If there’s one prevalent theme in coaching sessions, it’s time management. Many clients need help managing or optimizing their free time or may feel dissatisfied with their work-family life balance. Definitely, the subject is important because one can end up feeling unhappy or unproductive when having the impression of spending the whole day attending emergencies and neglecting projects.
These sessions are usually very productive and dynamic. Still, I never intend to teach my clients how to manage their time or give them secret formulas with specific methodologies that become instant solutions. On the contrary, everyone should be able to realize the best way to use their time. What we do in these sessions is discuss priorities intensely. For me, time management is closely linked to our core values and our personal or professional goals. In the same way that no one can judge you on how you spend your money, no one should judge you on how you manage your time unless they are your boss!
We also talk a lot about efficiency in these sessions, but again, from a goal-reaching perspective. For me, when a person is clear about where they want to go or what they want to do in a certain period, it is easier to group the activities done in a day and verify whether or not they are aligned with the objective.
In this regard, one of the tools I like to use the most is the Time management matrix that Steven Covey mentioned in his famous book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. This simple framework allows us to categorize our various activities into four categories. Activities can be urgent and important (Q1), not urgent but important (Q2), urgent but not important (Q3), or not urgent and not important (Q4).
With a few calibrated questions, it is possible to determine the percentage of time that the client remains in each of these quadrants, and it is from there that the benefits of the session begin to be seen. Let’s remember that in the book, we are told that the goal will always be to increase the percentage of time that we designate to Q2 and, as far as possible, decrease the portion assigned to Q4. I think this will depend a lot on each person and their objective.
For example, if our goal is to start a business, we probably have to move a large percentage of time to Q2 since we have much to do before materializing the dream. But if, on the contrary, our goal is to spend more quality time for ourselves or to relax since we are very stressed, then increasing the time in Q4 could be beneficial. This is really case by case; coaching sessions help us discover if our actions make us happy.
Another tool I use in coaching is a framework for delegating activities. We commonly think that we have to take care of everything, especially if we are the boss of a group of people (it is a style of leadership in which peers are not trusted). Through coaching, you can discover if you are doing the right thing or if there is another person who could help you reduce the time invested in something. In the same way, it could be that we are spending additional time perfecting activities that do not need to be executed at such a level. Maybe 80% perfect is enough. In fact, in many cases, between 80% and 100% perfection, there is no difference in quality, but there is a difference in the quantity of time invested.
As we can see, there are many ways coaching can help you improve how you manage your time. Frameworks help discover things we hadn’t noticed before and can also help clarify our primary goal or principles on which we take action. The coaching sessions use what has been learned in the frameworks to explore options and find the solutions that best suit our personalities.
If you’re having trouble managing your time, feel like your day is falling short, or are not achieving your goals, you should try coaching. If this is your case, please write to me via the web or schedule a session.
Alexander Martinez
