisions, by favoring solutions whose outcomes are aligned with my “right things”, I have strategically set myself up to live my icing life and am able to pick and choose how I dedicate my time.
I’d love to hear what is most important to you and how you prefer to spend your time. Feel free to comment below or contact me if you want to keep the conversation private.
Next month, we will dive deeper into priority setting through the lens of the other unavoidable fact of life!
