Patricia, a mother of three and a physician, sent me a great question! How do you avoid being a “slave to the calendar” by allowing time for spontaneity and unexpected interruptions in your schedule?
There are two parts to her question, so let’s dive into the most common issue—how to handle unexpected interruptions. Schedule buffer time between each appointment or commitment. Fifteen minutes is typically enough time. Then, when an interruption pops up, you can take care of it during those times. The bonus is that if you don’t have the interruption, you end up with extra free time!
As for the second part of the question, I now have a course called Finding Your Time Management Style on both the LinkedIn Learning and Lynda platforms. It will help you determine your primary and secondary style of time management. Then you will get specific tips for adapting the lessons learned in my course, Time Management Fundamentals, to fit your style! For example, if you find that your primary style is the Innovator, then you likely enjoy having the freedom to be spontaneous. I recommend scheduling spontaneous time in your calendar—an entire day that is open to doing whatever your heart desires! Protect this day the same as you would any other commitment. If you don’t, then you will find yourself a slave to every interruption or demand that comes your way.
If you have a question you would like to ask me, please go to DaveCrenshaw.com/ask to submit one today! Thank you, Patricia, for your helpful question.
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