Time Pressure  David Regler

David's profile on the executive and business coaching network

A common issue that I have work with clients on is “time-management”, or “how you make yourself ineffective when you have too many things to deal with”. That’s right, how you make yourself ineffective. Take a moment to consider that fully. 

There are many excellent books on time-management and they all offer ways of putting the things you need to do in order of priority, regardless of the actual system or tools this is what they all offer. However, I’ve found that most people who have problems in this area give themselves such a hard time that they don’t even get to step one, they just keep putting it off to avoid the bad feeling they’re making. 

I’ve even worked with a trainer who teaches “time-management” and felt he was terrible at it. Things would build up and then he would get very tense and start to generate a really uncomfortable feeling and then he’d keep telling himself what an idiot he was for not doing the things that he taught other people to do…no wonder he would put off doing what he needed to do, just to get away from that intense bad feeling. 

One thing, I have noticed with a lot of people, is that once they start doing whatever it is they’ve been putting off, the bad feelings go away and they can get on and do the things that they need to do. So, if any of this seems familiar, here’s a little coaching experiment for you to try. 

Think about something that you’ve been putting off. If you’re having trouble, remember a time when things were starting to pile up for you. Bring back the memory as real as if you were there. Are you sitting or standing? Holding your hands in a certain way? Get back into the same physical position. 

Now notice where the feeling is in your body. Make the feeling more intense. Notice what you have to do to achieve this. Do you need to talk to yourself differently, or perhaps exaggerate the image in your mind?  

OK, now make adjustments to diminish the sensations. Change your physiology by moving differently or into a different position. Perhaps you can slow down the voice, or blur the pictures. Whatever works for you is just right. What has happened that is different? Do you feel better about doing the things you need to do now? Is it clear what you can do next? 

So, next time you start to feel the bad feeling building, become aware of it and stop. Make changes to your physiology, and your neurology and then think about the things that you need to do. You may be surprised at what a difference it will make.

Copyright 2004 ©David Regler with his expressed written permission

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